Islam – Contemporary Perspectives

In today’s secular world the relationship between tourists and their belief plays a major part in influencing individuals when visiting religious sites. The patterns of visitation within individuals depend on the strength of religious beliefs. In current literature limited research is available that explores the understanding and motivation of visitation patterns of religious tourists. In the Muslim world from Australia to the USA, the mosque in its many forms is the fundamental pilgrimage destination to visit five times a day. The word mosque is a translation of the Arabic word masjid – meaning the Muslim gathering place for prayer. Mosque simply means ‘place of worship’. In reality the five daily prayers set in Islamic practice can take place anywhere, but Muslims are required to gather together at the mosque for the five daily prayers if they are free and able to attend. In the media, the importance of this Muslim concept of mosque visitation for religious worship is being underestimated and undermined. In recent times, Western societies have begun to view Islam as incompatible with, and a security threat to, secular and liberal ways of life. This is mainly because most often sections of the media, polity and conservative writers present a distasteful view of Islam featuring it as a source of social ills and all sorts of troubles in the world. Several notable studies offer convincing analysis that the media has an important role in building misperceptions and misunderstandings of Islam (these include: Said, 1979, 1997; Mitchell and Marriage, 2003; Saeed, 2007; Asmal, 2008; Bowen, 2012; Gomes, 2014; Kolig, 2014). Accordingly, narratives come into view that suggest Islam is an old-fashioned, authoritarian and outdated religion.