Child-Friendly Mosques A Comparative Analysis of Indonesia and Britain

Abstract

This study examines how mosques construct and articulate principles relating to children within formal organizational guidance documents. While mosques serve as key sites of religious learning, socialization, and community life, limited research has explored how children are positioned within institutional policy frameworks governing these environments. The study adopts a qualitative comparative design using document analysis of two nationally significant guidance texts: the Child-Friendly Mosque Guidebook produced by Dewan Masjid Indonesia and the Muslim Council of Britain Guide to Safeguarding Children at Mosques and Madrassahs. Using a structured analytical framework, the analysis focuses on five dimensions: safeguarding and protection, participation and inclusion, education and tarbiya, spatial organization, and governance, as well as the justificatory frameworks underpinning these principles. The findings demonstrate that while both documents emphasize safeguarding, they represent structurally distinct institutional logics in defining a “child-friendly mosque.” The Indonesian guidebook adopts a holistic, developmental approach integrating protection, participation, and moral formation, whereas the British guidance prioritizes safeguarding, risk management, and institutional accountability within a regulatory framework. These differences reflect contrasting constructions of childhood and institutional responsibility, positioning children as active participants in the Indonesian context and primarily as subjects of protection in the British context. The study argues that the “child-friendly mosque” is a contested institutional construct shaped by competing normative and regulatory logics. By situating mosque governance within broader debates on childhood and institutional responsibility, the study contributes to understanding how religious institutions interpret and implement child-related frameworks across different governance contexts.

Date of Award	2026
Original language	American English
Awarding Institution	HBKU College of Islamic Studies