Haroon Mosque History
Haroon Mosque is a very old mosque, one of
the first mosques built in Thailand in the early time of King Rama
3rd�s kingship, year 1828. Part of the Haroon Mosque�s allure is its
central location in the heart of Bangkok, surrounded by vital business
areas and cultural locations.
Haroon Building is the residential
building project for Haroon communities, which is overseen by Haroon
Mosque. Haroon Building was intended as a replacement for nineteen old
wooden houses and was sited on their combined land
What the proplem face Thailand�s Haroon Resident Building Is the Haroon Mosque�s Imam Practicing Grace, Trust and Morality?
Construction did not begin on time, even though all the old residents
had been forced out for over a year. The donator himself, managed to
eventually perform the construction by hiring his own contractor to
follow the design plan. Frustrated by inexplicable delays, the donator
went ahead and used the committees� original design with his own
construction team. Construction of Haroon Building project was finally
completed in August 2015.
Since then, there have been many
problems. The leader does not communicate to villagers. This author
would like to present the problems thru this channel to create awareness
in the Muslims Society for your consideration.
In the matters of Grace, Trust and Morality
The Haroon Community leader refused to speak with the community
regarding their concerns. Please note the 6 points, which follow:
Hurt feelings
1. To the consternation of all concerned parties, the Imam only met
with villagers one time throughout this entire process. During that one
meeting, Imam said there would be no more meetings because he was blamed
during the meeting. It is sad when an important community leader is so
overly sensitive to residents concerns that he would walk away from open
communications. Such a thin-skinned approach is not the mark of a
mature and compassionate leader.
The old people are waiting while we keep paying (and paying) for the design
2. A project design budget can approximate a million baht or more.
Before I assumed my role as secretary of the committee, 500,000 baht had
already been paid. During one meeting, Imam said there would be another
payment, which I believed would be approximately 400,000 baht. I
dissented against this payment because construction had not even begun
and so this payment was stopped. I felt it was imperative to know, �How
much is the total design cost?� What and when is payment for this design
work, based upon what criteria? As the old people from the nineteen
homes were still waiting for the new building and the building had not
yet begun, it seemed odd that so much money was going toward the design
in an open ended fashion, in payments that were not based upon hard
criteria.
One room with no kitchen, no ventilation and no washing area
3. Sadly, beyond spending a huge amount of money on the design work and
speeding up payments to this designer, the design itself was a poor
design, where each family received only one room of around 20 square
meters. There were no kitchens and no ventilation in these rooms. There
was also no washing area. Some people in Haroon feel, �This is only a
room for rent! It�s no bigger than a rat�s living room!� I would like to
ask the Haroon leader, �Would you allow your family to live a in a
place like this? Would you? A true leader would be appalled at asking
old people to leave their homes to come back to living in such austere
hardship. As leader, have you thought about the Haroon villagers, whom
you forced to leave only to return to live in such conditions? Do you
feel any sympathy to these Haroon people, who suffer?
What were the costs, expenses and income generated?
4. A clear and open residency plan would have made clear who has
residency rights to live in Haroon building. How is it that residents
beyond the old people in the nineteen original homes were chosen?
Overall, what were the costs, expenses and income generated from this
building since its inception? A compassionate and concerned leader of
Haroon community, which is for the public, would take the integrous path
as a matter of course. Outlining residency requirements is simple,
ethical behavior.
Finished building as designed, is uncomfortable and awkward
5. Currently, the finished building as designed, is uncomfortable and
awkward. Residents do not feel at ease and resident seniors in Haroon
have even offered to support negotiations with the Treasury Department.
Negotiations would be to successfully reach an agreement for Haroon to
have rights to manage the central streets during additional
construction. If successful, the side of the building could be opened to
make it clear and look beautiful, as well as allow for expansion to
eight floors in the future.
A good leader would handle such donations and any attendant problems with grace, authority and beneficence
6. Ordinarily, when Muslin communities receive donation money such as
this, the community leader responds in a competent manner. A beautiful
building, reflecting the donator�s generosity rises to the sky, ending
problems for residents such as these people in Haroon. A leader sets the
tone for their community and a good leader would handle such donations
and any attendant problems with grace, authority and beneficence. The
competency demonstrated in this Haroon Building is appalling. How can we
trust you to take care of our business? A true and wise leader would
feel humiliation at such failure.
Questions for the Imam
Were
you aware there were damages to the building, which will stay there for
many years to come? Did you give careful attention to this project? Did
you consult with experts? You are the leader and must obtain
information from all parties to make qualified decisions that benefit
Haroon villagers. You have never listened to the seniors in Haroon. Are
you proud to spend money for this design and this piece of work?
An Imam civilizes and prospers the community
There were many more Haroon building problems beyond chasing nineteen
villagers out for years then doing nothing. For the Haroon Building
case, I want it to be an example for all the Muslim Community that our
community leader plays a very important role. If your community has a
good leader, the leader will greatly civilize and prosper your
community. Please raise the case of Haroon as an example. Carefully
monitor and manage your communities to avoid such failed management.
These failures create ripples and difficulties for future generations
For the Haroon community case, the community received money from one
Arab Foundation. This failure creates ripples and difficulties, which
will pass onto future generations. In addition to the example you�ve
just read, there are many other issues, which are faults in the work of
Haroon�s Leader. I will make a summary of these faults and soon report
to them to Thai and international Muslim communities or organizations.
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