Empowering Masjid as Centres of Islamic Education During Ramadan Through Asset-Based Community Development in Pasar Miring

Abstract

Masjid in rural Indonesia are frequently treated as ritual spaces alone, although they hold sufficient physical, social, and spiritual capital to sustain non-formal Islamic education. This article reports the thematic community service programme (KKNT) of Group 25, STAI As-Sunnah Deli Serdang, at Masjid Amaliyah, Dusun Gotong Royong, Pasar Miring Village, Pagar Merbau District, Deli Serdang Regency, North Sumatra, conducted over thirteen days during Ramadan 1447 H (21 February–5 March 2026). Programme partners comprised the Masjid Amaliyah management, the Rumah Qur’an Shofiyyah administrators, SDN 105352 Pasar Miring, and the Pasar Miring Village Government. The programme applied the Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) approach through five stages, discovery, dream, design, define, and destiny, positioning the masjid as the core asset rather than community deficits as the point of departure. Data were gathered through participant observation, pre- and post-programme oral tahsin assessment, daily field notes, and visual documentation. Fifteen programmes were delivered across 35 scheduled sessions, generating approximately 1,856 participant-sessions drawn from an estimated 400 to 450 individual beneficiaries; the two metrics are reported separately because attendance was recorded without unique-identity tracking. Findings indicate improved application of mim sakinah and qalqalah rules among women participants, increased children’s engagement in Qur’anic literacy, the establishment of a literacy corner and permanent visual da’wah media at the masjid, and the masjid management’s willingness to continue the halaqah independently. The study affirms that Ramadan constitutes a measurable window of receptivity rather than a scheduling coincidence, and that asset-based framing yields more equitable partnership relations than deficit-based framing.