Majlis

Majlis
Shia Muslims in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in a Majlis as part of the commemoration of Muharram

Majlis (or Mejlis; Arabic: مجلس‎, pl. مجالس Majālis), is an Arabic term meaning "a place of sitting", used in the context of "council", to describe various types of special gatherings among common interest groups be it administrative, social or religious in countries with linguistic or cultural connections to Islamic countries. Examples include legislative assemblies,[1] private homes used to entertain guests[2] and remembrance of Husayn ibn Ali. Also it is the equivalent of the term legislature in some Islamic-culture states. It shares its root with the verb meaning 'to sit,' جلس jalasa (cf. British English 'sitting room').

Contents

Legislatures

Other uses

  • Majlis is also used to mean a salon (musical or scientific), especially during the Abbasid era, e.g., for discussing the recent translations from Greek.[3] This sense is sometimes now distinguished as an "adabi majlis" ("artistic majlis"). See Dewaniya

See also

Similar concepts

External links


References

  1. ^ Parliament of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
  2. ^ The Majlis Of The Future Today — Leading UAE Interior Designers Set To Reveal Their Visions At Index, Dubai City Guide, 9 November 2009.
  3. ^ Melvyn Bragg, "In Our Time" broadcast, BBC Radio 4, 2 October 2008.