Liturgical furniture of the mosque

What chiefly distinguishes the Friday service from the daily liturgy is the
inclusion of a sermon. Thus, in addition to the omnipresent mihrab, a
jami rejoices in the possession of a pulpit, minbar, to the right of the
niche, so that the prayer-leader, or imam (properly, on this occasion an
imam khatib, or preaching imam), can address the congregation. In early
Islamic times, the sermon was political rather than dogmatic in content,
which helps to explain why the shape of the minbar has nothing in
common with the Christian ambo. In origin it was the throne of the leader
of the community, set up in the place of assembly, from the top of which
he, Muhammad, pontificated as lawgiver. Having completed the sermon,
he would descend the pulpit and enter the niche to lead the prayer, for
as leader he represented the people to god and led the prayer in that
capacity. This double role is expressed in the practice whereby to this
day it is the same man who delivers the address as leads the prayer. The
minbar is, therefore, a symbol of authority as much as an acoustic
elevation, an in the case of the imam, of delegated authority.
Conceivable, this may, account for the fact that at a later stage of its
evalution it acquired a canopy or dome, the canopy being an attribute of
the ruler and even, in Indian iconography, of divinity. Moreover, the
imam always deliver his address not from the top but from a lower step,
and it may be that the empty, canopied space stands for the absent
prophet, exactly as in primitive Buddhism there was no image of the
Buddha, a canopy sufficing to indicte his presence. Similarly, the practice
of flanking the pulpit with standards not only empnasizes the intimate
connection between politics and religion in the islam, but goes back to
the prophet, who walked to the minbar flanked by standard-bearers