What is "surau"

Surau is an Islamic assembly building in some regions of Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula used for worship and religious instruction. Some of its ritual functions are similar to a mosque, but Surau are mostly smaller than mosques, allow men and women, and are used more for religious instruction and festive prayers. They depend more on grassroots support and funding. They can be compared to the Arab Zawiya. In Minangkabau society they continued pre-Islamic traditions of an all male gathering place to worship ancestors and were built up high on posts. In contemporary usage, Surau is often used to refer to a small mosque.