Mizanur Rashid | Deakin University (original) (raw)

Papers by Mizanur Rashid

The Adelaide Mosque (1888-1889), the first urban mosque built in Australia, was founded by Afghan... more The Adelaide Mosque (1888-1889), the first urban mosque built in Australia, was founded by Afghan cameleers whose contribution to the exploration of Australia’s vast desert interior is largely untold. The cultural significance of the mosque is recognised locally and it is identified as “one of the few relics of Afghan immigration to South Australia and embodies in built form Afghan and Mohammedan culture which is otherwise not significantly represented” (City of Adelaide Heritage Study Item No. 159, Adelaide Mosque file, Heritage South Australia). However, despite this recognition, this unadorned bluestone structure has failed to draw the attention of architectural historians in surveys of ‘Islamic’ architecture. The scope of recent surveys in this field is increasingly inclusive. However, very few studies focus on the architecture of Muslim communities in regions where Islam is not the predominant faith, especially in the southern hemisphere. The Adelaide Mosque, and many others, is excluded from the historical record despite the instrumental role it played in the life of Muslim settlers. This absence raises questions about gaps, or histories untold, as well as myths received, in histories of ‘Islamic’ architecture that raise questions about the truth-value of the past. There is a need to examine hybridised forms and shared architectural narratives to counter the myopic but persistent representation—or fabulation—of supposedly authentic, largely Arab-centric, forms of ‘Islamic’ architecture. This paper argues, then, that new theoretical frameworks are required to interpret this architectural hybrid that is, we argue, typical rather than exceptional. Through a case study of the Adelaide Mosque, this paper critically re-examines the reductive but pervasive conceptions of ‘Islamic’ Architecture that obscure the historical processes of hybridization and its diverse morphological outcomes to comprehend the process of resilience and assimilation through which architecture is shaped in a particular context.

International Journal of Architectural Research: ArchNet-IJAR, Mar 3, 2014

The current study offers a critical interpretation of the more transient traces of Islam in Austr... more The current study offers a critical interpretation of the more transient traces of Islam in Australia, and their representation in the equally scanty tangible evidences. The scope of recent surveys in this field is increasingly inclusive. However, very few studies focus on the architecture of Muslim communities in regions where Islam is not the predominant faith, especially in the southern hemisphere. The historical Adelaide Mosque, and many others, is excluded from the historical record despite the instrumental role it played in the life of Muslim settlers. This absence raises questions about gaps, or histories untold, as well as myths received, in histories of 'Islamic' architecture that raise questions about the truth-value of the past. There is a need to examine hybridized forms and shared architectural narratives to counter the myopic but persistent representation-or fabulation-of supposedly authentic, largely Arabcentric, forms of 'Islamic' architecture. This paper argues, then, that new theoretical frameworks are required to interpret this architectural hybrid that is, we argue, typical rather than exceptional.

Independency in learning is crucial to ensure students‟ success in completing the course of AAR 3... more Independency in learning is crucial to ensure students‟ success in completing the course of AAR 3302: Heritage Studies. The course is considered as the capstone course of architectural educational programme in the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). This research aims to assess students‟ independency in conducting their self-directing learning while doing the field work and studio work of Architectural Heritage Studies Course. This research has the objectives to examine students‟ independency in carrying out the designated tasks, and to investigate how application of knowledge and skills has been performed by students, with minimum involvement of their lecturers. The field work was carried out on building sites in Malaysia, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Iran. Whilst the studio work, where students documents all their findings, were carried out in International Islamic University Malaysia. Quantitatively, survey was conducted by distributing questionnaire among students wh...

Mosque is referred to as a place for Muslim’s congregational prayers, a community centre, and a f... more Mosque is referred to as a place for Muslim’s congregational prayers, a community centre, and a frontage to the Muslim’s world. Mosque from the start was intended as a sanctuary and home to the Muslims where they can affiliate in their lives. In Australia, the Afghan cameleers have established the major mosques as they were among the early Muslim settlers of the country after the Makassar Muslims. Afghans Cameleers in Australia are majority Muslims in a faraway land of Afghanistan, who migrated to this place of unfamiliarity in order to place themselves in the society while searching for wealth in sustaining and building their reputation in their homeland. This research seeks to explore the idea of citizenship through the concept of belonging and how it translates to architecture and the Islamic built environment. To express the sense of belonging and citizenship in a land where they are unaccepted, the Afghans resort to creating a building of such that would represent their struggl...

This study embarked upon a premise that considers architecture of building as a dynamic phenomeno... more This study embarked upon a premise that considers architecture of building as a dynamic phenomenon. A building from its conception is susceptible to change due to various reasons. An historical building that is several hundred years old must have undergone through changes due to political, social, religious and most importantly functional reasons. Hence capturing building and its dynamic evolution is necessary to appreciate its architecture as well as its heritage value. Whereas the conventional method of fact based historiography only captures the building in particular moment. It makes architectural historians to become perplexed over to which particular moment to be documented. It is a great challenge for the architectural historians to bring back these dynamic characters of the building that are mostly inconspicuous in nature from this point of time. In this situation the historical discourse also remains elusive and blurred. The idea of 4d capturing comes in front in this scenario. Current research would venture into this emerging idea to record the architecture of the early period. This paper highlights the need for a flexible tool to capture this dynamic character of the building. By citing the case study of the 7 th century Buddhist Monastery in Bengal, this paper thus argues for the need of capturing the narrative of a historical building than the facts to get a complete picture of its architecture. This study aims at capturing the narrative of Sompur Mahavihara, the UNESCO World Heritage site in Bangladesh, which is currently in ruinous condition. However, it's few hundred years life suggests that as architecture it was subject to change due to different reasons, mainly political, religious and rituals. Being a monument that belongs to the flourishing phase of a society, traditionally this monastery architecture certainly played a role as a stage for religious and political pageantry as well as different religious performances. As architecture it works as complex process of interaction of different layers of ideas, agendas and authorship through time. This paper would further explore different tools for historians to capturing this process of interaction and preserving/ conserving the narrative of this building using virtual modelling.

The book is a culmination of writings from selected practitioners and academics initiated from th... more The book is a culmination of writings from selected practitioners and academics initiated from the elective course of AAR 4033 Masjid Architecture for the Bachelor of Architecture programme in the International Islamic University Malaysia in 2008. The book covers both the theory and design of Masjid Architecture providing perspectives in discussive writings of concepts and approach; evaluation of designs through spatial, tectonic, details and environment; experimentation with construction; and reflective inference to the Quran and Sunnah on the purpose of its establishment. Selected authors are experts in the industry and the academia. The book intend to bridge the gap between theory and design of Masjid least discuss and bring another dimension in reliving the spirit manifested in the establishment of masjid appropriate for the House of Allah.

The 8th century monastery of Sompur Mahavihara at Paharpur, Bangladesh, which has been listed as ... more The 8th century monastery of Sompur Mahavihara at Paharpur, Bangladesh, which has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage (WH) Site since 1985, are the earliest evidence of monumental architecture in Bengal. After the inscription on the WH List, a major conservation program for the site was undertaken. The present state of the monastery has raises some serious questions about the appropriateness of the conservation work being done and concerns the professionals and scholars who are interested in the monument. This paper would examine critically the recently undertaken conservation /reconstruction attempt and tries to identify it might destroy the heritage value of the monuments. At the same time this would solicit some other ways of conserving the heritage and its demand to the common people.

The first group of Muslim camel drivers was brought to Australia in 1860 to help in the explorati... more The first group of Muslim camel drivers was brought to Australia in 1860 to help in the exploration and development of its remote central regions. In the decades that followed their number increased on a regular basis, and by the beginning of the twentieth century there were around 4,000 Muslims in Australia. This population included camel drivers and people with related professions, who came mainly from Afghanistan and different parts of British India. Although collectively referred to as “cameleers,” or “Afghans,” they were in fact a rather loosely defined group, representing a number of different ethnicities. As time passed and the periods of their contracts expired, some within this population saved their money and returned to their homelands. But others remained and gradually settled down, ending their nomadic lives by mingling and intermarrying with the local population. As the first Muslims in colonial Australia, this group struggled to establish its identity by constructing structures for prayers. Currently, a handful of buildings and tombstones located widely across the vast continent are the only traces of this early “Muslim” presence. For many present-day Australians, as well as many Muslims, they provide the only evidence of this blurred and elusive phenomenon in the history of Australian civilization. Field Report

This study aims at developing an interactive virtual model of the lost architectural heritage of ... more This study aims at developing an interactive virtual model of the lost architectural heritage of the 8th century Buddhist Monastery of Sompur Mahaviahara in Bengal. This monument at Paharpur drew the attention of the architectural historians of the South Asia from the very discovery of the ruins of the structure at the beginning of the twentieth century because of its unique architectural features and strategic spatio-temporal location. Several attempts have been made so far to recover the memories of this medieval Buddhist Monastery after the amnesia of a millennium. However, the limited amount of archaeological resource, literary evidences and epigraphic records at the disposal of the architectural historians appears as the main thicket. This study is an attempt to generate an interactive virtual model of the monument that would accommodate different contesting narratives regarding its architecture. It looks into the history in a more dynamic way and uses virtual reconstruction as...

Re-creation of the past of historical buildings sits at the intersection of the spatio-temporal m... more Re-creation of the past of historical buildings sits at the intersection of the spatio-temporal manifestation of cultural memories, socio-cultural meanings, values and identity re-moulds and refines the existing understanding and sense of place. Digital technologies have become a popular tool in re-creation of the past by creating a new body of knowledge and historical discourse based on identifying the gaps within our written histories. Designers and policymakers around the world have been exploring various tools and technologies such as diachronic modelling yet there is a gap in evidence-based understanding regarding the actual functioning and success of application for place making. This paper, therefore, sets out to scrutinise the role of digital technologies in facilitating digital place making. To do so, it investigates the potential of a new “digital heritage” narrative in the revival of the lost architectural narrative of the Dennys Lascelles Wool Store, Geelong. The propose...

Environment-Behaviour Proceedings Journal

Small and Medium Tourism Enterprises (SMTEs) contribute up to 70% of world pollution by consuming... more Small and Medium Tourism Enterprises (SMTEs) contribute up to 70% of world pollution by consuming water, energy and producing solid waste. A similar scenario could be observed in the case of the Malaysian islands. Therefore, it is significant to understand SMITEs green operation performance level. Thus, this research aims to investigate into SMTEs green operation performance levels in the area of energy, freshwater, and solid waste. This research uses quantitative and qualitative methods for data collection. The findings indicate that the SMITEs have low performance in the area of freshwater and have moderate performance in energy and solid waste. Keywords: Green practices; Performance level; Marine Park Islands; SMTEs eISSN: 2398-4287© 2021. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER ...

PLANNING MALAYSIA JOURNAL

Mosque is referred to as a place for Muslim’s congregational prayers, a community centre, and a f... more Mosque is referred to as a place for Muslim’s congregational prayers, a community centre, and a frontage to the Muslim’s world. Mosque from the start was intended as a sanctuary and home to the Muslims where they can affiliate in their lives. In Australia, the Afghan cameleers have established the major mosques as they were among the early Muslim settlers of the country after the Makassar Muslims. Afghans Cameleers in Australia are majority Muslims in a faraway land of Afghanistan, who migrated to this place of unfamiliarity in order to place themselves in the society while searching for wealth in sustaining and building their reputation in their homeland. This research seeks to explore the idea of citizenship through the concept of belonging and how it translates to architecture and the Islamic built environment. To express the sense of belonging and citizenship in a land where they are unaccepted, the Afghans resort to creating a building of such that would represent their struggl...

The Adelaide Mosque (1888-1889), the first urban mosque built in Australia, was founded by Afghan... more The Adelaide Mosque (1888-1889), the first urban mosque built in Australia, was founded by Afghan cameleers whose contribution to the exploration of Australia’s vast desert interior is largely untold. The cultural significance of the mosque is recognised locally and it is identified as “one of the few relics of Afghan immigration to South Australia and embodies in built form Afghan and Mohammedan culture which is otherwise not significantly represented” (City of Adelaide Heritage Study Item No. 159, Adelaide Mosque file, Heritage South Australia). However, despite this recognition, this unadorned bluestone structure has failed to draw the attention of architectural historians in surveys of ‘Islamic’ architecture. The scope of recent surveys in this field is increasingly inclusive. However, very few studies focus on the architecture of Muslim communities in regions where Islam is not the predominant faith, especially in the southern hemisphere. The Adelaide Mosque, and many others, is excluded from the historical record despite the instrumental role it played in the life of Muslim settlers. This absence raises questions about gaps, or histories untold, as well as myths received, in histories of ‘Islamic’ architecture that raise questions about the truth-value of the past. There is a need to examine hybridised forms and shared architectural narratives to counter the myopic but persistent representation—or fabulation—of supposedly authentic, largely Arab-centric, forms of ‘Islamic’ architecture. This paper argues, then, that new theoretical frameworks are required to interpret this architectural hybrid that is, we argue, typical rather than exceptional. Through a case study of the Adelaide Mosque, this paper critically re-examines the reductive but pervasive conceptions of ‘Islamic’ Architecture that obscure the historical processes of hybridization and its diverse morphological outcomes to comprehend the process of resilience and assimilation through which architecture is shaped in a particular context.

International Journal of Architectural Research: ArchNet-IJAR, Mar 3, 2014

The current study offers a critical interpretation of the more transient traces of Islam in Austr... more The current study offers a critical interpretation of the more transient traces of Islam in Australia, and their representation in the equally scanty tangible evidences. The scope of recent surveys in this field is increasingly inclusive. However, very few studies focus on the architecture of Muslim communities in regions where Islam is not the predominant faith, especially in the southern hemisphere. The historical Adelaide Mosque, and many others, is excluded from the historical record despite the instrumental role it played in the life of Muslim settlers. This absence raises questions about gaps, or histories untold, as well as myths received, in histories of 'Islamic' architecture that raise questions about the truth-value of the past. There is a need to examine hybridized forms and shared architectural narratives to counter the myopic but persistent representation-or fabulation-of supposedly authentic, largely Arabcentric, forms of 'Islamic' architecture. This paper argues, then, that new theoretical frameworks are required to interpret this architectural hybrid that is, we argue, typical rather than exceptional.

Independency in learning is crucial to ensure students‟ success in completing the course of AAR 3... more Independency in learning is crucial to ensure students‟ success in completing the course of AAR 3302: Heritage Studies. The course is considered as the capstone course of architectural educational programme in the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). This research aims to assess students‟ independency in conducting their self-directing learning while doing the field work and studio work of Architectural Heritage Studies Course. This research has the objectives to examine students‟ independency in carrying out the designated tasks, and to investigate how application of knowledge and skills has been performed by students, with minimum involvement of their lecturers. The field work was carried out on building sites in Malaysia, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Iran. Whilst the studio work, where students documents all their findings, were carried out in International Islamic University Malaysia. Quantitatively, survey was conducted by distributing questionnaire among students wh...

Mosque is referred to as a place for Muslim’s congregational prayers, a community centre, and a f... more Mosque is referred to as a place for Muslim’s congregational prayers, a community centre, and a frontage to the Muslim’s world. Mosque from the start was intended as a sanctuary and home to the Muslims where they can affiliate in their lives. In Australia, the Afghan cameleers have established the major mosques as they were among the early Muslim settlers of the country after the Makassar Muslims. Afghans Cameleers in Australia are majority Muslims in a faraway land of Afghanistan, who migrated to this place of unfamiliarity in order to place themselves in the society while searching for wealth in sustaining and building their reputation in their homeland. This research seeks to explore the idea of citizenship through the concept of belonging and how it translates to architecture and the Islamic built environment. To express the sense of belonging and citizenship in a land where they are unaccepted, the Afghans resort to creating a building of such that would represent their struggl...

This study embarked upon a premise that considers architecture of building as a dynamic phenomeno... more This study embarked upon a premise that considers architecture of building as a dynamic phenomenon. A building from its conception is susceptible to change due to various reasons. An historical building that is several hundred years old must have undergone through changes due to political, social, religious and most importantly functional reasons. Hence capturing building and its dynamic evolution is necessary to appreciate its architecture as well as its heritage value. Whereas the conventional method of fact based historiography only captures the building in particular moment. It makes architectural historians to become perplexed over to which particular moment to be documented. It is a great challenge for the architectural historians to bring back these dynamic characters of the building that are mostly inconspicuous in nature from this point of time. In this situation the historical discourse also remains elusive and blurred. The idea of 4d capturing comes in front in this scenario. Current research would venture into this emerging idea to record the architecture of the early period. This paper highlights the need for a flexible tool to capture this dynamic character of the building. By citing the case study of the 7 th century Buddhist Monastery in Bengal, this paper thus argues for the need of capturing the narrative of a historical building than the facts to get a complete picture of its architecture. This study aims at capturing the narrative of Sompur Mahavihara, the UNESCO World Heritage site in Bangladesh, which is currently in ruinous condition. However, it's few hundred years life suggests that as architecture it was subject to change due to different reasons, mainly political, religious and rituals. Being a monument that belongs to the flourishing phase of a society, traditionally this monastery architecture certainly played a role as a stage for religious and political pageantry as well as different religious performances. As architecture it works as complex process of interaction of different layers of ideas, agendas and authorship through time. This paper would further explore different tools for historians to capturing this process of interaction and preserving/ conserving the narrative of this building using virtual modelling.

The book is a culmination of writings from selected practitioners and academics initiated from th... more The book is a culmination of writings from selected practitioners and academics initiated from the elective course of AAR 4033 Masjid Architecture for the Bachelor of Architecture programme in the International Islamic University Malaysia in 2008. The book covers both the theory and design of Masjid Architecture providing perspectives in discussive writings of concepts and approach; evaluation of designs through spatial, tectonic, details and environment; experimentation with construction; and reflective inference to the Quran and Sunnah on the purpose of its establishment. Selected authors are experts in the industry and the academia. The book intend to bridge the gap between theory and design of Masjid least discuss and bring another dimension in reliving the spirit manifested in the establishment of masjid appropriate for the House of Allah.

The 8th century monastery of Sompur Mahavihara at Paharpur, Bangladesh, which has been listed as ... more The 8th century monastery of Sompur Mahavihara at Paharpur, Bangladesh, which has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage (WH) Site since 1985, are the earliest evidence of monumental architecture in Bengal. After the inscription on the WH List, a major conservation program for the site was undertaken. The present state of the monastery has raises some serious questions about the appropriateness of the conservation work being done and concerns the professionals and scholars who are interested in the monument. This paper would examine critically the recently undertaken conservation /reconstruction attempt and tries to identify it might destroy the heritage value of the monuments. At the same time this would solicit some other ways of conserving the heritage and its demand to the common people.

The first group of Muslim camel drivers was brought to Australia in 1860 to help in the explorati... more The first group of Muslim camel drivers was brought to Australia in 1860 to help in the exploration and development of its remote central regions. In the decades that followed their number increased on a regular basis, and by the beginning of the twentieth century there were around 4,000 Muslims in Australia. This population included camel drivers and people with related professions, who came mainly from Afghanistan and different parts of British India. Although collectively referred to as “cameleers,” or “Afghans,” they were in fact a rather loosely defined group, representing a number of different ethnicities. As time passed and the periods of their contracts expired, some within this population saved their money and returned to their homelands. But others remained and gradually settled down, ending their nomadic lives by mingling and intermarrying with the local population. As the first Muslims in colonial Australia, this group struggled to establish its identity by constructing structures for prayers. Currently, a handful of buildings and tombstones located widely across the vast continent are the only traces of this early “Muslim” presence. For many present-day Australians, as well as many Muslims, they provide the only evidence of this blurred and elusive phenomenon in the history of Australian civilization. Field Report

This study aims at developing an interactive virtual model of the lost architectural heritage of ... more This study aims at developing an interactive virtual model of the lost architectural heritage of the 8th century Buddhist Monastery of Sompur Mahaviahara in Bengal. This monument at Paharpur drew the attention of the architectural historians of the South Asia from the very discovery of the ruins of the structure at the beginning of the twentieth century because of its unique architectural features and strategic spatio-temporal location. Several attempts have been made so far to recover the memories of this medieval Buddhist Monastery after the amnesia of a millennium. However, the limited amount of archaeological resource, literary evidences and epigraphic records at the disposal of the architectural historians appears as the main thicket. This study is an attempt to generate an interactive virtual model of the monument that would accommodate different contesting narratives regarding its architecture. It looks into the history in a more dynamic way and uses virtual reconstruction as...

Re-creation of the past of historical buildings sits at the intersection of the spatio-temporal m... more Re-creation of the past of historical buildings sits at the intersection of the spatio-temporal manifestation of cultural memories, socio-cultural meanings, values and identity re-moulds and refines the existing understanding and sense of place. Digital technologies have become a popular tool in re-creation of the past by creating a new body of knowledge and historical discourse based on identifying the gaps within our written histories. Designers and policymakers around the world have been exploring various tools and technologies such as diachronic modelling yet there is a gap in evidence-based understanding regarding the actual functioning and success of application for place making. This paper, therefore, sets out to scrutinise the role of digital technologies in facilitating digital place making. To do so, it investigates the potential of a new “digital heritage” narrative in the revival of the lost architectural narrative of the Dennys Lascelles Wool Store, Geelong. The propose...

Environment-Behaviour Proceedings Journal

Small and Medium Tourism Enterprises (SMTEs) contribute up to 70% of world pollution by consuming... more Small and Medium Tourism Enterprises (SMTEs) contribute up to 70% of world pollution by consuming water, energy and producing solid waste. A similar scenario could be observed in the case of the Malaysian islands. Therefore, it is significant to understand SMITEs green operation performance level. Thus, this research aims to investigate into SMTEs green operation performance levels in the area of energy, freshwater, and solid waste. This research uses quantitative and qualitative methods for data collection. The findings indicate that the SMITEs have low performance in the area of freshwater and have moderate performance in energy and solid waste. Keywords: Green practices; Performance level; Marine Park Islands; SMTEs eISSN: 2398-4287© 2021. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER ...

PLANNING MALAYSIA JOURNAL

Mosque is referred to as a place for Muslim’s congregational prayers, a community centre, and a f... more Mosque is referred to as a place for Muslim’s congregational prayers, a community centre, and a frontage to the Muslim’s world. Mosque from the start was intended as a sanctuary and home to the Muslims where they can affiliate in their lives. In Australia, the Afghan cameleers have established the major mosques as they were among the early Muslim settlers of the country after the Makassar Muslims. Afghans Cameleers in Australia are majority Muslims in a faraway land of Afghanistan, who migrated to this place of unfamiliarity in order to place themselves in the society while searching for wealth in sustaining and building their reputation in their homeland. This research seeks to explore the idea of citizenship through the concept of belonging and how it translates to architecture and the Islamic built environment. To express the sense of belonging and citizenship in a land where they are unaccepted, the Afghans resort to creating a building of such that would represent their struggl...