Mosque: A Statement of Citizenship (original) (raw)
Related papers
Mosquephobia: The Dilemma of Architecture, Multiculturalism and Islam.
In a world where the gorgeousness of Islam and all its physical and nonphysical manifestations are shadowed by fear, creativity should speak to the truth of this religion. Contemporary Muslim communities, regionally and around the globe, are facing a defining moment. The post 9/11 incident as agreed upon by different researchers established a new milestone in the contemporary history of Muslim communities. Crucial questions related to identity, image, misconception and miss judgment of Islam as a religion and Muslims as part of the human community flourished in political, religious, economical and cultural literature. Declared war on terror shouldn’t be transformed into war on Islam. In result of massive fabrication of Islam as an enemy of civilized society as intensified in western media, Islam has become an issue in America. Islamophobia has emerged as an ideology that threatens the tradition of tolerance deeply embedded and rooted in the core principles of Islam. Mosques are undoubtedly the most clear physical representation of Islam as a religion, principles and values. Basically, the mosque is an ideological manifestation in space, time and matter. This paper will examine the architecture and urban status of contemporary mosques in selected contexts with the Arab and Western communities. The paper claims that the used to be powerful and dominating image of the mosque is currently subjected to accelerating resistance and rejection particularly in the west. Numerous incidents around the world have showed clearly the volume of such new phenomenon. In the context of this paper, This phenomenon will be described as the process of Mosquephobia as a breed of Islamophobia. Ideological conflicts which have been emerged after 9/11 and the declared war against terrorism paved the way for a new perception of Islam and any of its related symbols and icons. The mosque is no exception in this newly constructed western perception which as many researchers argued is based on fear. The paper invites Muslim and non Muslim architects and planners to transcend the typical mosque prototype extensively scattered around the globe. A move from exclusive to inclusive spatial composition of the contemporary mosque is urgently needed. Static elements like minarets, domes, prayers hall, Mihrab, and masses composition need to be revisited for constructing a more contemporary and inviting twenty first century mosques. Mosques can be designed as part of a global network of social, cultural and spiritual activities inserted within and blended with global cities and towns. Hence, Mosques design could seek for creative and innovative solutions by which its form, spatial order, functional components, transparency, and communicated meaning can holistically contribute into the diminish of the swiftly accelerating Mosquephobia.
A Case Study of Mosque: Architecture and its contextualism towards a multifaith communal area
2021
The research aim to outline the design strategy for a mosque as a third space that promotes of an inclusive communal neighbourhood. The research employs a case study methodology through observation and interview. Considering the scale intimacy, ease of preview, minimalist and adaptive building, ambient, and impermanence landscaping while designing a mosque for community life are essential to establish unity via inclusion in mosque architecture. The relationship between design, function, typology, and programming should be restored to infuse the mosque's inclusion for the benefit of all faiths.
The New Emerging Myth: Mosquephobia The Dilemma of Architecture, Multiculturalism and Islam
In a world where the gorgeousness of Islam and all its physical and nonphysical manifestations are shadowed by fear, creativity should speak to the truth of this religion. Contemporary Muslim communities, regionally and around the globe, are facing a defining moment. The post 9/11 incident as agreed upon by different researchers established a new milestone in the contemporary history of Muslim communities. Crucial questions related to identity, image, misconception and miss judgment of Islam as a religion and Muslims as part of the human community flourished in political, religious, economical and cultural literature. Declared war on terror shouldn't be transformed into war on Islam. In result of massive fabrication of Islam as an enemy of civilized society as intensified in western media, Islam has become an issue in America. Islamophobia has emerged as an ideology that threatens the tradition of tolerance deeply embedded and rooted in the core principles of Islam. Mosques are undoubtedly the most clear physical representation of Islam as a religion, principles and values. Basically, the mosque is an ideological manifestation in space, time and matter. This paper will examine the architecture and urban status of contemporary mosques in selected contexts with the Arab and Western communities. The paper claims that the used to be powerful and dominating image of the mosque is currently subjected to accelerating resistance and rejection particularly in the west. Numerous incidents around the world have showed clearly the volume of such new phenomenon. In the context of this paper, This phenomenon will be described as the process of Mosquephobia as a breed of Islamophobia. Ideological conflicts which have been emerged after 9/11 and the declared war against terrorism paved the way for a new perception of Islam and any of its related symbols and icons. The mosque is no exception in this newly constructed western perception which as many researchers argued is based on fear. The paper invites Muslim and non-Muslim architects and planners to transcend the typical mosque prototype extensively scattered around the globe. A move from exclusive to inclusive spatial composition of the contemporary mosque is urgently needed. Static elements like minarets, domes, prayers hall, Mihrab, and masses composition need to be revisited for constructing a more contemporary and inviting twenty first century mosques. Mosques can be designed as part of a global network of social, cultural and spiritual activities inserted within and blended with global cities and towns. Hence, Mosques design could seek for creative and innovative solutions by which its form, spatial order, functional components, transparency, and communicated meaning can holistically contribute into the diminish of the swiftly accelerating Mosquephobia.
Contextualism in Mosque Architecture: Bridging the Social and Political Divide
Journal of Islamic Architecture, 2017
The expression of architecture in mosques in the non-Muslim worlds may have added to the problem of alienization of Muslims to the host community. The Muslim community has misunderstood the idea of 'sacredness' of form in allowing revivalistic foreign traditional architectural language to be part of the mosque architectural language. This sets up the mosque being totally not in context with the surrounding urban fabric. This paper outlines the hadith of the Prophet Muhammad about the importance of being part of a larger society of man and even to love all man regardless of their faith. Hence, this paper puts forward the position that mosque designers must rethink their design ideas towards the values of inclusivity in Islam.
Architecture and Contextualism in Mosque Design as a Multi-faith and Community Friendly Place
Environment-Behaviour Proceedings Journal, 2021
The research aims to outline the design strategy for a mosque as a third place to promote an inclusive community friendly place. The research employs a qualitative case study methodology through observation and interview. The findings reveal that an inclusive mosque architecture can be enhanced based on the following design strategies: scale intimacy, ease of previewing, minimalist and adaptive building, space ambient, and impermanence landscaping character. Above all, the relationship between design, function, space and programming should be reestablished to infuse the mosque's inclusion for the benefit of all faiths, particularly the community. Keywords: Multifaith Communal Area; Mosque Design and Contextualism. 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 (...
Exploring Religious Spaces through Architecture in David Macaulay's Mosque
Ex-Centric Narratives: Journal of Anglophone Literature, Culture and Media, 2021
The aim of the article is to discuss the notion of religious space in David Macaulay's 1 Mosque through the exploration of the architecture of the mosque not only as a structure serving religious purposes but also a space of social activity bringing together the members of the community. Macaulay created Mosque as a response to the 9/11 attacks and its complex political and socio cultural global impact. Through the deployment of the mosque as a conceptual framework the notions of mobility, displacement and belonging are addressed as intersecting factors forging communal and individual identities.
Unpublished, 2017
After the Group Areas Act of 1950 was abolished on the 5th of June 1991 in South Africa, non-white Muslims were able to reside in suburbs that were regarded previously as white only suburbs. As Muslim families moved into these suburbs, a need for local mosques to be built arose. This was to facilitate the five daily prayers and the religious education of the Muslim community. These new mosque were built in a space that previously had no Muslim presence and as such took on a far deeper meaning the historically accepted symbol of Islamic identity. Grabar (2004:40) states, “the building known as a mosque is permanently and appropriately associated with the presence of Islam”. This symbolism has not changed, however the mosque now faces the challenge of associating itself with the community it serves. This study aims to critically analyse existing mosques from the last 10 years to determine how multi-cultural communities have influenced the interior design and architectural identity of the mosques based on the challenges faced when developing the mosque. As the presence of mosques have been a key point of debate in Europe, as stated by Allievi (2010:13) “conflicts over building mosques in Europe are multiplying”, considerable research has been undertaken in that part of the world, however here in South Africa no research has been done in the field of interior design and detailing on local mosques. To identify the challenges in developing a community built mosque three case studies from locations in Johannesburg have been selected for this study. These mosques located in Greenside, Auckland Park and Houghton have been selected as they are funded by the Muslim communities they serve, were built in the last 10 years, serve Muslim communities that are fairly young and are located in suburbs that represent diverse cultural and social backgrounds. Mulugeta (2009) indicates that “since the 1994 democratic elections, affluent Muslims have increasingly been moving into formerly exclusively white neighbourhoods, where mosques were forbidden under the old system”. Three international mosques have been selected with similar criteria to that of the local case studies. This was done to assist in developing an understanding of the strategies being employed in mosque design. Through an interpretivist approach, this qualitative research aims to create a deeper understanding of the challenges that architects and designers face when designing community built mosques in Johannesburg. Qualitative research methodologies such as visual analysis and textual analysis shall be used to investigate the knowledge required. Thereafter interviews with architects and designers of mosques as well as with the mosque representatives and members of the communities surrounding the case studies will be performed to arrive at an understanding of the issues involved with the design process. The interviews will also provide information on the communities’ opinion concerning the mosque. The anticipated output from this research is to be a dissertation outlining the positive and negative aspects of concepts and techniques used in designing mosques that attempt to embrace contemporary architectural and interior design trends, yet keep an Islamic identity. This study could be of interest to architects, interior designers and local Muslim communities that are yet to build a mosque, or for communities in which mosques are already located.
Architecture of mosques and Islamic centers in Non-Muslim context
Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V., 2017
Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world. The Muslim population increases as Islam spreads around the world, which leads to increasing demand for Islamic buildings such as mosques and Islamic centers. Mosques play an important role in Islam and Muslim life. In several countries, in particular, the Western mosques are seen as a newcomer whose building type is both unique and foreign to local people who are unaccustomed to the visual expression of Islam in the West. The mosque is one of the most visual expressions of global Muslim religious identity in non-Muslim context. The significant numbers of countries have a lot of different architecture styles of their Islamic buildings. Each mosque has its own individual touch. The most important factors behind this variation in form and styles can be divided into nature impacts as (local materials and environment), followed by man-made impacts by (Muslim immigrants, colonialism, funding, and laws, culture, and traditions). The study aims to examine each factor and their influences on the architecture of mosques and Islamic centers in non-Muslim context through analysis and a comparison of a number of examples. Ó 2017 Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. This is an open-access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).