Sacred precincts : the religious architecture of non-Muslim communities across the Islamic world (original) (raw)
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Jewish and Coptic Christian communities have co-existed with Muslims in Egypt since 641 CE, when the Arab armies of Amr Ibn Al-Aas invaded the fortress of Babylon on the Nile. Although these groups maintained relatively peaceful relations in the early period following conquest, later years brought strife and destruction, and most of the sacred buildings and their contents perished. Through the centuries the structures were rebuilt many times, and recent conservation initiatives have created ‘Old Cairo’, a centerpiece for tourists, scholars, and the faithful alike. One of the most surprising features of this reconstructed architecture is the sacred furniture and its generous use of geometrical ornamentation - a feature usually considered ‘Islamic’ in origin. Especially striking is its concentrated role in the ritual focal area, on the wooden screens protecting the sacred chambers. This paper explores this specific use of ‘Islamic’ geometry in several Old Cairo structures, including the Church of Santa Barbara and the Ben Ezra Synagogue. Although the date of the synagogue ornamentation is well documented, the Coptic examples are misunderstood, and an alternative dating is proposed. Thus, both appear to fall within a period of complex sectarian relations, when patronage of the arts necessitated layered visual strategies and an ideology of interfaith relations. In addition, these screens also play a determinative role in other dynamics. As objects with a rich materiality, they create a powerful visual draw. As scaffolding for sacred objects and protective frames for the liturgy, they also configure possibilities of movement and its symbolic meaning. As monuments in the heart of an historic center, their oral traditions present an opportunity for unofficial reflections about Jewish-Christian-Muslim relations. In periods of unrest in Egypt – from early times to the present - these ‘Islamic’ geometries in non-Muslim spaces have been important sites of cultural investment and mediation.
International Journal of Middle East Studies, 2014
In this paper we focus on the Republican Mosque in Derinkuyu, Turkey, a Greek Orthodox church built in 1859 and transformed into a mosque in 1949 that still exhibits many obviously Christian structural features not found in most such converted churches. We utilize the concept of religioscape, defined as the distribution in spaces through time of the physical manifestations of specific religious traditions and of the populations that build them, to analyze the historical transformations of the building, and show that this incongruity marks a specific stage in the long-term competitive sharing of space by the two religiously defined communities concerned. This shared but contested space is larger than that of the building or even the town of Derinkuyu. We argue that syncretism without sharing correlates with a lack of need to show dominance symbolically, since the community that had lost the sacred building had been displaced as a group, and was no longer present to be impressed or intimidated.
The Dilemma of Religious Space
predominantly Muslim society or preserved in their original froms and/or functions after the arrival of Islam, it is in such sites, structures and spaces that one may find some of the most potent applications of architecture to the articulation of cultural identity. This paper aims to make a foundation for the study of churches and synagogues in Muslim societies. Referring to specific historic cases, the authors clarify how the development and construction of these sacred spaces have been influenced by the social and political contexts. The design of churches and synogogues and their relationship with the urban fabric often depended on the political and religious context. During the times of fanaticism, non-Muslims' religious building became less visible either in terms of height, location, and even ornamentation. In general, most non-Muslim religious buildings adopted the local language of architecture and materials. The churches and synogogues and spaces that remain or emerge after the arrival of Islam provide art and architectural historians a basis upon which to form important questions about changing notions of the sacred over time and from one culture to another.
The Journal of Architecture (RIBA), 2024
Influential architects such as Norberg Schultz, Rafael Moneo, and Stan Allen have interpreted the Great Mosque at Córdoba, arguably the most famous example of hypostyle mosque, as the embodiment of an understanding of architecture that is fundamentally different from the one that has prevailed in the West. This paper carries forward said comparison and explores the reasons behind this stark difference. It traces back the origin of the hegemonic view of the ‘Western architectural object’ to Leon Battista Alberti’s description of the ‘ideal temple’ and maps its key traits. The article draws on interdisciplinary sources to outline the new and seemingly impossible aesthetic and architectural requirements of Islam, marked by the radical alterity of an unrepresentable God, and extracts from them a hypothetical and alternative canon of the ‘ideal Islamic temple’ that, unlike Alberti’s, was never explicitly formulated. By systematically comparing both constructs, the article argues that hypostyle mosques reflected said canon better than other mosque types and posits the Córdoba Mosque as, perhaps, its clearest (albeit contingent and imperfect) built expression. Finally, it puts forward the concept of ‘built arabesque’ as a model for these Islamic buildings that, even today, challenge the Western understanding of the architectural object.
2019
rejem_meriem@yahoo.fr Said Mazouz Architecture Department, Larbi Ben Mhidi University Oum El BouaghiAlgeria. Abstract: The cultural heritage represents the most important foundation for creating and maintaining identity; “Heritage is what contemporary society inherits and passes on; thus, it does not represent only the past but also the present use of the past” (Laura Di Pietro et al, 2018, p. 97). Identity and Contemporary are the problems of every civilization. Identity is defined as consisting of “customary practice and of beliefs, values, sanctions, rules, motives and satisfactions associated whit it” (Jensen et al, 2011, p. 286). Life can never be satisfied in the old past, despite its origin and originality separate from his present, and impossible to live and grow outside the womb of his assets without identity; therefore, it was necessary for The genius civilization to live its present depends on its authentic identity in a modern and sophisticated spirit that takes from its...
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/).
Hybrid Histories: A Framework to Rethink ‘Islamic’ Architecture
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.
"Islamic Architecture on the Move"
Editor's preface to "Islamic Architecture on the Move," vol. 3/2 of the "International Journal of Islamic Architecture, 2014
This study aims to explore a number of conceptual models that may prove fruitful in the study of architectural mobilities within and beyond Islamic lands from the eighteenth century until today. Beginning with a discussion of the “new mobilities” paradigm, the essay explores several examples of architecture on the move via textile metaphors, micro-architecture, flows and hubs, tentage traditions, and urban “slumming.” The use of the kiswa and small-scale models reveals how the Ka‘ba and Dome of the Rock have been symbolically dispersed and repurposed in new geographical and religious contexts. Moreover, tensile forms are frequently cited in order to promote notions of authenticity and transience while also serving as weapons within urban warfare, as seen in the 2013 Gezi Uprisings in Turkey. These types of movement between media, spaces, and places highlight the fact that architectural practices are never wholly distinct or dichotomous; that mobility and fixity are very often mutually dependent; that the past is frequently “moved”—both conceptually and emotionally—into the present; and that manipulations of urban space can serve as highly visible stages for the enunciation and performance of ideological conflict today.
Spaces of Worship in Islam in the West
Interiors: Design, Architecture and Culture, 2010
The role of the modern interior is redefined in this era of globalization, when boundaries blur among diverse communities to create new narratives. Regional influences are juxtaposed against cultural and religious attitudes, to offer opportunities for cultural amalgamation manifested in interior spaces. There are numerous opportunities to explore and respond to this vast topic through many levels of approaches. However, this investigation focuses on the study of the interiors of spaces of worship in Islam in the Western milieu, and considers whether there are underlying trends of historic precedence combined with contemporary materials and techniques that are successful within the context in which they exist. The search for relevant forms and expressions as manifested through the interiors of mosques and jamatkhanas of Islamic and Ismaili Centers in major cities of Europe and America is the focus of this article. Islamic Centers are built for Muslim communities in the West with a mandate of fulfilling the functional needs of the community, as well as acting as symbols Zamila R Karimi is a principal of Connexion