Abstract:
This article attempts to make a modest and humble contribution to our understanding of what is entailed in the idea of a traditional mosque. Distilling, highlighting, or synthesizing the most distinctive features of what are generally considered to be the most prominent or salient traditions in mosque architecture and enables us to better understand how far we have come, where we have come from, and by extension, at least to some extent, where we are going. In other words, to begin to understand the basis for the future of the traditional mosque, it has been necessary to trace its past, to better understand the present, that on which the future must necessarily be based. Islam is a boom into a world of its own. Grounded in fixed geographical space, its identity is firmly linked to its origins. Islam in its history, in a very fundamental way, perhaps even more than is the case with its sister religious traditions in the West. What follows here, is an attempt to account for or summarize the way in which that tradition is fundamental to Islamic identity with the obvious deduction that fidelity to tradition in architecture, therefore, is imperative to the survival of Islam itself at least Islam as we know it today. However, an exact or „definitive? sense of the term „traditional? as it is applied to mosque architecture is not followed here, its chased to make an important contribution in the literature insofar to clarify or reify our understanding of what can appropriately be „traditional? in mosque architecture, the typology and development of mosque architecture, design and regional differentiation throughout the history. It is highlighted how mosque architecture is a blessed architecture that duplicates the principles of consolidation and harmony within Muslim culture. It is strongly felt that the design of a mosque is appropriately a religious experience of the highest order, an exercise of one?s faith, and a testimony to one?s religious devotion. It serves as an expression of one?s innermost and most profound spiritual activities. For this reason, it also focuses the most controversial issue, raised in this article is the question of the propriety or desirability of non-Muslim architects designing mosques. The interpretation of Islamic architecture, „mosque architecture?, and the development of an understanding of what this entails can only proceed in a truly meaningful way if it is done against the backdrop of Islam as a cultural, religious, and political phenomenon of vital importance to this article is the way in which the core elements of Islamic society, including its architecture, have remained unchanged since the early days of Islam.
Page(s):
1-16
DOI:
DOI not available
Published:
Journal: Science International, Volume: 32, Issue: 1, Year: 2020
Keywords:
Mosque Architecture
,
Muslims
,
Islamic world
,
Mosque design