The Mosque Architecture

  PIXABAY Photo It has been a long fact-finding quest for more supportive and concordant ideas from   scholarly articles on mosque architecture. These corroborating facts are necessary for further enlightenment on the subject, and making a clearer study case. In this piece, I would like to present a review-like approach on a paper presented at the “UIA 2017 Seoul World Architects Congress”, with a topic,  Does Islamic Architecture reflect Islamic Faith? - “Does Islamic Architecture Reflect Islam (Faith)?” ??2017-09-19“Does Islamic Architecture Reflect Islam (Faith)? - [PDF Document] https://vdocuments.net/p-0263-does-islamic-architecture-reflect-islam-faith-2017-09-19does.html To my understanding, the paper has succeeded in elaborating, what should be the right concept of architecture by Muslims that need to be in line with the deen. In fact, the concept of Historicism in arts and architecture of the Muslim world, should also be instituted on a new foundation. T...

Posted herewith are screenshots of the six pages of an article which was a paper presented at the “UIA 2017 Seoul World Architects Congress”, with the topic, “ Does Islamic Architecture reflect Islamic Faith?” [*] [*] P- 0263 “Does Islamic Architecture Reflect Islam (Faith)?” 2017-09-19 - [PDF Document] https://vdocuments.net/p-0263-does-islamic-architecture-reflect-islam-faith-2017-09-19does.html Probably, you may have misconstrued and presumed that there are no digression issues with the term Islamic Architecture.  In a forthcoming posting, I’ll come up with a review on this paper, God willing.  

  On the global scene, perhaps, it’s just due to a simple ‘viscous cycle’ which has led to the contaminations of the over indulgence of the ‘Islamic Arts’ of arabesque ornaments within the sanctified mosque buildings. This ‘vicious cycle’ is being created via historicism due to ignorance of the spiritual values on one aspect, and the other is due to the lackadaisical attitude towards the deen; a sequence of reciprocal cause and effect in which the two aspects intensify and aggravate each other, leading inexorably to a worsening of the situation.   Throwbacks to the past of mosque architecture, revealed that this mishap of excessive ornaments has been going on since from many, many centuries ago, recorded as early as of 670. (A paper presented at the meeting, “UIA   2017 Seoul   World Architects Congress”, with a topic, Does Islamic Architecture reflect Islamic Faith?). This took place as early as the time of the Dome of The Rock (691), the Great Mosque of Kairou...

The detailed aspects of the plight ensued  from Art Historicism were not included in the scope of the first book. So, I am going to make a few series on this blog to elaborate more on this. In this discourse we are going to raise relatively, a basic issue. We first start with something small and easy to understand, but as we go on with future postings, we will gradually, going to raise bigger issues about Historicism, for instance, does  Islamic Architecture promoted by Historicism reflect Islamic faith?  And  also other issues such as combating the calamity of climate change and in observing the entrusted duty of Allah’s vicegerent to salvage the planet earth from environmental crisis; to refrain from committing numerous corruptions and disorders on land and in the sea. And of course the present big issue is battling the human ‘self-inflicted’ novel Covid-19 plague or scourge. Albeit, today’s starting issue about the prayer rug may sound insignificant, but it’s pivo...

This is a reflection of how a range of unfounded theories in ‘historicism’ can cause an adverse influence  on the Muslim Arts and Architecture. But first, let’s  have a brief grasp of the origins and meaning of the word ‘historicism’. The traditional or Old Historicism, has its historical background, dated from the 19th century. The abuse of this approach in part has led to a movement called New Criticism. The abuse is what the late German historian, Leopold von Ranke, the leading German historian of the 19th century, indicated then that it was the historian’s duty to understand the essence of “historicism”: that history determines each event but does not justify it. The New Criticism, in turn, has led to the development of a New Historicism in late 1970s in response to perceived excesses of New Criticism, on the ambiguity of historical context of works of art. Thus, the New Historicism differs from the Old Historicism in large measure not based on the approach, but rather on ...

In this penultimate overview, I would like to highlight on the blurb, the note written on the dust jacket or the back cover of the book. Beside the snapshot of the back cover, I’ll also include another text of it, later, if it’s not legible. Please take heed of the buzzword “HISTORICISM”. Insya’Allah, I’ll try to elaborate more on this by giving simple examples in coming postings.

In this posting, I would like to share the screenshots of the three pages of the ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS, underscoring the group of people to whom I owe gratitude  and indebtedness for encouraging and assisting me in the authorship of the book. Again, I wish to acknowledge with thanks their help and inspiration  extended to this work.