Download Islamic Art - Art History

The Mosque (from the Arabic Masjid, place of worship) is the most recognizable
form of Islamic architecture. Its primary purpose: providing a place where Muslims can come
together for prayer. Many mosques have an important secondary purpose: to be a center of
a religious community, serving educational, celebratory, ritual, and charitable needs.
To be a Muslim, one must follow five rules: testifying to one’s faith, praying five times a day,
fasting during the month of Ramadan, giving to charity, and making a pilgrimage to Mecca at
least once in one’s life. Daily prayer can be executed anywhere, but it is customary to gather
at the mosque for mid-day prayers on Friday (the Islamic holy day).
All mosques have:
--a prayer hall (in warm climates, there is usually an interior hall and an open-air courtyard)
--a qibla wall (the wall closest to Mecca, perpendicular to the line from the entry to Mecca)
--a mihrab (an empty niche in the qibla wall, said to symbolize the ineffability of Allah)
Common features:
--a minaret or minarets (tall spires from whence the call to prayer is issued)
--large central gateway/entry portal; a central dome (often flanked by more domes)
--ablution facilities, where the faithful can wash to purify themselves before prayer
--a minbar (a raised pulpit from which lessons can be preached)
Prayer halls do not have benches, pews, chairs, or other furniture. People pray on rugs placed
in rows on the floor. Interiors range from the austere, with no decoration, to the elaborately
decorated (with tiles, mosaics, faince, paint, etc.). Common decorative motifs include floral
arabesques, geometric designs, and Arabic calligraphy; the human figure is never depicted.
Because Islam was born in the Arabian desert among nomadic people, it did not initially have
a distinctive architectural style. As the faith spread quickly throughout the Mediterranean,
the Middle East, and the rest of Asia, it appropriated architectural forms (and often buildings
themselves) from other cultures and religions. For instance, the central dome was adapted
from Byzantine churches, and the minaret is a variation on a church bell tower.
Arab-style mosques are the earliest Islamic religious buildings. They initially were
open-air rectangular courtyards without domes, minarets, or other adornments.
This evolved into the hypostyle hall, a space where a roof is upheld by multiple
columns.
Below: The first mosque was the Kaaba (in Mecca, Saudi Arabia), the pre-Islamic
stone cube whose foundations, Muslims believe, were laid by Abraham and his son
Ishmael on orders from Allah. When Muhammed conquered Mecca in 630 C.E. he
converted it to a mosque. The Al-Masjid al-Haram (The Sacred Mosque) surrounds
the Kaaba: greatly enlarged and enhanced over the centuries, it is the largest
mosque in the world, capable of holding two million worshippers (outdoors and
Above: The Al-Masjid al-Nabawi (The Mosque of the
indoors) during the pilgrimage season. This is the holiest site in Islam.
Prophet), built by Muhammed in Medina, Saudi Arabia,
next to his house. It is the second holiest site in Islam.
The Green Dome (added centuries later) surmounts the
Prophet’s tomb.
Below: The Al-Masjid al-Aqsa (the Farthest Mosque) on
Temple Mount, Jerusalem. Established in the 7th century,
this is the third holiest site in Islam.
The Mezquita, Cordoba, Spain – Moorish Style
Visigoth Church, 6th century
Reworked as Mosque, late 8th -11th c., re-consecrated as
Christian church, 13th c.
Masjid Qubbat As-Sahkrah (The Dome of the Rock)
Jerusalem, Israel/Palestine
691 C.E., refurbished many times
--Constructed on the center of Temple
Mount, site of the Second Jewish
Temple, and of Muhammed’s
‘night journey’ to heaven.
--The dome sits on an octagonal base
(borrowed from Byzantine Churches) and
the exterior is covered in porcelain tiles.
Sultan Ahmed
Mosque (Blue
Mosque)
--Istanbul, Turkey,
completed 1616
--Late Classical
Ottoman Style
Above: mosaic detail with
Quranic calligraphy from the
Shah Mosque
Shah Mosque/
Imam Mosque
Isfahan, Iran
--Completed 1629
--Four-Iwan style
(focus on four
monumental
gateways [iwan]
to the interior,
based on
traditional Persian
palace
architecture)
The Alhambra Palace and Fortress Complex
Granada, Spain
--14th Century
--Late Moorish style
--Fortress, palaces, gardens, courtyards, administrative
buildings
The Red Fort Complex, Delhi, India
--Completed in 1648 for Shah Jahan
--Mughal Style
--The fort’s name comes from massive red sandstone
walls defining its eight sides
--Fortress, palace, administrative buildings,
gardens, mosques
Imam Husayn ibn ‘Ali Shrine, Karbala, Iraq
--late 7th century C.E., destroyed and rebuilt many times
--Tomb of Muhammed’s second grandson, one of holiest
sites for Shia Islam, major pilgrimage destination
Taj Mahal, Agra, India
--mid 17th-century
--Mausoleum Shah Jahan built for his third wife, Mumtaz (he
is buried there too)
--Mughal style, marble, elaborate carved and inlaid decorative
elements
Clockwise, from near upper right:
--Great Mosque of Xi-an, China, 742 C.E.
--The Spiral Minaret of the Great Mosque of Samarra, Iraq,
852
--Demak Grand Mosque, Java, Indonesia, 1466
--Mosque of Ali Pasha, Sarajevo, Bosnia, 1560
--Faisal Mosque, Islamabad, Pakistan 1986 (largest mosque
in SE Asia)
--Floating Mosque, Dubai, UAE, to be completed 2011