Ottoman Domes

The “Dome of the Rock” is a true testament to Islamic art. From interior to exterior, it exemplifies Islam’s view of itself. Within the dome, mosaic friezes encompass the earliest written text of the Qur’an. The glass mosaics represent the gardens of Paradise and trophies of Muslim victories, which illustrate vine scrolls and trees in the use of turquoise, blue, and green. The octagonal arrangement is enclosed by two concentric ambulatories. The upper portion of the external dome was also covered in glass mosaics. Above all, the true external focal point is the light that falls on the beloved rock, symbolizing the passage of Muhammad to the heavens.

The inclusion of the architectural notations were quite elaborate, offering the contributions to society due to engineering design brought about by the desire to have these beautiful places to celebrate God. They seemed to indicate that the Islamic Empire was the center of the scientific world at the time with all the noted scholars and scientists coming to join together to brainstorm. Much of it had to deal with documentation and the recording of events, but without proper counterpoint it is hard to say if it was in fact as critical as it appears.

HVIII. ARCHITECTURE: Mosques in the old days were decorated beautifully with calligraphy and tile. They also had their own kind of domes that they used on the most important buildings. Used minarets. The specific geometric forms decorating the walls (known as Arabesque) represent the infinite.

The Islamic civilization spread to encompass such an extensive empire by using their resources and becoming a peaceful civilization with peaceful people.

Their architectural innovations included arches, columns, ramps, and the pyramid-shaped ziggurat.” Prior to this point, structures

Literature helps us remember the past and honor the victims of the Holocaust in many contrasting ways. “The Grand Mosque of Paris”, an explanatory text by Karen Ruelle, “A Great Adventure in the Shadow of a War” , a reflective essay by Mary Helen Dirkx, “ The Diary of a Young Girl”, a diary excerpt by Anne Frank, “The Diary of Anne Frank”, an autobiography by Anne Frank, the “Acceptance Speech for the Nobel Peace Prize”, a speech by Elie Wiesel, and “Maus”, a graphic novel by Art Spiegelman all present the past in different ways to help us honor the victims of the Holocaust.

The Mihrab (prayer niche) dated 12th century, the point of origin being the city of Isfahan located in Iran is the object that captured my attention. This piece is considered to be a ceramic design made of “polychrome glazed cut tiles on a stone paste body that was later set into mortar”. Madrasa Imami is a school, in which this piece in was created 1354, later it was sold to Arthur U. Pope in 1931.

The modern university does manifest itself in the Islamic world. The Golden Age of Islamic culture traces its roots back to the modern university. Throughout Islamic history, education was a point of pride and a field Muslims have always excelled in. The Islamic world was rich, diverse, and creative. Muslims became founders of the most major accomplishments in the world which later leads to western and world civilizations. The Muslims were most advanced in many fields such as mathematics, art, medicine, literature, and astronomy. It also led the way into the development of libraries and universities.

Religious rituals hold a very sacred place in the hearts of believers, being able to witness one from an outsider perspective is something that is truly eye opening. Personally, following our unit in class, I had a desire to witness at least one practice associated with the Muslim religion. The Nueces Mosque was perfect for this purpose because of its proximity but is mostly dominated by a younger demographic. I reached out to the president of the mosque, Ammarah Tariq, who very graciously welcomed me to join them for their Friday ritual prayer service, Jumu’ah. Members of the community noticed I was clearly an outsider and did not hesitate to greet me and explain to me procedures to adhere to such as removing my shoes. Following the removal

Next, my mother told me this mosque is the biggest one, and the second religious buildings, also it has the tallest minaret in the world. This mosque has a roof made of light steel, and decorated with cedar wood which opens in 3 minutes for bringing fresh air during the summer. Also, this mosque has many chandeliers made in crystal. The location of this mosque is right by the sea overlooking the Atlantic ocean,

The artist of the piece chosen, The Mosque Lamp, is undefined. This particular artwork was created in Egypt and the date of its origin is recorded as C.1320. Creating this piece included the use of blown glass, enamel, gold, and silver stain. Using these particular materials the creator produced a lamp that looks like an inverted bell. Most onlookers would see this piece and come to the conclusion that the artist created a vase with an hour glass shape. Other shapes on the piece are the protruding small loops that were created in order for chains to be fed through so that this lamp could be hung for all to see. Viewers would predict that the maker of this wondrous lamp was wealthy due to the amount of gold used throughout the work. Besides the use of gold as a major color choice, the artist used iridescence which encompasses all colors. This use of iridescence creates a texture on the piece, which allows the viewer to see multiple colors at different angles. Another item on the lamp that creates texture is the sacred inscription that is in blue, circling the entire piece. This inscription is also the subject of the art itself.

The cover of “A History of Islam in America” is very controversial if compared to what is written in the text. My perceptions so far from reading Kambiz GhaneaBassiri book is that he gives factual information on Muslim Black history. But on the cover of the book, the group of people that I see are white skinned immigrants. It confuses me that a historian that spent most of the book from chapter 1-6, discussing the enslavement of African Muslim to the New World and how they had to assimilate to a new society that was forming. So, I’m shocked that from the readings, which mainly discussed African Muslims, and Middle-Eastern Muslim, that there is no depictions on the cover of any person of color. When I think of American history, I mainly focus on the disparities of African Americans faced, slavery, war, and democracy. In class, we talked about how Islam is colorblind and doesn’t hold another race superior to others and that people determine who is higher up in the class system based on race. If Islam is a colorblind religion, then why do we have many segregated mosque for different ethnicity? Is it because people feel that it’s easier to relate to someone with the same skin color? How is a society supposed to unite when we can’t even hold truth on how America was established and its creation was made from slavery and trespassing.

In the beginning of 7th century to the end of Abbasids in the 13th century, continuities and changes shape the cultural and political life of Islamic civilization which lead to Arab conquests (634-711), expansion, and untroubled trade and conversion which followed by diffusion of cultures lead to advancements of Arabian knowledge. Few factors that led to changes of cultural advancements in knowledge which was traded through trade routes across regions trade and throughout the sea, meanwhile the government became more centralized and bureaucratic and lastly, a cultural continuity was the religious laws: Quran, Hadith, Sharia which was practiced amongst the Muslims.

I visited the Toledo Muslim Community Center last Wednesday on April 5th. They allowed me to sit in the back and observe the Quran study time. They were studying in a gathering room with tables and chairs and not the sanctuary itself. While I was there, younger children were studying and learning the Quran with the help and guidance of teachers who were experts on the Quran. The teachers had various Qurans available for the children to use to practice memorizing the Quran. They had all the important verses needed for prayer printed out with translations on them. They would focus on memorizing the Quran verse by verse instead of by passages. They found it is easier for the children to memorize and recite it verse by verse and then recite all

More similarities can be drawn with the forms and structures of the two buildings. In addition to the dome and semidomes, the main arches, piers, buttresses, and galleries were adopted by the Suleymaniye. These were all part of the basic structural system in both buildings of a dome on four supports. Sinan also used pendentives as the structural system under the main dome and squinches as a transitional element between semidomes and the rest of the structure. Additionally Sinan used similar wide arches in the Suleymaniye although they were not needed structurally and were probably used for their formal appearance. The piers of the Suleymaniye are also similar with their projections used to support the bracing arches. These are the basic formal and