Research Paper On Islamic Architecture

One well-known aniconic piece of Islamic architecture is titled Dome of the Rock, located on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem (p. 29). Mount Moriah is a site that is considered to have an intense religious background, thus making aniconism necessary for any artwork, including architecture. Dome of the Rock

Two buildings, the Hagia Sophia and the Great Mosque of Cordoba, can show us two separate peoples and their approach to constructing architecture that was devoted to their religions. However, while religion played a huge role, there are similarities as well between the two that show that the rulers who commissioned these buildings were interested in mimicking beauty and showing the world that their building was the most beautiful and perhaps the most elite of its time as well as proving their divinity as a ruler of a great nation.

The most beautiful building among these is the Mosque. The Mosque was built in early 1990's and is American built, almost entirely by local architects and local artists. There is a fountain in front of the Mosque and a second fountain inside the vestibule. These fountains have come from as far away as Egypt, Syria and Saudi Arabia and are merely for decoration though in older times fountains were used for washing before prayer.

The mosque can be identified by its elaborate squinch-supported domes. The Great Mosque of Cordoba is one of the finest surviving examples of Umayyad architecture in Spain. The mosque has marble capitals and columns in the hypostyle prayer hall. A person enters the hall through an open courtyard called a sahn. Its famous horseshoe arches have an alternated pattern of pale stone and red brick voussoirs

There exist three basic components of traditional Islamic art: calligraphy, geometric patterns, and floral and vegetal motifs. These three stylistic tools are beautifully rendered and masterfully integrated into complex works of art, but there is no question that artistic expression is severely limited under these categorizations. However, this limitation stems from Islamic theology and concept of art. The main reason for the limitation imposed on visual art is the Islamic theological prohibition of figural imagery. Social laws presented in the Hadith prevented the representation of figures because any imitation was deemed idolatrous. Also, art is considered to be decorative and imitative. Script and patterns are used to decorate

In addition to the structure's architectural composition, elaborate Quranic inscriptions further elaborate this message of religious superiority. Carole Hillenbrand alludes to such:

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

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.

This Mihrab was originally set into the qibla wall of a theological school in Isfahan, now known as the Madrasa Imami, built just after the collapse of the Ilkhanid dynasty. It was created by joining a myriad of cut glazed tiles to produce its intricate arabesque and calligraphic designs. which resulted as one of the earliest and finest examples of mosaic tilework. An incredible work using religious architectural decoration of the Islamic period, making the Mihrab as one of the most significant works in the Museum’s

The first piece of architectural art to look at is the Taj Mahal. It was constructed as a mausoleum for the wife of Shah Jahan’s favorite wife after her death following complications of childbirth (Kapadia, n.d.). It became so famous that its design was even replicated as a casino in Atlantic City, although that became a mausoleum for the cash of its investors. When someone looks at the Taj Mahal for the first time, the thing that stands out the most is the use of white marble in its construction. Almost everything in the Taj Mahal was created with white marble. Next to be noticed would be both the domes and minarets that make up the monument. These are key tenets of the Mughal style that was used in building it. So too is the calligraphy that adorns almost all of the gateways and

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,

Islam is defined as, “the monotheistic religion based on the doctrine of submission to God and of Muhammad as the last chief and prophet of God”(Dictionary 720). There are multiple practices included in the religion of Islam, similar to any other religion. Compared to Christianity or Judaism, when one follows Islam, one must follow The Five Pillars of Islam and the rules and circumstances of the worshipping practices. In addition, depending on the branch one is apart of, they may have to follow laws enforced by different prophets as well. One’s lifestyle will change because when following Islamic faith, their religious life is their main priority. Meaning, a Muslim makes the commitment to the practices one-hundred

Maqsud of Kashan, carpet from the funerary mosque of Shaykh Safi al-Din, Ardabil, Iran. On page number 158 and figure number 5-15. This piece of art work is one of two special carpets woven for a funeral service of a wealthy royal Islamic individual. The main theme would have to be for honoring the dead or death. It also could be a theme based on cultural identity of the deceased. The style is of Persian influence on the Islamic artist. The form of this art work is a rectangular rug made from wool and silk. The design has a sunburst center that represents the inside of a dome. The woven carpet has an illusion of a heavenly scene with beautiful flowers and leaves floating about what appears to be water. There is a unique perspective within the carpet using two lamp shades that would appear from the side that has the smaller lamp that the two are of the same size, but in reality one is much smaller than the other. The subject of this art work is a medallion carpet from art of the Islamic world. This specific detail has been noted as if the designer purposely created a flaw because he believed that only God could create perfection. The flowers and leaves about the blue background symbolizes the heavens. The texture of this carpet would be a smooth wool texture. The carpet included a short poem describing who commissioned the art work and it reads as follow; Except for thy threshold, there is no refuge for me in all the world. Except for this door there is no

These five pillars are Shahadah, Salat, Zakat, Sawm and Hajj. A life of a Muslim revolves around these five pillars of Islam. Islamic culture represents different aspects of Islamic life, which includes wedding traditions, clothing, foods, arts and crafts etc. (Kirabaev, 2000).There are many sources of a well-defined Muslim culture. Three of them are: Local tradition , The Hadith and , The Quran.

I chose to research the Muslim religion for my site visit. I wanted to have in depth experience with this religion since I did my group project about Sikhism and during class we went into great detail about every other religion. I did not know what to expect when visiting a mosque, it was a pretty nerve-wracking experience for me being a non-Muslim. I have been raised with Christian morals my whole life even though I have only gone to church a few times in my whole life. Almost all religions have a house of prayer; Jews have synagogues, Buddhists/Hindus have temples and Catholic and Christians have churches and cathedrals. Muslims have mosques; each religious center has their own different rules, rituals and services that need to be followed. A mosque is a place of prayer for Muslims within the Islamic belief. Another word for mosque in Arabic is Masjid. Kind of like a church, a mosque is where Muslims worship and bow before Allah to declare their obedience and loyalty. Mosques date back till the time of the prophet. In order to find a mosque, I went on the Internet and stumbled upon Masjid Beit El-Maqdes.