The Great Mosque Of Cordoba

Religion has played a huge role in the history of the world of architecture. We can get a deeper look in the minds and attitudes of people when we look at their beliefs – specifically their religion. But even though religion played a huge role in the approach to architecture, the pursuit of beauty and power can also explain to us the approaches and the outlooks of those who built or designed buildings from the ancient world.

I had the privilege to conduct field research at the Abu Bakr Masjid, also known as the Islamic Center of San Diego on Friday, October 9, 2015. I attended both salat al-Maghrib and a lecture given by Imam Sh. Taha Hassane. Salat al-Maghrib is the “West sun” prayer which takes place five minutes after sunset. Salat al-Maghrib started around 6:37 p.m. Imam Taha Hassane’s lecture started at 7:00 p.m. and ended at 8:01 p.m. before the last prayer of the day: salat al-‘Isha’a. Imam Taha Hassane was already waiting for me outside of the mosque. The first matter he explained was that it was considered proper to enter the masjid (mosque) with my right foot first and exit with my left foot first. Furthermore, I was also explained that in order to enter the prayer hall, I needed to be in a state of ritual purity. This purification consists of ablutions, called wudu’, which involve the washing of the feet, hands, head and face. Once I completed the ablutions, Imam Taha Hassane instructed me to take off my shoes in the designated cabinets in the hallway. This is primarily done to ensure that no outside dirt would violate the sacred space. At Abu Bakr Masjid, like in many other mosques around the Muslim world, genders are separated—men pray in the main prayer hall while women pray upstairs in a separate prayer room. When I asked why, Imam Taha simply explained that it was a matter of modesty and concentration.

Another important Islamic site is situated in Cordoba, southern Spain, along the banks of Guadalquivir river (the Great River). Cordoba served as the capital of the Caliphate of Cordoba. Cordoba houses the famous Great Mosque or Gran Mezquita, the largest mosque in the Western World. The interior of the mosque consisted of a mirhab, a niche that separates the qibla wall from the others. The mirhab was intentionally positioned facing Mecca for the faithful who prayed in that direction.

When it comes to the modern relationship that Islam shares with both Christianity and Judaism, it is not difficult to recognize mutual hostility. Islamic extremism has been gradually dominating the Western perception of Muslims—in the midst of this, the World Trade Center attacks could only exacerbate the situation. On that account, it was no surprise when these hostile attitudes were unmistakably revealed during the “Cordoba House” mosque controversy at which point in 2010, it was proposed that a mosque dubbed the Cordoba House be established near ground zero. Sure enough, the proposition was met with overwhelming opposition and rebuke (Barbaro). Most of the country objected to the mosque while many of those with more personal experiences

The idea of a clash of civilizations can be originated largely to Samuel Huntington. He describes a future where the majority of human conflicts will be due to “cultural differences”. (Huntington). In The Butterfly Mosque, Willow Wilson, an American, travels to Egypt, converts to Islam, and marries an Egyptian man. This places her at the fault lines of two cultures. Through her experiences, she sees the frontlines of this clash of civilizations that Huntington predicted, and tries to uncover if she can thread the needle between her two cultures. In this paper, I will argue that through her experiences with Muslims in Tura, other Westerners in Egypt, and in reactions to her writings, she discovers that the clash of civilizations is real. This clash results in cruelty, fear, self-hatred, and an internal existential crisis in Willow that leaves her uncertain about whether or not she can navigate her internal clash of cultures.

This library and study center, which attracted scholars from throughout the Muslim world, is credited with having preserved the works of Aristotle for later generations.

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.

Religion is sacred, the cradle of the sacer, the faith that we intertwine within our reality, our profanus. It’s within our churches, our cathedrals, our temples, our synagogues, or our mosques that we connect the sacer and the profanus, the home of our prayers. Among the diversity of religions and beliefs there brings a multitude of holy sectors, each with their own composition of devoted art and architecture, their own contrivance to communicate and praise the godly. The construction of

A more recent conflicts have occurred after 9/11. Mosques have been vandalized, bombed and burned; and Muslim and Americans having the perceived appearance of “Middle Eastern” continue to be attacked and harassed. And when critics condemned the proposal of a mosque at “Ground Zero.” “A national controversy erupted when New York Muslims announced the “Cordoba

the most historical mosques, Hagia Sophia and the Dome of the Rock, are built for different

Though architecture is something that we see and observe daily, to truly get to know a building we must observe it from all angles and view every detail to understand its beauty and the purpose of why it was created. Many unique buildings have been constructed all over the world, however, the most unique structures and its bold design will catch the eye of bystanders more often, such as The Dome of the Rock. This building, which is located in Jerusalem, caught the eye of many people due the huge golden dome structure that sits on top of the building and the decorative colors and tiles that surround the building. The historical significance of this building is upheld by the religion of its local people, the location site of the building, along with the structure and the design of the building itself.

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,

While the Abbasids seized power on the Arabian Peninsula, the Umayyad leader Abd al-Rahman fled to the Iberian Peninsula and built a magnificent kingdom. When he reached Spain, he made it Al-Andalus, also known as Muslim Spain. He gained power by uniting the factions that were already there and defeating the ruling factions. Al-Andalus became a glorious kingdom in the Muslim empire because they had powerful leaders, a stable government, and effective tactics for expansion. The reasons for their decline will also be mentioned in this essay.

For a time, the area that is today Spain and Portugal was one of the great Muslim civilizations, reaching its summitwith the Umayyad Caliphate in the 10th century.Muslim Spain was not a single period, but a succession of different rules.

Although Islam is probably the least understood religion, Islam is the second largest religion in the world with more than one billion followers, which is one-fifth of the world’s population today. Islam was first stated publicly in the seventh century and now has advanced into a variety of different forms ( Major Religions). The central theme of this paper revolves around the religion of Islam and how it is practice in two Latin American countries, Peru and Panama.