ISLAMIC

ARCHITECTURE
 Presented by:
Esmail Sidik ABS211-0317/2017
Faith Mwende ABS211-0470/2017
Abdinasir Mohamed ABS211-0298/2017
GiftCalvin Githaiga ABS211-0294/2017
Stephanie Onyambu ABS211-0036/2017
Mwangi Macharia ABS211-0344/2017
Edison Chai Amani ABS211-0334/2017
Sohail Abdulghani ABS211-0003/2017
Maryan Hussein Hajir ABS211-0022/2017
Buke Abduba ABS211-0480/2017
Lee Mwangi Muriuki ABS211-0312/2017
Collins Cheruiyot ABS211-0491/2017
Justin Mosa ABS211-0264/2017
Papi Maureen Achola ABS211-0244/2017
Musee Stacy Ndanu ABS211-0257/2017
Boniface Gitutu ABS211-0318/2017
Trevor Richard ABS211-0008/2017
 ISLAM
• Islam is the religion based on Mohammedanism-which is
the belief that there exists only one ,true God referred to as
Allah and He sent down a prophet, Muhammad (P.B.U.H) to
be the last guide of His people .
• The onset of this religion is the 7th century with the first
revelation from God to the Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H)
and it mushroomed there forth from the Arab Peninsula to
the rest of the world though mediums such as trade and
intermarriage.
• Islam however became fortified after Hijra -the migration
of the prophet with other Muslims from Mecca to Medina-
and this gave rise to one of the most important tenets of
Islamic faith, Hajj (Pilgrimage)
 ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE.
• Islamic architecture can be defined as the
building traditions based on 7 Islamic principles:
– Architecture of Tawheed-Unity and uniquity of Allah
– Architecture of Ihtiram-Respect
– Architecture of Ikhlas-Sincerity
– Architecture of Pursuit of Ilm-Knowledge
– Architecture of Iqtisad-Balance
– Architecture of Haya’-Modesty
– Architecture of Dikr-Remembrance
 TAWHEED ( ONENESS OF GOD)
• It is the Islamic concept of monotheism and
asserts the oneness of God.
• It is derived from the word “ahad” or “wahid”
which means one; therefore creating the sense of
peerlessness and uniqueness.
• Its architectural representation is visible in
mosques as all tend to face the Great Mosque of
Makkah(Ka’abah) which is believed to be the
home of Allah(s.w.t)
 IHTIRAM(RESPECT)
• This Islamic concept relates to the messages sent
down by Allah to the Prophet Muhammad(S.A.W)
which was compiled to form the now known
Qur’an.It is evident as calligraphy or names written
on the floor are forbidden.
 Ikhlas(Sincerity)
• A sign of honesty and sincerity is demonstrated
through the art of architecture within the
conformity to God's will by removing/covering an
existing figure (human, animals, angles etc) in
ornamentations.-Effort of ornamentations is
introduced by integrating the science of
mathematics to come out with and apply the
geometrical ornamentations.
 Pursuit of Ilm(Knowledge)
• Most structures in Islamic architecture are built
keeping in mind knowledge of any kind could be
shared there therefore quotes from the Qur’an and
sayings of the Prophet Muhammad(pbuh) are
engraved.
 Iqtisad(Balance)
• It is an essence of islamic architecture where it as an
achievement where the act of achieving balance
between functional and spiritual elements. Harmony is
achieved through the point of intersection, where it is
most beneficial and where the stability of the soul is
accomplished.
• In terms of architecture, the analysis of balance are
usually analyzed through the proportion and geometric
of a building plans, or the arches of the main iwan,
door.
 Haya’(Modesty)
• A Muslims preserves his / her dignity by having a sense of humility. From an
architectural perspective, this is best shown by shielding activities
happening within from public view. this refers to spaces that offer a sense
of privacy whether through screening or separation of spaces, this may also
be linked to climatic control where screens are used for shading from sun
hence a sense of coverage.
• Preservation of dignity: screen, sanctuary, privacy eg. Veil/Hijab of Muslim
women-articulation of Islamic life and space Adoption of veil to as
acceptance of Muslim woman of what she can control in front of
strangers;humbling herself & God Manifestation her belief to Allah Veil as
sanctuary/sacred space freely express herself eg.Wall of Mosque Salamlek
& Haramlek woman quarters at home. Veil as guard, covering, screen to
gain respect, privacy & identity.
 Dikr(Remembrance)
• Remembrance within architecture may be
represented through the harmony of monotonous
spaces repetition of various features that offer
rhythmic precision this factor signifies a sense of
'chanting' like a continuous representation of God's
innumerable attributes. This can be seen through
the use of rows of arch's which is a
technique that quite normally seen within Islamic
architecture.
 TAWHEED AND ARCHITECTURE.
• The notion of Tawheed is the cornerstone of
Islamic architecture and it does so by binding
various elements impressing them into its own
mould.
• The idea of Tawheed gives Islamic architecture its
conspicuous identity and also creates in Muslims
an unprecedented Tawheedic outlook on building
activities so that there exists the highest level of
compatibility between buildings and their users.
 IN THE BEGINNING…
• It is believed that Islamic architecture began
with the instruction of God to Noah to build
the Ark and this is significantly followed by the
erection of the Kaaba by the prophet Ibrahim
and his son Ismael, which is located in the
holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
• However, recognizable Islamic architectural
work began during the leadership of the
prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) as seen below.
The Mosque of The Prophet.
Artistic render of the Prophet’s (PBUH)
house
The Great Mosque of Makkah
• The mosque, which comprises a rectangular central
courtyard surrounded by covered prayer areas, is the
site of several pilgrimage rituals. Pilgrims use the
courtyard to perform the ritual circumambulation of
the Kaʿbah, known as the ṭawāf. Two more sacred sites
are located in the courtyard: the station of Abraham
(Arabic: maqām Ibrāhīm), a stone which Islamic
tradition associates with the Qurʾānic account of the
rebuilding of the Kaʿbah by Abraham and Ismāʿīl
(Ishmael), and the Zamzam well, a sacred spring.
Immediately to the east and north of the courtyard are
al-Ṣafā and al-Marwah, two small hills which pilgrims
must run or walk between in a ritual known as the saʿy.
In the 20th century an enclosed passageway between
the two hills was appended to the mosque.
• The modern building is the product of centuries of development. In the pre-
Islamic era, the Kaʿbah, then a shrine for Arab polytheists, stood in an open
space where worshippers gathered to pray and perform rituals. The Kaʿbah
was also sacred to the first followers of the Prophet Muhammad. Following
the Muslims’ emigration to Medina in 622 ce (the Hijrah), Muslims briefly
prayed toward Jerusalem until a Qurʾānic revelation designated the Kaʿbah
as the qiblah, or direction of prayer. When Muhammad returned to Mecca
in 630, he ordered the destruction of the idols that were kept in the shrine,
cleansing it of polytheistic associations.
• The first Muslim structure on the site was a wall around the Kaʿbah, built by
the second caliph, ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, in 638. Succeeding caliphs added
partial ceilings, columns, and decorative embellishments. A more extensive
renovation took place under the ʿAbbāsid caliph al-Mahdī (775–785), who
rebuilt and expanded the structure, relocating the outer walls so that the
Kaʿbah stood in the centre of the courtyard. The mosque was rebuilt again
in the early 14th century after it was damaged by fire and flooding. Another
renovation of the mosque was undertaken in 1571, when the Ottoman
sultan Selim II directed the court architect Sinan to make improvements to
the building. Sinan replaced the flat roof with small domes. The Ottoman
additions are the oldest remaining parts of the modern structure.
• The mosque was modernized and enlarged several times in the 20th century. The
first electric lighting system was installed during the reign of Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī (emir
of Mecca 1908–16 and king of Hejaz 1916–24). An electric public-address system
was first used in the mosque in 1948. The most drastic changes to the mosque
came in the second half of the 20th century, when the rise of commercial air travel
increased the number of pilgrims to Mecca and Saudi Arabia’s new oil wealth
enabled its rulers to fund massive construction projects. The first Saudi
enlargement of the mosque began in 1955 during the reign of King Saʿūd. The
expansion, completed in 1973, added new construction around the Ottoman
mosque, expanding the total area of the structure from about 290,000 square feet
(27,000 square meters) to about 1,630,000 square feet (152,000 square meters)
and increasing its maximum capacity to 500,000. The passageway between al-Ṣafā
and al-Marwah was expanded and integrated into the structure of the mosque.
• Another expansion of the mosque was initiated by King Fahd in 1984 to
accommodate the increasing numbers of hajj pilgrims, which rose to more than
one million per year in the 1980s. Buildings around the mosque were razed to
make room for the expansion and the construction of a wide paved area around
the mosque. To ease congestion during the hajj, the building was fitted with
escalators, and pedestrian tunnels and passageways were built. A modern
communications system and an advanced indoor and outdoor air-conditioning
system were also constructed. After the enlargement, the mosque had about
3,840,000 square feet (356,800 square meters) and held up to 820,000
worshippers.
 Decorations retrieved from the Great
Mosque of Makkah before its makeovers
• At the time when Islam emerged, Sasanian empire and
Byzantium were the super-powers and early Islamic
conquests resulted in the conquering of the Sasanians and
of much of Byzantine territory.
• Byzantine and Sasanian heritage, along with Arabian
traditions, thus, formed the basis of early Islamic art and
architecture.
• Byzantine architectural legacy contained the continuing
traditions of classicism in an area which had been the most
urbanized and cultured part of the Roman Empire:
elements included the use of finely worked stone, domes
resting on triangular pendentives, columns (often
appropriated as spolia), and mosaics.
• Elements of the Sasanian architectural legacy included
brick or rubble construction coated with plaster, stucco
decoration, heavy piers, domes resting on squinches, the
chahar taq (the form of Zoroastrian fire temples), and the
ivan (used to magnify the effect at Ctesiphon)
• The conquest of these two was followed by the
rise of the Umayyad dynasty which saw the
shifting of the political capital to Damascus.
• During this dynasty, the Islamic world inherited
classical traditions to the same degree as the
West; such as the links between the form of the
Dome of the Rock and classical martyria, the use
of a pre-existing site for the Great Mosque of
Damascus and the incorporation of extent walls
and towers, classical features of the sanctuary
facade and courtyard of the Great Mosque, and
the use of both classical spolia and mosaic
decoration in both buildings.
• These dynasties were soon overtaken by the rise
of the Abbasids who’s architectural features were
characterized by colossal sizes, speed in
construction, the use of brick, ivans and stucco
decoration (elements of the Persian heritage of
the region) and these features were regarded as
Samara style and they spread throughout the
Islamic world.
• This same style found it’s way through the North
of Africa and not before long independent
dynasties emerging in the east with their
allegiance lying with the caliph in Baghdad also
adopted this style of architecture.
• As Islam as a religion developed, so did the
architectural styles and this saw the erection
of purposeful buildings which could easily
adopt to changing conditions such as The
Great Mosque of Cordoba which skilfully
utilized the hypostyle for the growing
community, madrasas, funerary architecture
and use of minarets.
Dome of the
Rock
Mosque of
Cordoba
Umayyad
Mosque
 Hagia
Sophia
 Raqqa Palaces

Great Mosque of Al-Mansur’s Round

Al-Mutawakkil City
 MAIN CULTURAL ASPECTS
MOSQUES AND UNITY
• There are three basic designs for mosques. The first is a
hypostyle hall, or open courtyard surrounded by pillars,
with the mihrab niche and qibla wall at the far end
from the entrance. The second type is the four-iwan
mosque, which has its origins in Persia. Iwans are
barrel-vaulted halls with large, arched entrances. In a
four-iwan mosque, the iwans face one another from
across an open courtyard. The third mosque design is
that of the central plan, which became popular under
the Ottoman Turks. They have a central space under a
large dome. All three mosque plans emphasize the
unity of the space and of people under God.
SOUQS AND IMPERMANENCE
• Souqs are open-air markets, and can be found in
nearly every major Middle Eastern city. The
design of the souq, with covered streets -- usually
by awnings -- and temporary storefronts that are
pulled up at the end of the day recall the
importance of journeying in both Islam, as seen
in the tradition of the hajj, as well as in the Arab
culture that gave birth to Islam. The idea of a
temporary marketplace as the heart of commerce
and culture reflects the idea that all earthly
things are impermanent.
CARAVANSERAI
• A caravanserai was a roadside inn where travelers
(caravaners) could rest and recover from the day's
journey. Caravanserais supported the flow of commerce,
information and people across the network of trade
routes covering Asia, North Africa and Southeast Europe,
especially along the Silk Road.
• A caravanserai was a building with a square or
rectangular walled exterior, with a single portal wide
enough to permit large or heavily laden beasts such
as camels to enter. The courtyard was almost always
open to the sky, and the inside walls of the enclosure
were outfitted with a number of identical animal stalls,
bays, niches or chambers to accommodate merchants
and their servants, animals, and merchandise.
• Caravanserais provided water for human and
animal consumption, washing and ritual
purification such as wudu and ghusl. Sometimes
they had elaborate baths. They also
kept fodder for animals and had shops for
travellers where they could acquire new supplies.
In addition, some shops bought goods from the
travelling merchants.

Sample plan of a Caravanserai

 Major Influences on Trade
Architecture in the Islamic World:
• Technological: The Replacement of wheeled transportation
by camel caravans after the development of camel’s
harness and camel’s double-load.
• Historical: The milieu in which Islam grew was mercantile,
and the Prophet himself, along with most of his
companions, was a merchant from Mecca.
• Liturgical: Every Muslim is required to perform the Hajj,
pilgrimage, at least once in his/her lifetime, if they can.
Besides, the development of a science of hadith, prophetic
sayings and deeds, necessitated the travel of many scholars
in search of authentic traditions. Later, seeking knowledge
in famous madrasas, or traveling to learn from a famous
shaykh, saw many travelers on the road.
 Notable Caravanserai
• Akbari Sarai, Lahore
• Garghabazar Caravanserai, Kharabakh, Azerbaijan
• Büyük Han
• Caravanserai of Sa'd al-Saltaneh
• Manuc's Inn, Bucharest, Romania
• Khan al-Tujjar (Mount Tabor)
• Khan al-Tujjar (Nablus)
• Khan al-Umdan
• Khan As'ad Pasha
• Khan Jaqmaq
• Khan el-Khalili
• Khan Sulayman Pasha
• Khan Tuman
• Rabati Malik, Uzbekistan
• Orbelian's Caravanserai, Armenia
• Nampally Sarai, Nampally, Hyderabad, India
• Zeinodin Caravanserai, Zein-o-din, Yazd, Iran
 Caravansara A caravansara in Karaj, Iran of
Garghabazar Sangi in Zanjan, Iran the Safavid era
Caravanserai in Azerbaijan (1681)

Inside the Orbelian’s Khan al-Umdan in Acre, Israel

18th century caravanserai
in Sheki, Azerbaijan Caravanserai, Armenia
PRIVATE HOMES
• Privacy is one the central concepts of Islamic
architecture and for this reason it is referred to as
“architecture of the veil” .The Islamic palace that
most Westerners are familiar with is the
Alhambra, which is really a small city-fortress
atop a hill overlooking Granada, Spain. Beyond
austere walls, the Alhambra is a complex
interweaving of pattern, light, sound, water and
geometry meant to create Paradise on Earth. On
a more average scale, typical homes in the
Middle East tend to be plain on the exterior, with
no richly decorated interiors, often with a
courtyard so people can go outdoors without
leaving the home.
MODERN DESIGN
• The predominance of Western building styles and
the speed and growth of modern cities leave
many new constructions lacking the reflection of
unity, impermanence and beauty that has been
an essential part of Islamic architecture for
centuries. Garry Martin in the essay "Building in
the Middle East Today -- in Search of a Direction"
suggests architects need to understand these
ideologies of Islamic architecture while
incorporating them with modern materials,
instead of trying to use only the old style of
architecture.
 TYPOLOGIES
MOSQUES
• Central to Islam are congregational mosques,
which were built large enough for the community
to gather for worship. The most well-known
architectural feature of the mosque is the
minaret, a tower from which Muslims are called
to prayer five times per day. Additionally,
mosques have a mihrab, which is a niche in a wall
that shows the worshipers the direction of Mecca
so they know which way to face when praying.
PALACES
• Islamic rulers, including caliphs and emperors, began
building castles that were heavily fortified against
enemies. Palaces were lavishly decorated with
expensive materials such as marble, gilding, and
gemstones. The use of colorful tiles is a distinctive
feature of Islamic architecture that is often found in
great palaces. In Moorish Spain, a noted palace is the
Alhambra in Granada, which is "unsurpassed for the
exquisite detail of its marble pillars and arches, its
fretted ceilings and the veil-like transparency of its
filigree work in stucco," as well as its gardens. The
Alhambra also includes a feature called the arabesque,
which is comprised of geometric and/or floral designs,
and is a common design element in Islamic
architecture.
TOMBS AND SHRINES
• Powerful leaders also commonly built great
tombs or mosques, many of which were quite
elaborate. The most famous Islamic tomb is
the Taj Mahal, which was built in the 17th
century during the Mughal period by the
emperor Shah Jahan for his deceased wife,
Mumtaz. The Taj Mahal shows the influence of
previous Hindu architecture in its use of
domes and marble; the building is considered
to be the epitome of Indian Islamic
architecture
Taj Mahal
Plan of the Taj Mahal
CONTEMPORARY ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE
• Islamic architecture used mostly classical
design until quite recently. With the growth of
the oil industry in the Middle East came new
buildings that combine contemporary and
traditional elements, such as the Burj Khalifa
tower in Dubai, which is modernist in
appearance but is a nod to traditional
architecture in that it is based on the design of
a desert flower.
 AESTHETICS AND DECORATION
• Patterns in Islamic art take three different forms:
vegetal, or curving vines, often called arabesques;
calligraphic verses, usually from the Quran; and
geometric shapes. Instead of representing
something specific, as a symbol would in Western
art, patterns in Islamic architecture are meant to
represent abstract concepts related to Islam and
encourage viewers to think about the
impermanence of the physical world and the
unity and nature of God.
 FUNCTIONS OF AESTHETICS.
TRANSFORMATION
• The aim of ornamental pattern in Islamic art isn't to
merely decorate, but to transform. By covering
buildings with patterns, Islamic artists make them
seem almost insubstantial, destabilizing the physical
lines and reality of the building into abstract shapes
that endlessly repeat. Not only the pattern itself, but
the scale of the pattern, emphasizes the
impermanence of the physical world: large- and small-
scale patterns are used interchangeably regardless of
the size of the surface to which they're being applied.
UNITY AND INFINITY
• One of the central concepts of Islam is Tawheed,
or Divine Unity. In their use of patterns, which
can extend for infinity, Islamic artists are in part
expressing the fathomless nature of God -- not
just that God is everywhere, but that God is
unknowable. In this sense, pattern can be used as
a meditative tool. Whereas Christian art would be
representative in order to teach about the story
of Jesus, Islamic art uses pattern to dissolve
mental images and attachment to the physical
world so that viewers might meditate on the
spiritual world.
BEAUTY AND NUMBERS
• In one of the hadiths, or teachings of the Prophet
Muhammad that aren't a part of the Quran, there
is a saying: "Allah is beautiful and he loves
beauty." As well as reflecting the infinity of God,
pattern reflects the beauty of God in its use of
symmetry and mathematical equations. Christian
Neoplatonic philosophy had a huge influence on
Muslim thought, and one of its beliefs was that
the nature of the universe and God could be
found in numbers. As Pythagoras said, "All things
are made of numbers." This provided the basis
for a very strong interest in ratios, proportions
and geometry that formed the basis of complex
architectural patterns.
SHAPES
• Although shapes and patterns don't have any
semiological meaning in Islamic art, they do have
very abstract meanings that may or may not
influence when and where they are used. For
example, vegetal patterns, also known as
arabesques, are often connected to the Garden
of Paradise or the Tree of Life. Circles represent
infinity because they have no beginning or
ending. Interlacing polygons are based on the
circular pattern and create some of the most
complex patterns known in the world, expressing
inexhaustible variety.
 SYMBOLISM
ARCADES
• From the early Islamic period -- the seventh century --
mosques were based on descriptions of the house of the
Prophet Mohammad, which was a simple structure with an
open courtyard where the Prophet would teach. This
design gradually developed into a courtyard surrounded by
a hypostyle hall, or roofed area supported by an arcade, or
series of arched columns. This can be seen in many famous
Islamic mosques, such as the Dome of the Rock and the
Great Mosque of Cordoba. This is because arcades
symbolize boundaries in Islamic art and architecture; once
one has passed through the arcade into the open
courtyard, one is in a sacred space.
MIHRAB AND QIBLA
• The mihrab and qibla are a demarcated wall and
niche at one end of the mosque, usually opposite
the entrance. They mark the direction of Mecca
and, during Umayyad times, the caliph or leader
would speak in front of them on a minbar or
raised platform. The design of a qibla wall is
typically that of an arch or a pointed arch, which
symbolizes the lance the Prophet planted in the
ground to indicate where people should direct
their prayers. The niche, or mihrab, was a
common way to mark holy objects in the ancient
world, from Torahs in synagogues to statues of
deities in Roman temples.
LIGHT
• Sometimes a Qibla wall will have ribs radiating
out from the top of its arch like rays. This is a
symbol for light. Like Christians, Muslims
associate light with holiness and God; it is said
God existed as light before the world was
created. Therefore light is frequently
incorporated into mosque architecture to
symbolize divinity -- from gold disks to radiating
shapes, to using actual light to fill the space as is
seen in the Selimiye Mosque in Turkey, designed
by the famous architect Sinan.
GARDENS
• Gardens in Islamic architecture are meant to
evoke an idea of Paradise, but some structures
take this idea further to turn their gardens into
living symbols of Paradise. The most famous
example is the Taj Mahal, a tomb set among a
complex grid of gardens that symbolize the Hasht
Bihisht, or Eight Paradises. Although
monochromatically faced in marble, the mosaics
covering the walls of the Taj Mahal are in a
pattern of flowering vines, further emphasizing
the idea that it is situated in Paradise
 CHARACTERISTICS
PLAIN EXTERIORS
• Islam advocates plainness in appearance. This applies to
architecture as much as it does to the color of external clothing and
the use of more basic materials such as brass or wood in decorative
arts. A house designed along Islamic principles may appear
undesigned on the exterior, and as BBC Religions says, the outside
doesn't reveal anything about the mechanical structure of the
house. However, the interior of the house will usually reveal a much
more extravagant design approach. Houses are typically built
around a central courtyard that is invisible from the outside but
provides an outdoor space inside. Here you'll find colorful tiling,
fountains, fruit trees and flowers, but the only decoration you'll find
on the exterior is around the entrance door.
MOSQUES
• Mosque architecture is the form familiar to many in the West. Early
mosque design is called "hypostyle," which means it is a
quadrilateral shape surrounding a courtyard. Domes and cupolas
played an important part in Arab architecture long before the
emergence of Islam and they continue to be important features of
mosque design. Every mosque interior contains a niche in the wall
called the mihrab. This niche faces Mecca, the direction Muslims
face to pray. Each of the external walls contains a niche -- called an
iwan -- and the largest of these also faces Mecca. The minaret is
another characteristic of mosque architecture. This is the tower
where the muezzin calls the faithful to prayer. Mosque interiors are
highly decorated with wooden screens of geometric marquetry and
colorful tiling.
THE ARCH
• Arches are one of the most distinctive features of
Islamic architecture and are found in almost every type
of building. Symbolically, they lead into an inner space.
Islamic architects borrowed heavily from Greek and
Roman designs for archways and door designs but then
came up with a series of arch shapes over history that
are distinctively Islamic. For example, the Great
Mosque in Cordoba, Spain, has various examples of
arch designs including the horseshoe, the cinquefoil,
the trifoil and the semi-circular. The use of arches in
this mosque is credited with spreading Islamic arch
design throughout Europe. Islamic building also use
arches to create colonnades lining the inner courtyards
of both houses and mosques.
MODERN ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE
• Islamic architecture has tended to stick to historical
tradition with little changing in house or mosque
design over the centuries. However, the Middle East oil
boom and the emergence of cities such as Dubai as
major trading places for the whole world has
introduced a new approach to Islamic architecture.
The Burj Khalifa tower in Dubai may look like a typical
21st Century glass and steel construction shooting up
into the sky like a glass shard, but its design is based on
a desert flower called the Hymenocallis, reflecting the
traditional Islamic principle of converting vegetal
shapes into geometric designs.The Dayabumi Complex
in Kuala Lumpur is another fine example of a building
thet incorporates islamic architecture
NON REPRESENTATIONAL
• Rather than representing images and figures
as western art does, Islamic architecture
comprises of shapes and patterns
VERNACULAR ISLAMIC
ARCHITECTURE
 Characteristics

• Narrow alleys
• High walls
• Uniform roof height
• Distinction between public and private spaces
• Doors open into a cul-de-sac
• Stresses on privacy
• For every neighborhood there’s a Masjid that provides
basic amenities such as water
• For every town there’s a main Masjid that provides
other amenities such as a library, hospital , a university
etc.
 Prosecution of Islamic architecture in
the Western and Europe
• The ban of Minarets on Mosques in Switzerland in
2009 has brought out a huge debate arguing wether
Islamic architecture will fade away with time in the
Western world and Europe due to claims of
spreading Islamism.In general,most muslims feel
that the essential part of the mosque being banned
is reducing the faith and respect poeple have
towards mosques but as students of architecture
we feel that we are meant to solve issues brought
out in this world and we feel this issue can be
solved as well.
Thank you