The Mosque (from the Arabic Masjid, place of worship) is the most recognizableform 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 indoors) during the pilgrimage season. This is the holiest site in Islam. Above: The Al-Masjid al-Nabawi (The Mosque of the

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 7 th century, this is the third holiest site in Islam.

The Mezquita, Cordoba, Spain – Moorish StyleVisigoth Church, 6th centuryReworked as Mosque, late 8th -11th c., re-consecrated asChristian church, 13th c.

Masjid Qubbat As-Sahkrah (The Dome of the Rock) Jerusalem, Israel/Palestine691 C.E., refurbished many times

--Constructed on the center of TempleMount, site of the Second JewishTemple, 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

Shah Mosque/Imam MosqueIsfahan, Iran--Completed 1629--Four-Iwan style(focus on four monumental gateways [iwan] to the interior, based on traditional Persian palace architecture)

Above: mosaic detail withQuranic calligraphy from the Shah Mosque

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

The Alhambra Palace and Fortress ComplexGranada, Spain--14th Century--Late Moorish style--Fortress, palaces, gardens, courtyards, administrative buildings

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