The Mosque: Religion, Politics and Architecture in the 21st Century

Michael Badu (author)

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Title	The Mosque
Subtitle	Religion, Politics and Architecture in the 21st Century
Contributor	Michael Badu (author)
DOI	https://doi.org/10.21983/P3.0053.1.06
Landing page	https://punctumbooks.com/titles/the-funambulist-papers-vol-1/
License	https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
Copyright	Badu, Michael
Publisher	punctum books
Published on	2013-10-23
Long abstract	The act of prostration is a ‘part’ of the Islamic formal prayer service which is known as Salaat. It is curious that the Islamic house of wor-ship is not generally known as Bait us Salaat or Bait ul Ibaadah (re-spectively, house of formal prayer or house of worship) and that the more utilitarian term masjid, derived from the Muslim holy book, the Quran, became current. This would seem to suggest a more ‘humble’ architectural characterisation of this building type than that to which we have become accustomed, a suggestion that history seems to bear out. The first masjid built under the supervision of the prophet Muham-mad at Medina shortly after his flight from Mecca, was a rudimentary enclosure of earth and rock walls, built around a small grove of date palm trees and roofed by their canopies. When it rained heavily, this tree canopy roof leaked profusely, literally turning the earth floor of the mosque into a ‘mud bath.’
Page range	pp. 23–26
Print length	4 pages
Language	English (Original)

The act of prostration is a ‘part’ of the Islamic formal prayer service which is known as Salaat. It is curious that the Islamic house of wor-ship is not generally known as Bait us Salaat or Bait ul Ibaadah (re-spectively, house of formal prayer or house of worship) and that the more utilitarian term masjid, derived from the Muslim holy book, the Quran, became current. This would seem to suggest a more ‘humble’ architectural characterisation of this building type than that to which we have become accustomed, a suggestion that history seems to bear out. The first masjid built under the supervision of the prophet Muham-mad at Medina shortly after his flight from Mecca, was a rudimentary enclosure of earth and rock walls, built around a small grove of date palm trees and roofed by their canopies. When it rained heavily, this tree canopy roof leaked profusely, literally turning the earth floor of the mosque into a ‘mud bath.’