Positioned across two separate, immediate islands, Malaysia has always been primed for a strong foreign influence through rich international trade. The influences of Hindu India, Christian Europe, and the Islamic Middle East, converged to create a diverse populous. However, Malaysia's exposure also granted vulnerability and eventual colonialism under multiple countries, most notably Great Britain. Through Britain's tenure, Western and Eastern ideology and design fused together to bring fourth major changes that would forever leave a distinctive mark on Malaysian history, design, and culture. This paper presents a comparative analysis of Britain's influence on mosques built during different periods in the Malaysian history and analyzes the …show more content…
The heavy weight of the sand and stone was often supported by long rows of slender, embellished columns. As hypostyle Mosques began to dilapidate from the harsh tropical weather in Malaysia, with flat roofs flooding and sand constructed minarets crumbling, Indonesian architecture began to take over. With heavy rainfall and warm sunshine occurring all year round, the design of Indonesian-Malaysian, vernacular architecture mosques reflected most of the characteristics of the traditional and tropical Malay houses. Four major factors including climatic conditions, availability of building materials, craftsmanship and ethnic background influenced design. In response to the tropical environment, vernacular mosques used drastically pitched roofs to enable rain water to run off quickly3, stilts to raise the mosques above ground level to avoid floods4; and many openings including louvered windows, fanlights and carving panels to allow a natural cross ventilation of air5. Vernacular mosques can be distinguished by their multi-tiered, edged roofs with decorative ridges and blue or glazed clay tiles, octagonal minarets and differing square and circular buildings. …show more content…
Domes (generally figured similar to an onion), turrets, classical columns, pilasters, pointed arches, keystones, pediments and plastered renderings on cornices and capitals are common features found in the colonial Malaysian mosques11. Effectively, the British architects, at the turn of the century, had combined Moorish influence with Indonesian design and classical Western elements while portraying an Islamic image in mosques. The most notable example of this architecture can be found in the Sultan Abu Bakar Mosque in Johor Bahru, Johor. The Sultan Abu Bakar Mosque has four wings with minarets, pinnacles and domes, all enveloped in classical western european art and embellishments12. Another interesting example is the Jamek Mosque in Muar, Johor which is a combination of Baroque classical style and the Moorish influence13. Rather than a mosque, the Jamek Mosque depicts a public building commonly built in the 17th and 18th century Europe, which features a complexity of forms and decorative elements. Both of these mosques are from Johor, a city that was heavily influenced by one of Britain's larger nearby
Schreiber, Stephen D. “Engineering Feats of the Anasazi: Buildings, Roads, and Dams.” In Anasazi Architecture and American Design, ed. Baker H. Morrow and V.B. Price, 77-87. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1997.
Springfield, IL: Charles Thomas Publishers, 2009. Print. Necipoglu, Gulru. Muqarnas, Vol 25: Frontiers of Islamic Art and Architecture.
In the following essay, I will be comparing the Hagia Sophia in the City of Istanbul, and the Suleymaniye Mosque of Istanbul. Both of these pieces of art are very significant to the in modern-day Turkey. The art pieces will be covered in more detail further on in this comparative essay, and finally, I will be judging the pieces at the end of this essay
The term orientalism is descriptive of the portrayal of different characteristics of Middle Eastern cultures by writers from the West. While some of these writings show the Eastern cultures in a positive light, the majority of them are biased and emphasise on existing or imaginary negative aspects as perceived by strangers to the Eastern culture. There are Western based designers, writers and even artists who have, over the centuries, sought to depict different facets of the Eastern cultures. One famous scholar, Edward Said, actually addressed different facets of orientalism in his book on the subject (Said 1978). His discourse uses both artistic as well as academic trains of thought to define different qualities of Middle Eastern cultures as defined from the Western perspective. According to Ghazoul (2004), among other scholars, Edward Said’s observations are reminiscent of attitudes that extolled European imperialism in the days of colonialism.
“Culture belongs to the imagination; to judge it rationally is to misunderstand its function” (Wilson 79). In “The Butterfly Mosque” by G. Willow Wilson, she acknowledges culture and explains why cultures can differ so greatly. She emphasizes why its highly inconclusive to try to find a meaning behind ones culture. As a young American Muslim women she is faced with cross cultural ironies as she tries to find her identity and where she fits in. Her conversion to Islam brings into light her internalized prejudice and the different perspectives of Westerners towards the Middle East and vice versa. In her memoir, she depicts both positive and negative aspects of both cultures and, her struggle to find a common ground between the two.
Ahmed, Muhammad Saleem. “Islam in southeast Asia: A study of the emergence and growth in Malaysia and Indonesia.” Islamic Research Institute 19 (1980) : 134-138. JSTOR. Web. 29 March 2014.
Flood, Finbarr B. "Between Cult and Culture: Bamiyan, Islamic Iconoclasm, and the Museum." The Art Bulletin (2002):
Islamic art and architecture is a blend from three or more different cultural traditions from the east. The Arab, Turkish, and Persian traditions are three such traditions that were adopted into the Islamic art and architecture design. The best expressions of Islamic art and architecture are found in Muslim mosques. The mosque serves as a place where Muslims can come together for prayer of Islam. Mosques are also a center for information, education, and dispute settlement. One of the most famous mosques of the Islamic art is the Great Mosque of Samarra in preset day Iraq. The Great Mosque of Samarra also has a spiral staircase on the outside of it.
Committing to religious beliefs is one of the strongest factors influencing the preservations of a Muslim identity. A mosque has a huge role in society and it has to maintain this. Generally, a mosque is somewhere where people can come to pray and contemplate. It is a place away from all the hustle from our day to day busy lives.
... Despite the negative effects that had brought bad impact to the country, it was also one of the things that have strengthened the country. It has provided an acceleration of development for the country. Conclusions References Works Cited http://prezi.com/ko92evamttlo/colonial-rule-and-impacts-in-sea/ http://www.marxist.com/malaysia-fifty-years-independence-part-one.htm http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20120320222600AAYZmN7 http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090908024038AAH5Qw
...ifferent shapes and materials were used by ethnic groups to match their beliefs and culture. In the major cities of Timbuktu, Gao and Djenne, mosques built in the 13th century displayed the emergence of Islam through Musa and others. These were made from rice husks, earth and water and lasted for hundreds of years.
A mosque is generally a very symbolic place for a Muslim, being a humble way for Muslims to recreate pure divine presence on earth. The primary purpose of the mosque is to serve as a place where Muslims can come together for prayer. Nevertheless, mosques are known around the world nowadays for their Islamic architecture but most importantly for its general vitality to the Muslim Ummah (community).
In the following essay, I will be comparing and contrasting to architectural pieces by the Indians. The first is the Taj Mahal, a building constructed from white marble that took seventeen years to build in honor of Shah Jahan’s wife, Mumtaz Mahal (Z. Haq). This piece of architectural beauty belonged to the Mughal’s, the Muslim emperors in India (Z. Haq). The second is the Great Stupa at Sanchi, a holy, dome shaped structure that covers the body of the Buddha in honor of him and his contributions to Buddhism (Fischer, Julia). Furthermore, this structure was made of ruins, rocks, mud, and covered in bricks (Fischer, Julia). Both pieces of architecture are significant to the Indians, however they do contrast in some ways.
This essay will discuss the significance of the Taj Mahal on a global scale in context with the themes studied in lectures and tutorials. This essay will explore the architectural significance, along with the representation of religion, criticisms and will closely examine the themes of death and memory and the significance of the Taj Mahal on a global scale.
The Mughals took what was ‘Indian’, developed by the Delhi Sultanate and surrounding Hindu kingdoms that were consolidated into the Mughal Empire throughout its reign, and made it their own, creating whole new areas of study and development in the kingdom. One of the most majestic and famous results of this is the Taj Mahal, recognised by people all throughout the world as a true product of the Mughal Dynasty and proof of the Mughals wealth and ingenuity, combining traditional Indian and Persian architecture and as a result creating something so beautiful it is considered one of the world’s greatest wonders.