Spiritual values between theological symbolism and design globalization in the contemporary mosque architecture

• Main Authors: Diaaeldin Tantawy, Noha Essam
• Format: Article
• Language: Arabic
• Published: Arab Association for Islamic Civilization and Art 2021-01-01
• Series: Journal of Architecture, Art & Humanistic Science
• Subjects: mosques architecture; theological symbolism; spirtiual values; morphological characteristics; symbolic metaphore
• Online Access: https://mjaf.journals.ekb.eg/article_127273.html

The Islamic architecture and the especially architecture of the mosques, had lots of trends that have varied interpretations within the concept of the architectural style according to a set of vocabulary, which focused on them, some of them touched the style of shape and form in a limited way, and some went deeply in the research and extrapolation of the morphological aspect of the expression of faith and theology in its full concept in the shadow of the globalization. Hence, the problem of the research is based on the dialectic of the dispute over the contemporary architecture of the mosque between the dominance of the style system in terms of the form and morphological embodiment of the traditional mosque and the symbolic embodiment of the spiritual values emanating from the Islamic theology in the context of design globalization as a common expression language. This confirms the existence of an intellectual and design crisis as a result of neglecting the role of non-traditional solutions in the possibility of expressing spirituality. The research also aims at uncovering the effectiveness of the symbolic appearance of values and hidden messages behind the design, and monitoring the factors influencing the design trends of the contemporary mosque from design data and spiritual values related to the faith and creed, which contribute in some way to enhance the positive image of ideal Islamic doctrine and the dissemination of human values advocated by the religion of Islam, which plays a role in improving the image of Islam and Muslims in the West and in front of anyone who deliberately distort this truth or try to obliterate it.The research includes a theoretical study based on a descriptive and analytical approach to the concepts of research axes, and an applied study that includes the study of models of contemporary mosques in a variety of styles to investigate the effectiveness of the expression mechanisms using the symbol in the embodiment of spiritual and ideological values in line with design globalization, while not forgetting the morphological characteristics of the Islamic model of the mosque. The research concludes with applicable conclusions and recommendations by drawing up a list of design standards for the design of the contemporary mosque.