The Social Logic of the Mosque

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Proceedings, 6 th International Space Syntax Symposium, İ stanbul, 2007

THE SOCIAL LOGIC OF THE MOSQUE:a study in the relationships between buildingtypology and urban morphology

059Ziad AazamThe Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff University

Abstract

To use the idea of building type comprehensively as a method in the design process(Colquhoun, 1967), the socio-spatial knowledge of the architectural artefact has to beretrieved (Hillier and Hanson 1984, Markus 1993). Based on the fact that each buildingtype is a unique socio-spatial configuration that requires different methods to unpack itsrelationships, this paper argues that the congregation mosque, the chosen type for thisstudy, requires a socio-spatial organisational analysis beyond that of its boundary.

Building on formal theories of type which consider the traditional city as the source oftypology (Vidler 1976, Rossi 1982) and space syntax idea of 'interface', this study aimsat defining the relationships between this particular building typology and urbanmorphology. The analysis answers these questions: Can a relationship be establishedbetween the mosque's internal socio-spatial organisation and the city's local and globalstructure? And, will such a relationship contribute to our understanding of thephenomena of this building type? To investigate these relationships, the study explores12 case studies of mosques selected from diverse cities representing the Islamicworld's cultural diversity and historical continuity.

It accomplishes this aim using the visibility graph analysis to show the building'srelations to its contexts at the local dimension, and the axial analysis to show thebuilding's integration within the city's local and global structure. The results show atendency towards greater similarities among the diverse cases in exhibiting a relativelyhigh integration, visually at the local level and structurally at the local and global levels.

The paper concludes that contrary to the typical spatial discontinuity between the insideof the building's boundary and the city, the mosque shows a high degree of spatialcontinuity with the city's local structure. The spatial continuity and high integrationindicate a strong agreement with its concept as an institutional form, which is based onIslamic principles and intentions and operates within rules and responsibilities ofculturally diverse Muslim societies (Hakim 1986, Akbar 1988).

Introduction

This paper is an extension of the investigation that seeks different

ways of understanding a particular building type. The architecturalconventions confine the study of building typologies to the building’sboundaries and assume that any venture beyond these boundaries is

Keywords:

MosqueCityUrban elementInterfaceSocial logic

Ziad AazamThe Welsh School of

Architecture, Cardiff UniversityBute Building, King Edward VII

Avenue, Cardiff CF10 3NB,Wales [email protected]



Aazam; The Social Logic of the Mosque: A Study in the Relationships between Building Typology and Urban Morphology


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a crossing to the realm of urban designs and policies. Although it isclear that the building becomes an urban element among others at thelocal and global scales of the city, particular building types remaincharacteristically strong to the degree of defining the city itself. Ofsuch building types, the religious and cultural buildings come to thefore. With such building types, an attempt to explore their role in thecity beyond the confinement of their boundaries may contribute to our

understanding of them.

The writings of Rossi (1982) and Vidler (1976) advocate the idea thatthe city itself is our source of typology unlike the earlier typologies thatwere based on nature and machine. The view of architecture thattakes the construction of the city as an embodiment of history, values,and cultures can be used as a base for a new typology. Vidler statedin his study “The Third Typology”:

“We might characterize the fundamental attribute of this thirdtypology as an espousal, not of an abstract nature, nor of a

Figure 1:

Satellite images of the 12mosques in their local

context

(Google Earth images except for FEZ and DJN)





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technological utopia, but rather of the traditional city as the locus ofits concern. The city, that is, provides the material for classification,and the forms of its artifacts provide the basis for re-composition”(Vidler 1976, p. 1).

Vidler’s concept was motivated by ‘a desire to stress the continuity ofform and history against the fragmentation produced by the elemental,

institutional, and mechanistic typologies of the recent past’ (p. 2). Insuch a process of formation, the city becomes a whole with its pastand present as manifested in its physical structure. While such a viewtakes a formal coherence of the city as its objective, it fails to addressthe human aspect without which the city does not exist in the firstplace.

The aim this paper is set out to reach is based on the view that for atypology based on the city architecture to contribute to its formalcohesion, an understanding of the social cohesion in space has tocomplement such a typology.

To investigate a particular building type with a possible role in the city,the congregation mosque is chosen as a religious building type. The

sample of 12 mosques and their cities (Figure 1) selected for thisstudy is representative of historical continuity and geographicaldiversity of the traditional Muslim world.

These cases are explored spatially at the city’s global and local levelsfrom the view of the building itself. The concern then is to what degreethe building can be understood in relation to the city’s global and localstructures? And in what way such a relationship can contribute to ourunderstanding of the phenomena of this building type?

To answer these questions, the study is based on the assumption thatthe ‘living traditions’ which characterise the sample of historical cases,continue to demonstrate little deviation of its social and spatialorganisation from its original intent; and that such a historical

continuity is indicative of the cases persistence to represent thevalues of the society. The cases, therefore, render themselvessuitable phenomena for the exploration.

The objective is to find a general tendency that characterises thebuilding’s performance at the city’s global and local levels. The paperis divided into two parts. The first part is concerned with introducingthe congregation mosque as an urban element representing animportant institution of the Muslim society. The second part analysesthe building’s spatial role within its city’s global and local settings.

Concepts Concerning the Mosque Type

City and Mosque

Religious scholars emphasised the presence of the mosque as acondition for a society to fulfil its Islamic way of life in the city. AsHakim (1986) noted from his study of the Islamic literature that the cityshould have a congregation mosque, masjid al-jami, in which theFriday sermon was given and in which the city’s residents and itssurroundings were served. This importance was first established bythe construction of the Prophet’s mosque in Madinah. The mosqueserved both as a place of worship and as a community centre for thecity, and thus played an important function in the formation of the newsociety. Its relationship with the city continues to be significant.

Categories of Space

Some of the mosque’s spaces can be categorised not only as part ofthe building’s interior but also as part of the building and city’s localrelationships. The gate space is an obvious example that expresses a





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threshold between the busy exterior and the quiet interior of themosque. The location of the gate and its count in the case areindicative of the role the building in its urban context.

A less obvious spatial category within this classification is thetransition space in the exterior of the mosque before the gate. Thisparticular condition shows that the transition space belongs both to

the mosque and to the street, an indication of a direct integration withthe immediate context.

A possible spatial category that the sample reveals is the courtyard ofthe mosque. The possibility of a direct link with the surrounding streetsrenders this category a candidate for an urban role beyond that of itsinterior architectural function.

The final category in this brief exposition is the drinking water fountainand public bath facilities attached to the mosque but accessed fromthe outside. Although, this function may not be found attached to themosque, it is possible to find the service in a nearby building andwithin easy access to and from the mosque. These particular settingsextend the range of the mosque functions outside that of its

boundaries.

Islamic Laws and Rules

One of the relationships found between the interior and the exteriorsettings of the mosque is the orientation to the Qibla. It is the mostevident in the city urban fabric. For the worshippers, from any part ofthe world, to line up facing the Kabah in Makkah, the Qibla wall alongwith the entire structure has to follow this orientation. The processleads to a necessary adjustment of the interior walls of the mosquefrom that of its surroundings in the case of the mosque being built inan established context. In the case of being built prior to a completedevelopment of the context, the urban fabric may adjust to themosque’s orientation.

There are no specific laws that suggest neither where the mosqueshould be located nor what urban elements should be near themosque. There are indications in the Islamic rules of conduct thatcommercial activities are prevented within the walls of the mosque.The frequency of the rituals performance and people’s need forreturning to their profane activities suggest a possibility of mosqueand market proximity in the city. It has been concluded that there is astrong relationship between the mosque and the market in thedefinition of the Islamic city (Raymond, 1984) and Massignon (cited inRaymond 1984, p. 12).

With laws and rules provided in the Islamic traditions or left forconsensus, the built environment becomes a field of application for

the Muslim society to practice responsibility. The pattern ofresponsibility varies according to the degree of adherence to thetraditions or the lack of understanding or control (Akbar, 1988).

Nature of the ‘Interface’

The concept of ‘interface’ between inhabitants and visitors refers tothe spatial analysis work of Hillier and Hanson (Hillier and Hanson,1984; Hillier, 1996; Hanson, 1998). The nature of the ‘interface’ as ithappens between inside the boundaries of the mosque and thesurrounding streets, however, requires further exploration.

The performance of five-time formal prayers throughout the daysuggests a high frequency of movement to and from the mosque.

High trip frequency suggests a high possibility of encounter among theinhabitants of the mosque’s local part of the city and the visitors whocome from outside this part. The nature of this ‘interface’ may change





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depending on the frequency of the visits. High frequency suggests afamiliarity with the inhabitants, the mosque and its area, which maychange the visitors’ behaviour to that of an inhabitant-like behaviour.Therefore, the capacity of the mosque’s spaces to facilitate thetransition between the interior of the mosque, its immediate exteriorand the streets in its proximity is critical in understanding the nature ofthe ‘interface’.

Analysis

The analysis looks at the relationship between the building and thecity at both local and global levels. The analysis extends theknowledge observed from the sample to further define the concept of'interface' with relation to the mosque. The cases were selected for themosques’ historical prominence regardless of their cities syntacticproperties. They are also representatives of the formal buildingtypology

i as classified by Frishman (1994) and Ardalan (1980; 1983).

Both the mosques and their cities are referred to in the analysis bytheir abbreviations as follows: Damascus DAM, Sanaa SAN, CairoCAI, Tunis TUN, Fez FEZ, Djenne DJN, Istanbul IST, Isfahan ISF,

Bukhara BUK, Shahjahanabad (Old Delhi) SHJ, Xian XIN andMalacca MAL

ii. Except for CAI, IST and ISF, the cases represent the

only, the largest and the oldest congregation mosque in the city. Theanalysis uses both Depthmap (Turner, 2000) and Mindwalk(Figueiredo, 2002) software for spatial analysis.

Location of the Mosque

The investigation proceeds to find the local position of the mosquewithin the global structure of the defined historical part of the city. Thepurpose is to see whether or not the mosque is located within oroutside the integration core of the city structure, and what implicationthat has on the expected natural movement of people to and from themosque’s location.

The axial lines of the 12 cities (Figure 2) show the global integration ofthe 5% and 25% most globally integrated lines of the system. A closeexamination of the 5% most integrated lines reveals that at least oneaxial line passes near the mosque in all the cases except XIN. Theanalysis is also done for the city with the inclusion of the axial linesthat pass through the interior of the mosque spaces. Thisexperimental approach is based on the assumption that specificspaces of the mosque such as the gates, transitions, courtyard andsome rows of the prayer area may as well behave like the streets. It ispossible then to enter the mosque through one gate and pass rightthrough the courtyard to exit from another to the neighbouring street.The 25% most globally integrated lines show a complete surrounding

of the exterior as well as the interior of the mosque.The analysis looks also at both axial measures of the city without thebuilding (Table 1a) and with it (Table 1b). The results show a slightincrease in the global integration (Int_Rn) with the building’s axial linesincluded, except for XIN and MAL where the results show a slightdecrease in the global integration.

It can be concluded from such a brief exploration that the ‘naturalmovement’ influenced by the structure of the city has a high possibilityin the sample of being near and around the mosque. This tendency inthe sample indicates that the mosque, considered as a formal building,is located in the integration core. A further consideration of thepossibility of the building to act as a passage connecting the sides of

the surrounding urban context shows another slight tendency tocontribute positively to the global integration of the city.





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The step depth analysis from the most integrated line in the system(Table 2), which takes into account the topological turns taken toreach the mosque, shows a mean of 2 steps depth to reach theexterior and 4 steps depth to reach the interior’s most integrated linefrom the most integrated line in the system. This measure is waybelow the step depth mean of the means in the sample’s systems.The most indicative case of this tendency is FEZ, where 0 step depth

indicates that the exterior line passing in front of the mosque isactually the most integrated line in the system.

Figure 2:

The axial lines of the 12cities show the globalintegration of the 5% and25% most integrated lines ofthe system





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The results from above confirm further the possible natural movementexpected, as an influence of the city structure, around and to theinterior of the mosque. This can result in more visitors reaching thispart of the city and mix with the inhabitants. It also indicates thedegree of the society’s investment in locating the mosque in the city.

Open Gates Visibility

The above conclusion suggested by the lines of movement in thesystem establishes the location of the mosque in the integration coreas a strong tendency in the sample. This integration core is furtherinvestigated using the visibility graph analysis. A catchments area of500 by 500 meter (Figure 3), defining the integration core of thesystem, is analysed visually using Depthmap. The objective is to

Table 1a:

Axial measures without thebuilding’s axial lines

Table 1b:

Axial measures with thebuilding’s axial lines

Table 2:

Step Depth from the mostintegrated line





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examine the extent to which the mosque acts as an urban elementvisually. It explores the relationship between the building’s interior andexterior.

When the system is analysed visually without the building's interior itconsiders the mosque as a solid object with closed gates similar to theother buildings around it. When the system is analysed with the gatesopen, the analysis reads the interior of the mosque as part of theurban open spaces. This exploration is based on the assumption thatthe interior of the mosque allows a through movement free of control.Its visual integration, however, is decisive in determining the degree ofsuch movement.

By comparing the visibility results without the building’s interior, gatesclosed and with it, gates opened (Table 3), the results show an

Figure 3:

A visibility graph comparisonof 500 by 500 metercatchments areas for each ofthe cases without themosque (gates closed) andwith the mosque (gatesopened). Dark (Red) areas

indicate high visualintegration





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increase in visual integration (V_Int) throughout the system except forXIN, MAL and DJN. This suggests that the mosque plays a noticeablerole in bringing the system visually together. It also suggests thatcases where the difference is positive, the mosque plays an urbanrole and acts as an urban element similar to that of the piazza at theheart of the town. Where the difference is negative as in XIN, MALand DJN, it is observed that these mosques’ interiors are isolated

visually from the rest of the urban context. Their architectural settingsin relation to the exterior seem to produce little visual integrations. XINand MAL have fewer gates open to the exterior. DJN is located at theheart of the city’s high visual integration, yet the mosque contributionseems to be insignificant compared with the open market place nextto it.

The cases in the sample show that there are many ways of

demonstrating this urban contribution. The number, the placementand the relationships of critical spaces such as the gates, transitionsand courtyards can contribute positively to the visual integration. Byconsidering the cases of SHJ, DAM and ISF, the three diverse casesin terms of architectural forms, it appears that they are the highest onthe rank order in terms of the positive difference between the VGAmeasures of integration with and without the building (SHJ 3.41, DAM0.76 and ISF 0.62). Their formal variation may affect the ways inwhich they contribute to the positive integration difference. One cansee how the positive contribution is achieved through the architecturalmanipulation of isovists, where the visibility extends beyond themosque’s boundaries (Figure 4).

In SHJ case the high platform on which the mosque is located, itscentrality, location of the staircase, the gates location at that particularend of the road and the fact that the gates lead immediately to a largecourtyard all contribute greatly to the positive integration.

DAM case is less of an object sitting in the urban space as it was thecase of the SHJ. It is physically semi detached to its context withspaces open up in the front the gates. The context is dense aroundthe mosque allowing the courtyard to behave like an urban piazza witha possibility of isovists linking its two exterior sides visually. Thisformal configuration allows it to contribute to the visual integrationpositively.

ISF is another case of high positive visual contribution to the urban

context. The position of the gates and the transition spaces leading tothe courtyard are acting like secondary streets connecting one side ofthe mosque's exterior to another. These interior transition spaces and

Table 3:

Visibility Graph Analysis(VGA)





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the courtyard behave like streets connecting a piazza with the urbanfabric.

Conclusion

This brief exploration suggests that there are tendencies in the sample

to confirm the view that the congregation mosque is not a merebuilding with its boundaries enclosing its interior spaces, but rather anactive urban element that contributes to the city’s global and local

Figure 4:

Various architectural forms

contributing in different ways tobe the positive visualintegrations through theirextended isovists to the exterior





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spatial integration. Yet the analysis of these diverse cases of thesample shows few cases where the mosque is less active as an urbanelement.

In the view of the Islamic traditions, the patterns of responsibility tointegrate the built environment that contains the mosque seem to beconsistent throughout the Muslim world where an understanding of the

traditions is at its highest. Where less comprehension or less controlover the shaping of the built environment prevails, less integration isshown as in the case of XIN and MAL and to some extent DJN. This,however, should not make these cases less functional as mosques.

The interface relationship between the visitors and inhabitants, in thelight of the results, seem to suggest less controlling, more possibilitiesfor encounter, copresence and a tendency towards social cohesion.

The social cohesion experienced in the most active cases is not onlydue to the social practice degree of adherence to Islamic traditions butalso to the spatial cohesion of the mosque experience itself at thelevel of the building and the city. Such spatial cohesion is in itself adegree of embodiment of Islamic laws and intents by the society. It

can be said that the higher the embodiment of these traditions, thehigher the built environment integration of the mosque; and the higherthis spatial integration, the higher the social cohesion.

Finally, these findings across the diverse traditional cases lead to theconclusion that such knowledge is needed to understand the conceptof interface between people as well as between the elements of thebuilt environment itself. These relationships represented in thetraditional settings can provide clues for better urban designs andpolicies. A further study of the building’s interior will provide acomprehensive view of the nature of the social and spatialorganisation

ii i.

References

Akbar, J.A., 1988, Crisis in the Built Environment: The Case of the MuslimCity, Singapore, Concept Media: E.J. Brill, New York, U.S.A.

Ardalan, N., 1980, “The Visual Language Of Symbolic Form: A PreliminaryStudy Of Mosque Architecture”, J.G. Katz (Ed.) Architecture as Symbol andSelf-Identity , Philadelphia: Aga Khan Award for Architecture, pp. 18-36.

Ardalan, N., 1983, “On Mosque Architecture”, R. Holod, D. Rastorfer (Eds.) Architecture and Community , Aperture, pp. 55-56, New York.

Colquhoun, A., 1967, K. Nesbitt (Ed.), 1996, Theorizing A New Agenda For Architecture: An Anthology Of Architectural Theory 1965-1995 , Princeton Architectural Press, New York.

Figueiredo, L., 2002, Mindwalk, Version 1.0, Space Syntax Software, Version

1.0 ed., Available at: http://www.mindwalk.com.br.Frishman, M., et al., 1994, The Mosque: History, Architectural Development &Regional Diversity , Thames and Hudson, London.

Hakim, B.S., 1986, Arabic-Islamic Cities: Building And Planning Principles,Kegan Paul International, London.

Hanson, J., 1998, Decoding Homes and Houses, Cambridge University Press,Cambridge.

Hillier, B., 1996, Space is the Machine: A Configurational Theory Of Architecture, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Hillier, B., Hanson, J., 1984, The Social Logic of Space, Cambridge UniversityPress, Cambridge.

Markus, T.A., 1993. Buildings & Power: Freedom and Control in the Origin ofModern Building Type, Routledge, London and New York.





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Raymond, A., 1984, The Great Arab Cities in The 16 th – 18

th Centuries: An

Introduction, New York University Press, New York and London.

Rossi, A., 1982, The Architecture of the City , Published by the GrahamFoundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts and the Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies by MIT, Cambridge, Mass and London.

Turner, A., 2000-2006, UCL Depthmap, VR Centre for the Built Environment,

Version 6.052r Available at http://www.vr.ucl.ac.uk/depthmap.Vidler, A., 1976, “The Third Typology “, K.M. Hays (Ed.), 1998, OppositionsReader: Selected Readings from a Journal for Ideas and Criticism in Architecture, 1973-1984, Princeton Architectural Press, New York.

i. The mosque building typology: the hypostyle with dome accent and courtyard type, represented by the mosques ofDamascus, Sanaa, Cairo, Tunis, Fez and Djenne; the central dome type, represented by the Fatih Mosque of Istanbul; thehypostyle with domical vaulting and an extensive courtyard type, represented by the mosques of Isfahan, Bukhara andShahjahanabad; and the detached pavilion within a walled garden enclosure type, represented by the mosques of Xian andMalacca.

ii. List of mosques: The Great Mosque of Damascus, Syria, 8th c.; the Great Mosque in Sanaa, Yemen, 7th - 17

th c.; Al-Azhar

Mosque of Cairo, Egypt, 10th c.; the Great Mosque of Djenne, Mali, 13

th c. - 1907; Fatih Mosque of Istanbul, Turkey, 15

th c.;

the Jami mosque of Isfahan, Iran, 8th - 11

th c.; the Kalyan Mosque of Bukhara, Uzbekistan, 16

th c.; the Friday Mosque of

Shahjahanabad, India, 17th c.; the Great Mosque of Xian, China, 14

th c.; and Masjid Kampung Kling, Malacca, Malaysia, 18

th

c.

iii. For the extended exploration of the mosque typology, see Aazam, Z. 2007, “The Social Logic of the Mosque: A Study inBuilding Typology”, O.Ertekin (Ed.), Proceedings, 6th International Space Syntax Symposium, Istanbul Technical University,

Cenkler, Istanbul, pp.058.01-058.18.

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The Social Logic of the Mosque