More than 1,200 mosques and Islamic centers have existed in
this country, according to a survey conducted in the latter
part of the 1990s, but fewer
 than 100 were actually designed
as mosques. The survey revealed that most Islamic
congregations in the United States began in buildings that
had been constructed for other purposes -- fire stations,
theaters, warehouses, and shops. The situation changed,
however, after 1965 when the first large-scale influx of
Muslims from various countries came to the United States.
Mosques then began to be built for the sole purpose of
ministering to the Muslim community as houses of worship and
community centers. The great variety of religious diversity
and ethnicity among American Muslims today is reflected in
the variety of building design and organization.
The photographer and chronicler
of mosque architecture, Dr. Omar Khalidi, a senior research
scholar at the Aga Khan Program in Islamic Architecture at
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge,
explains the three types of mosque architecture that now
flourish in the United States.
"First, there are mosques that
embody a traditional design transplanted from one -- or
several -- Islamic lands," Dr. Khalidi points out.
"Second, there are those that
represent a reinterpretation of tradition, sometimes
combined with elements of American architecture. Third are
the designs that are entirely innovative, like those of the
Islamic Society of North America's headquarters in
Plainfield, Indiana.”
Most of the mosques in all
three categories also function as classrooms, libraries,
conference centers, bookshops, kitchens, and social halls,
even as residential apartments.
Another important consideration
in mosque architecture is the space for women to worship. In
America, women generally are an integral part of mosque
activities and play a very active role in the Muslim
community. In a typical American Muslim family, the entire
family turns out for worship, necessitating separate space
for women, usually at a mezzanine level.
In many instances, mosque
architecture in North America reflects the prevailing
building designs of the area. "Over time a standard design
will evolve which will be a happy blend between nostalgia
and innovation," Dr. Khalidi predicts. "The new emerging
mosques in the West are a far cry from just domes and
minarets.
For an extensive report on The
American Mosque, please visit:
http://www.cair-net.org/mosquereport/Masjid_Study_Project_2000_Report.pdf
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