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I’ll start this post with a confession: I rather like Mosques. Some, though by no means all, are grandly dignified, even beautiful. Indeed, architecturally considered, they can be counted as one of the very few artistic triumphs in all the Islamic World’s long, unproductive history.
They have also been much imitated, including in the West. The Royal Pavilion in Brighton, England clearly aims for an Islamic style, as do many of the older churches and cathedrals of Europe (though how appropriate that is, I don’t attempt to measure).
The geometric artwork of a Mosque interior can be equally splendid and betray a real talent in the designers. This art has likewise influenced the infidel world and its style can be seen today in the pattern-work of house furniture, carpets, curtains and dresses.
Some of the Mosques of the East, and in particular those of Iran and Saudi Arabia, are so impressive that they seem wholly out of place inside the undeveloped surrounds of their location (a good example being the ‘Mosque of the Prophet’ in Medina, Saudi Arabia). One has to wonder why such people cannot build libraries and houses with the same dedication and care. Surely if they did so, the Islamic World would be an exhibition of unrivalled majesty. I suppose it’s a matter of priorities…
Of course, what a Mosque looks like and what it represents are very separate and distinct things to consider. A mosque may appear the pleasant product of human creativity, but its symbolism (for those outside the faith) is decidedly more sinister.
Mosques, whatever their spiritual significance within Islam, are a boast; a sign of advancing cultural and religious conquest. The spear-like minarets that dwarf the church spires and tower blocks of infidel cities announce the permanence of Islam in that region. The long reach of the Muezzin call to prayer, drifting every day across distant neighbourhoods, articulates the scale of Muslim ambition; a world faith; a faith to subsume the world entirely.
The call to prayer is not merely a call for Muslims to attend prayers. This is very important to understand. Rather, this musical plea is for all people to come to Islam itself. It is hostile, spiritual propaganda of the grandest kind.
And an increasing number of people are aware of this. When the Swiss People’s Party petitioned the national government to ban the construction of minarets in that country, they were promptly dismissed by conservatives as crackpot. What, sceptics wondered, is the point of banning minarets alone, and leaving the mosques standing? The answer supplied by SPP members was that minarets, through their size and appearance, are ‘aggressive’; that in dwarfing the surrounding areas they are making a statement of ‘supremacy’.
While mysterious to some, this makes perfect sense to me. As the President of Turkey eloquently (and proudly) put it – minarets are the ‘bayonets’ of Islamic conquest.
Despite mass Muslim immigration into Britain being a relatively recent phenomenon (beginning around 1950 and only accelerating to contemporary proportions in the 1970s) the number of Mosques in Britain is already bewildering. There are over 1500 (one thousand five hundred) such buildings in Britain as of 2015, most of which are clustered in specific areas, giving those regions an increasingly foreign character.
There are 383 Mosques in the City of London alone, a figure that is rising rapidly all the time. While there are still more standing Churches in the city, it is fair to speculate that the number of active Mosques (that is to say, Mosques which attract large and faithful congregations) already surpasses the number of active Churches.
There are 59 Mosques in Leicester, with the growth of the local Muslim population there causing a correlating decrease in the number of Christian institutions (churches in Leicester are closing at a higher rate than the national average). A similar picture can be painted of Bradford (80 Mosques), Birmingham (161 Mosques) and Sheffield (33 Mosques).
Tensions are an inevitable result of this. A great deal of British culture is being paved over (against the wishes of the majority) with something hostile, different and unattractive. News reports this week of a pig’s head being left at the doors of a Mosque is far from unusual. Nor are bomb threats, arson attempts and other forms of law-breaking.
I won’t ever endorse or apologize for that kind of stunt (the juvenile actions described benefit no one), but I do urge the government to understand the great offence these buildings cause to Christian and minority communities. We know what they stand for. Jews know what they stand for. Hindus know what they stand for. And our voice of intolerance (yes, we are right to be intolerant of this) must eventually be heard.
D, LDN.
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I totally agree with what you say here. Mosques can indeed be beautiful buildings to look upon. The Arabs have an impressive tradition of architecture, also of medicine. Which shows how impressive their civilisation could have been had Islam not smothered most of it.
I used to believe that there was an intrinsic link between beauty in ideas and the art that those ideas inspired. But this belief was badly shaken when I learned more about the art of the Maya people…fantastic statues and sculptures, but a cruel and bloody religion that revelled in human sacrifice. Something similar may be said concerning Islam and some of the great architecture it inspires.
Closer to home, the building of a large mosque in a neighbourhood transforms that neighbourhood. It casts a shadow, literally and metaphorically, over the surrounding streets. Muslims will tend to want to move to that neighbourhood so as to be close to their place of worship. The larger the mosque then the greater the transformation. Personally I hope the day will come when there is not a single mosque in England, not one. Time will tell.
Yes, Mosques do attract further Muslim immigration to an area. That’s why they must be opposed. Even cities with a tiny Muslim minority can be transformed by the presence of a large Mosque.
Samarkand is an especially beautiful place with very attractive Mosques. It’s a shame it’s so dangerous to visit.
Your reference to Samarkand reminded me of a book I read by Paul Theroux ‘Journey through the Lost Heart of Asia’. In one memorable passage he is standing by the burial mound of some ancient and forgotten pagan warlord. Ahead of him he can see the minaret of the great mosque at Bukhara. Theroux remarks that this scene brings home to him that communism was in reality just a thin ripple on the tide of history.
Interesting. It’s certain that Communism never had much of a legacy in the Islamic world. Apart from AK47s. They still like those.
I used to see the beauty in the old mosques but now I know about the religion I only see what they represent. Only once the religion has become a thing of the past will I be able to see the beauty in these old buildings again.
Modern mosques just look ugly to me from both aesthetic and cultural points of view.
We need to get our voices heard more on mainstream media so that the ugliness of the culture they represent is clearer to more people. State sponsored pro-Islamic propaganda from the BBC should be our first target.
Many Mosques in Britain are cheaply constructed and are very unattractive. The pleasant Mosques abroad are financed by Saudi oil money. I agree that knowing what a Mosque represents kills off the romance of it.
Churches can be far more attractive. Salisbury Cathedral being a case in point.
The basic mosque design of a central dome is essentially a copy of Eastern Orthodox Byzantine Chrisian churches, many of which were forcibly converted into mosques after the Arab conquests of the Byzantine empire holdings in the Middle-East. It’s highly likely that the Arabs just copied the basic church design for their places of worship.
The Hagia Sophia in Istanbul(Constantinople) looks like a mosque. It was originally a Christian church, converted to a mosque by the Ottamans, to a secular museum by Kemal Ataturk and soon to be a mosque under Erdogan. (The dome is originally a Roman invention, an extension of the famous Roman arch. The Pantheon in Rome is a example of classic Roman dome construction.)
So, you’ve been admiring buildings of essentially Pagan & Christian Roman designs!
Athena is right. the ‘typical’ mosque design long pre-dates Islam and was copied – by Muslims, but often using enslaved Christian architects and builders – from the design of Byzantine Christian churches. The glorious Hagia Sophia in Constantinople – *the* most typical and iconic Eastern church – was built (4th/ 5th century AD) *before* the invention of Islam. The beauty of the ‘typical’ mosque with its dome is but a shadow of the beauty of the churches it is both mimicking and parodying. Even the minarets are a parody/ mimicry of the stand-alone bell towers used by some ancient churches. (And it’s worth noting that according to the terms of the legendary “Pact of Omar”, the template of all the subsequent viciously-repressive “rules for dhimmis” imposed on captive non-Muslim indigenous populations in lands conquered by Muslims, the ringing of church bells was not permitted; bells were not to be allowed to rival the howl of the muezzin).
If that’s the case, it’s a shame Christian countries didn’t continue with the Byzantine style. It’s far more inspiring than the gothic style so predominant in Europe.
I think the ‘Gothic design’ was more appropriate for the more snow-bound Northern Europe. The gothic style allows snow to fall-off due to its steep towers, whereas a less inclined dome would cause snow to pile up.
Also, because of the plentiful availability of wood in Northern Europe, it’s more easy to cheaply build a Gothic style wooden church than domed structure with wood.
It’s personal taste anyway. Personally, I find European Churches fascinating and beautiful and Ibadmire the way they gracefully blend with the scenery unlike the Mosques in England, which tend to stand-out like a sore thumb (even the ‘beautiful’ ones)
Re mosques. There is an ex-Muslim (now a Christian), nom de plume “Sam Solomon”, who has written two very good books. Both are fairly short, but information-dense and well referenced. The first is “The Mosque and Its Role in Society”, and the other, with a broader scope, is “Al Hijra: The Islamic Doctrine of Immigration”. Worth reading. Very sobering.
Thanks for the recommendation.
“While there are still more standing Churches in the city, it is fair to speculate that the number of active Mosques (that is to say, Mosques which attract large and faithful congregations) already surpasses the number of active Churches.”
May I add that oftentimes they also “convert” unused churches into mosques. The Europeans may see nothing wrong with this yet the moslem thriumph when it happens is not that difficult to sense. I once noticed a muslim “friend” posting on Facebook a picture of a beautiful little church with a caption saying “Church converted into masjid. Thats how we do it in the uk” with various “allaku akbar” comments underneath it. Of course, after that he promptly stopped being my “friend” on FB.
But who can blame them for such confidence in an area where we ourselves degrade churches into supermarkets, discoteques and brothels? Or straight bulldozer them like they did in France?
BTW – Great blog. I just found it today when deliberating on the future of birmingham – city in which i’m unfortunately studying. Couldn’t agree with you more & I’m Eastern European.
Thank you.
Yes, there’s no more explicit and depressing sign of European cultural decline than the conversion of Churches into Mosques. It speaks volumes.
No problem. I sent you a friend request earlier in the month.
It would be great to see a new post focusing on islamic conversions – mostly to answer why do they convert. Having browsed the blog – cannot find anything like it. Just an idea for the future. x