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Dear Readers,
While All Things Pakistan has remained alive and online, it has been dormant since June 11, 2011 - when, on the blog's 5th anniversary, we decided that it was time to move on. We have been heartened by your messages and the fact that a steady traffic has continued to enjoy the archived content on ATP. While the blog itself will remain dormant, we are now beginning to add occasional (but infrequent) new material by the original authors of the blog, mostly to archive what they may now publish elsewhere. We will also be updating older posts to make sure that new readers who stumble onto this site still find it useful.
We hope you will continue to find ATP a useful venue to reflect upon and express your Pakistaniat. - Editors
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Well thought out article Rafay, Most of the mosques are constructed over a period of years and are therefore a mix of various traits. I guess the Millitary type mosque is more turkish or Post oil boom Arab in nature. It is either somewhat secular or an expressionless blunt facade. Call it nostalgia, the Rajgarh type mosque beats all models. Yet all these mosques have their distinct architectural character but the big mighty walls and barriers installed outside are an eyesore, perhaps the architects of tomorrow shall rank security a foremost feature while designing any mosque.
Very nice article. I wish we had more discussion on architecture and what we are doing to our built environment as a whole. Enjoyed reading this and loved the categories you invent to describe what is happening.
Enjoyed reading this very much.
I think many people remain confused between ‘architecture’ and ‘civil engineering’. The two are very different and you capture the aesthetic aspects of architecture very well. It is a pity that the new mosques being built are becoming utilitarian and losing the aesthetic elements and flair that were once the mark of our masjids. They are indeed major cultural heritage and should be thought of architecturally as you do brilliantly here.
On the other hand, I think many of the uglier structures will disappear with time and the ones that will reman are the better ones. I am sure that is what has been happening historically. It is not a if Mughal Lahore had ONLY the Badshahi masjid, but that is the one that stood the test of time.
The question is, which ones of our new mosques will stand the test of time?
Architecturally there is no such thing as ‘Mughal Mosque’ or ‘Military Mosque’ nor the dome at Nabvi Mosque in Madina could be characterised as ‘Arab Dome’. Similarly the copula at Hagia Sophia in Istanbul is based on series of very complicated system of domes and half domes. My comments are more in the defence of the art and science of architecture and have less to do with the person of the author of this article. If Mr. Alam wants to criticize Pak Armed Forces, he should do so but not at the expense of Islamic Architecture.
That art and science of mosque building could be divided into categories such as Moghul Mosque, Masjid ul Nabwi Mosque, Military Mosque, and 2-D Mosque is simply ridiculous. The subject demands serious attention and not a silly satire. Readers of ATP expect better.