Historiography of Mosque Architecture in Malaysia: Analysis of Texts by 5 Authors
Date Added
15/07/2019
Content Type
Documentary
Category
Researches
Link to Content
Subject Area
Architecture
Author
Ezrin Arbi
Nila Keumala
and Megat Ariff Shah
Publisher Name
Journal of Design and Built Environment
Year of Publication
2016
1. Introduction 2. Methodology 3. Results 3.1 General research approach in historiography of mosque architecture in Malaysia 3.1.1 Background of Authors 3.1.2 Type of Work 3.1.3 Aim of Work 3.1.4 Outcome of Work 3.2 Formal elements and characteristics 4. Discussion 4.1 Unique elements and characteristics of mosques in Malaysia 4.2 Ambiguity 4.3 Complexity of classifications 5. Conclusion
Description
Malaysian mosques exhibit remarkable variations, ranging from humble traditional timber structures to massive modern complexes. This evolution has been studied by numerous historians, architects, and academicians resulting in a steadily expanding historiography of mosque architecture. However, this body of work on the history and development of local mosques has never been formally studied in detail as a whole. Therefore, this paper focuses on 2 major aspects: first, identifying general research approaches present in the historiography of mosque architecture in Malaysia, and second, classifying the formal elements and characteristics used to describe the architecture of local mosques.
Based on selected texts from 5 Malaysian authors, it was identified that these works are descriptive studies that are primarily structured on a combination of chronological, stylistic, cultural, geographical and typological approaches. Additionally, descriptions of mosque architecture by the authors were based on a set of formal elements and characteristics which falls into 5 distinct categories: i) typological element, ii) spatial organisation, iii) roof form, iv) building technology, and v) design articulation. These results reflect the complexity of mosque development in Malaysia and the multiple angles that are possible to holistically examine them.
This paper also discusses 3 significant aspects embedded within the study of mosque architecture in
Malaysia, covering unique elements and characteristics of local mosques, followed by issues related to
language, conceptual, and factual ambiguity, and finally on the complexity of mosque classifications.