islamic hot spots - mrs. wente's...
TRANSCRIPT
Islamic Hot Spots Why might there be few?
The Symbol for “Muhammad”
•No images of Muhammad
appear in mosques or in the
Arabic world
•Instead, they use this symbol of
his name
Muslim Influence around the World
The Ka’ba – Makkah (Mecca), Saudi Arabia
• Holiest Site in Islam
• Black building in the middle is said to be built on the spot where Abraham first
worshipped one God
• Ka’ba was used in Muhammad’s time as a storage house for all the area gods’ idols;
he threw them out and re-dedicated the Ka’ba to the worship of the one God
• For daily prayers, Muslims point their faces towards the
Ka’ba at Mecca
• Below, you can see how hotel room ceilings and sidewalks
help you out in the Middle East!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xx7v8W
YKbQg
Ka’ba
Mosque in Medina – Saudi Arabia
Site of where Muhammad built the first Muslim mosque, after Muhammad fled Makkah;
Second holiest site in Islam
Dome of the Rock – Jerusalem, Israel
3rd holiest site; Site of Muhammad’s ascension to heaven, according to
Islamic tradition; also the former site of the Jewish Temple of Solomon
Oldest Islamic site, built in 691.
Great Mosque of Samarra – Iraq
Built in the 800s!
Blue Mosque -- Istanbul, Turkey
Designed like the Hagia Sophia, but with 6 minarets!!
• Notice that there are no pews in the mosque?
• The mosque is only used for prayers, and people need to be able to kneel down, so
pews would just get in the way.
• Muslims do not hold “services” like Christians. They perform prayers together in
the mosque on Friday afternoons, sometimes hear a respected Muslim imam give a
short message, and then socialize and greet friends and family.
• Notice that there are no pictures, only designs and patterns?
• Muslims were afraid that people would end up worshipping idols or pictures. So in
their mosques, beautiful patterns are used, but there are no images of Muhammad.
• Notice that the outside of all mosques have at least one tower, called a minaret.
• The minaret is used by a muezzin, a person who stands at the top of the tower and
sing/chants the reminder to Muslims that it’s time to pray. People in Muslim-
majority cities will hear this call 5 times each day. (Churches use bells to do
basically the same thing.)
Taj Mahal – Agra, India
One of the New 7 Wonders of the World; no longer being used as an active mosque
Back side of the Taj Mahal
Great Mosque of Cordoba – Spain
Originally a church, converted into a mosque, then converted BACK into
a church now is a Catholic church
The exterior of the mosque/church
Interior!
Very unique “double arch” arches
Gorgeous ceiling notice, no images!
Would Muslims put
these outlines of people in
the wall?
Who do you think did? (Christians did – and Muslims removed the images of people)
Nooks like this were
used in mosques to point
towards the direction of
Mecca
Great Mosque of Djenne – Mali (Africa)
Built in 1300 using materials in the area
a Detroit mosque – United States •Detroit has the largest Muslim community in the US!
•They were the first ones to use loudspeakers instead of a muezzin (a person who stands in the tower can chants loudly to call people to prayer– similar to church bells when church is about to begin).
a modern mosque – Chicago, IL
Notice the modernized architecture
a modern mosque – New York, NY
Look how modern!
a London mosque – United Kingdom
Very traditional construction in England
Mosque of Brunei (SE Asia)
Uses Asian-style elements in the architecture
Mosque Design – Lots of Variety! What are some
common elements??
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xx7v8W
YKbQg