Follow-up and renewal in the employment of the Islamic architectural heritage (Ahmed Ibn Tulun Mosque in Cairo and Meikat Mosque in Medina as a case study)

Abstract

The concept of employment for the Islamic architectural heritage takes great place and attention by architects or those who study and analyze the Islamic heritage in architecture. However, most of the architectural applications that appear on the ground focus on the physical aspect of that heritage as it represents the visual image of it and the most relevant aspect of the memory of Islamic societies in the Eastern and Western Islamic world. This causes the problem of the artisanal transport of the heritage of the Islamic architectural heritage without looking at this heritage objectively and understanding the social and cultural circumstances and causes that led to its emergence as it is. The research assumes that the Islamic architectural heritage possesses rich intellectual and material resources that can be utilized nowadays in contemporary projects if they are removed from imitation and direct form transport. The research focuses specifically on the architecture of the mosques and selects two old models, the Ahmad Ibn Tulun Mosque in Cairo and the Mashhad in the ninth century AD, and the Meikat Mosque in Medina and Mashad at the end of the 20th century. The research aims at shedding light on the concept of followers in the building of contemporary Islamic mosques as a mechanism for employing the Islamic architectural heritage and identifying the defects in the process of followings and the surrounding areas in the building of contemporary mosques.