Hybrid histories: a framework for rethinking 'Islamic' architecture
The Adelaide Mosque (1888-1889), the first urban mosque built in Australia, was founded by Afghan cameleers whose contribution to the exploration of Australia’s vast desert interior is largely untold. The cultural significance of the mosque is recognised locally and it is identified as “one of...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Conference or Workshop Item |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Society of Architectural Historians of Australia and New Zealand
2012
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://irep.iium.edu.my/30121/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/30121/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/30121/1/SAHANZ_XXIX_2012_Full_Papers.pdf.pdf |
| id |
iium-30121 |
|---|---|
| recordtype |
eprints |
| spelling |
iium-301212013-06-25T10:38:38Z http://irep.iium.edu.my/30121/ Hybrid histories: a framework for rethinking 'Islamic' architecture Rashid, Md. Mizanur Bartsch, Katharine DU Oceania (South Seas) NA190 History The Adelaide Mosque (1888-1889), the first urban mosque built in Australia, was founded by Afghan cameleers whose contribution to the exploration of Australia’s vast desert interior is largely untold. The cultural significance of the mosque is recognised locally and it is identified as “one of the few relics of Afghan immigration to South Australia and embodies in built form Afghan and Mohammedan culture which is otherwise not significantly represented” (City of Adelaide Heritage Study Item No. 159, Adelaide Mosque file, Heritage South Australia). However, despite this recognition, this unadorned bluestone structure has failed to draw the attention of architectural historians in surveys of ‘Islamic’ architecture. The scope of recent surveys in this field is increasingly inclusive. However, very few studies focus on the architecture of Muslim communities in regions where Islam is not the predominant faith, especially in the southern hemisphere. The Adelaide Mosque, and many others, is excluded from the historical record despite the instrumental role it played in the life of Muslim settlers. This absence raises questions about gaps, or histories untold, as well as myths received, in histories of ‘Islamic’ architecture that raise questions about the truth-value of the past. There is a need to examine hybridised forms and shared architectural narratives to counter the myopic but persistent representation—or fabulation—of supposedly authentic, largely Arab-centric, forms of ‘Islamic’ architecture. This paper argues, then, that new theoretical frameworks are required to interpret this architectural hybrid that is, we argue, typical rather than exceptional. Through a case study of the Adelaide Mosque, this paper critically re-examines the reductive but pervasive conceptions of ‘Islamic’ Architecture that obscure the historical processes of hybridization and its diverse morphological outcomes to comprehend the process of resilience and assimilation through which architecture is shaped in a particular context. Society of Architectural Historians of Australia and New Zealand 2012-07-05 Conference or Workshop Item PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://irep.iium.edu.my/30121/1/SAHANZ_XXIX_2012_Full_Papers.pdf.pdf Rashid, Md. Mizanur and Bartsch, Katharine (2012) Hybrid histories: a framework for rethinking 'Islamic' architecture. In: 29th Annual Conferenze of the Society of Architectural Historians Australia & New Zealand (Fabulation SAHANZ XXIX 2012), 5th-8th July 2012, University of Tasmania, Launceston, Australia. http://www.sahanz.net/conferences/programme2012.pdf |
| repository_type |
Digital Repository |
| institution_category |
Local University |
| institution |
International Islamic University Malaysia |
| building |
IIUM Repository |
| collection |
Online Access |
| language |
English |
| topic |
DU Oceania (South Seas) NA190 History |
| spellingShingle |
DU Oceania (South Seas) NA190 History Rashid, Md. Mizanur Bartsch, Katharine Hybrid histories: a framework for rethinking 'Islamic' architecture |
| description |
The Adelaide Mosque (1888-1889), the first urban mosque built in Australia, was
founded by Afghan cameleers whose contribution to the exploration of Australia’s
vast desert interior is largely untold. The cultural significance of the mosque is
recognised locally and it is identified as “one of the few relics of Afghan immigration
to South Australia and embodies in built form Afghan and Mohammedan culture
which is otherwise not significantly represented” (City of Adelaide Heritage Study
Item No. 159, Adelaide Mosque file, Heritage South Australia). However, despite
this recognition, this unadorned bluestone structure has failed to draw the attention
of architectural historians in surveys of ‘Islamic’ architecture. The scope of recent
surveys in this field is increasingly inclusive. However, very few studies focus on the
architecture of Muslim communities in regions where Islam is not the predominant
faith, especially in the southern hemisphere. The Adelaide Mosque, and many
others, is excluded from the historical record despite the instrumental role it played
in the life of Muslim settlers. This absence raises questions about gaps, or histories
untold, as well as myths received, in histories of ‘Islamic’ architecture that raise
questions about the truth-value of the past. There is a need to examine hybridised
forms and shared architectural narratives to counter the myopic but persistent
representation—or fabulation—of supposedly authentic, largely Arab-centric, forms
of ‘Islamic’ architecture. This paper argues, then, that new theoretical frameworks
are required to interpret this architectural hybrid that is, we argue, typical rather
than exceptional. Through a case study of the Adelaide Mosque, this paper critically
re-examines the reductive but pervasive conceptions of ‘Islamic’ Architecture that
obscure the historical processes of hybridization and its diverse morphological
outcomes to comprehend the process of resilience and assimilation through which
architecture is shaped in a particular context. |
| format |
Conference or Workshop Item |
| author |
Rashid, Md. Mizanur Bartsch, Katharine |
| author_facet |
Rashid, Md. Mizanur Bartsch, Katharine |
| author_sort |
Rashid, Md. Mizanur |
| title |
Hybrid histories: a framework for rethinking 'Islamic' architecture |
| title_short |
Hybrid histories: a framework for rethinking 'Islamic' architecture |
| title_full |
Hybrid histories: a framework for rethinking 'Islamic' architecture |
| title_fullStr |
Hybrid histories: a framework for rethinking 'Islamic' architecture |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Hybrid histories: a framework for rethinking 'Islamic' architecture |
| title_sort |
hybrid histories: a framework for rethinking 'islamic' architecture |
| publisher |
Society of Architectural Historians of Australia and New Zealand |
| publishDate |
2012 |
| url |
http://irep.iium.edu.my/30121/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/30121/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/30121/1/SAHANZ_XXIX_2012_Full_Papers.pdf.pdf |
| first_indexed |
2023-09-18T20:44:13Z |
| last_indexed |
2023-09-18T20:44:13Z |
| _version_ |
1777409566546329600 |