icma user – 273 - International Conference on Mosque Architecture

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Research paper Title

Identity, Creativity and Spirituality: An Architectural and Urban Tale of Two Mosques in Doha, Qatar

Personal Biography

Prof. Alraouf is an architect, urban designer, planner, critic, writer and professor, he has seventy-five years of academic, research and consulting experience, and served as the Head of the Department of Architecture at the University of Science and Arts, and as a coordinator of the Urban Planning Program at Qatar University. His research interests include: contemporary Gulf cities, knowledge and creative cities, post-oil urbanism, the creative value of architectural and urban heritage, architectural and urban criticism. Prof. Alraouf has received several local, regional and international awards in architecture, planning, criticism, teaching and scientific research, including the Innovation Award in Environmental and Sustainable Planning from the Ministry of Scientific Research in Egypt in 2000, the Educational Excellence Award of the University of Modern Arts and Sciences (MSA) for the year 2004, the best research paper at the Sharjah International Conference on Urban Planning in 2008, and the Research Publishing Achievement Award. Scientific from the University of Bahrain 2009. He was also selected as a member of the Excellence Campaign 2012 at Qatar University, and the distinguished speaker at the Arab Future Cities Summit2016. The International Association of Urban Planners (ISOCARP) was awarded the Best Book Award for its book "Knowledge-Based Urban Development in the Middle East" in 2018. His research also received the Best Paper Award at the International Organization for the Study of Traditional Settlements (IASTE) conference at the University of California, Berkeley in 2018. Prof. Alraouf has published more than 150 research papers, articles and technical reports in international conferences and periodicals. He has also been invited to give lectures in universities in more than 30 countries, the most important of which are Cambridge, College London in England, Oregon, Drury, Howard and Chicago in America, Leipzig in Germany and Malaysia, Seoul in Korea, Leuven in Belgium, Istanbul, Abdullah Gul in Turkey, the universities of Belgrade and Niš in Serbia, the University of Malaga in Spain, and the universities of Ninebo, Tottenham and Wuhan in China. And American universities in Sharjah, Kuwait, Lebanon and most Gulf universities. He is also the co-author of several books in Arabic and English and a single author of Architectural Criticism and its Role in the Development of Contemporary Architecture (2014), From Mecca to Las Vegas: Treatises on Architecture and Holiness (2014), Cities of the Arabs in Their Novels (2016), Critical Essays in Egyptian Architecture (2016), Urban Architectural Blogs (7-201) and Knowledge-Based Urban Development in the Middle East.(2018), Square, Revolution and People: The Architectural and Urban Story of Tahrir Square (2019), The Arab City: Challenges of Urbanization in Transforming Societies (2020), Social Transformations in the Arab Gulf States: Identity, Tribe and Development (2021), Architecture, Urbanization and the Post-Corona City (2022). In addition to his regular contributions to many architectural and cultural periodicals. He is a Capacity Building and R&D Advisor at the Urban Planning Department in Qatar, a professor at Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Head of the Sustainable Urbanism Unit at the Qatar Green Building Council and a board member of the International Organization of City Planners.

Paper Abstract

Abstract Purpose How the State’s identity in the Gulf is manifested in the built environment? To provide a contextual answer, the paper narrates the tale of two influential architectural and spiritual entities in the contemporary urban fabric of Doha, the capital city of Qatar. It analyzes the cases of the State Grand Mosque and Qatar Collage of Islamic Studies Mosque. Hybrid/assembled identity in contemporary Qatar is a result of what might seem a contradiction in the way the built environment is envisioned. The hypothesis of the paper is articulated around the notion of “Hybrid Identity” of Qatar and the balanced direction towards combining heritage and traditional values with global aspirations. And how this approach is affecting the way iconic architectural entities are envisioned, particularly mosques. Methodology/approach A comparative analysis is conducted to assess the contribution of the two mosques from an architectural creativity, preserving heritage and constructing identity perspectives. The methodology considered a contextual approach, initiating a discussion on the notion of mosques and spirituality followed by the wider regional context of the Gulf. Then, Doha city and its main urban transformations, are analyzed. The juxtaposition between the two selected cases were done via literature review, site visits, designers, and users’ interviews. The paper suggests how contemporary mosques claimed unjustified ambivalence can create new destinations, constructing new sacred and offers a bias-free approach towards the legitimacy and inevitability of a new typology for contemporary mosque. Contemporary trends in Mosque design have set out to provide a new paradigm in mosque architecture and urbanism. Findings The case of the mosque was selected since it is not only an iconic building but a physical representation of the ideology. The analysis of the two cases highlighted the gradual shift from traditions to hybrid identity within Gulf cities and Doha particularly. A suggested approach would link the mosque with surrounding public and open spaces. A process which will deliberately eliminate the blurred barrier between the building and the public space. Suggesting this wouldn’t compromise the mosque sacred aspects. Originality The paper is the first to address the two landmarks in Qatar from the concepts of creativity, enhancing spatial spirituality and constructing a dynamic hybrid identity. The paper aims at expanding the debate on Gulf urbanism and describes how practices of mosque design could foster rethinking such a unique building type, while contesting the notion of assemblage or hybrid identity. An identity which would allow the presence of different architectural paradigms and planning and allow them to harmoniously blend within the knowledge-based urban development strategy that Qatar subscribed to almost a decade ago.

Paper Abstract file

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1st Track

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Research paper Title

Contesting The Role of THE MOSQUE IN A TRANSFORMING MIDDLE EASTERN URBANITY

Personal Biography

Paper Abstract

The question to contest the contemporary need for more mosques in the fabric of Middle Eastern cities does not only deal with the quantitative need, but raises the issue in its intellectual, philosophical, architectural and urban dimensions. The true role of the mosque is to be a spiritual, social, and cultural forum which welcomes people, open to life and deeply enriching spiritually, intellectuality, and socially. From analyzing the contemporary contexts of Middle Eastern cities, an extreme decline in these roles can be observed. The paper suggests a transformational change in the design of contemporary mosques to convert it into more, inclusive, spiritual, social, vibrant and inspiring places. The paper argues that the predicament of contemporary mosques in the Middle East context is of a qualitative nature and requires significant levels of audacity to produce an alternative approach for designing mosques. The mosque has always been the largest and most prominent architectural project in the Arab city and even served as distinct prominent Islamic edifices in the context of the city and its fabric . The leaders of the Arab nation also competed in following the tradition of building giant mosques in unique locations because they first confirmed the idea of an Islamic identity that was used extensively. Numerous researchers argue that Middle Eastern cities and particularly Gulf cities have witnessed an unprecedented pace of development during the last few decades. The presence of the mosque in the fabric of contemporary Middle Eastern cities is evident Yet, a careful examination of mosques´ projects showed a major shift. The mega mosques which characterized a lot of contemporary cities are no longer the priority. Recently, branding some Middle Eastern and all Gulf cities is no longer related to the existence of mega mosques but with iconic projects designed by signature architects. The mosque lost its role social and cultural values and responsibilities gradually. The role of the mosque is besieged in daily rituals and therefore there is no justification for dealing with it as one of the most important components of the contemporary Arab city as it was once one of the backbones of the cities of traditional Islamic societies.

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Full Paper Title

Identity, Creativity and Spirituality: An Architectural and Urban Tale of Two Mosques in Doha, Qatar

Full paper

https://icmamosques.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Alraouf-Paper-An-Architectural-and-Urban-Tale-of-Two-Mosques-1.docx

Reference

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