Category Archives: Books

From Mosques to Khanqahs: The Origins and Rise of Sufism and Sufi Institutions

From Mosques to Khanqahs: The Origins and Rise of Sufism and Sufi Institutions Book Cover

Book Title: From Mosques to Khanqahs: The Origins and Rise of Sufism and Sufi Institutions

Author: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Spahic Omer

Publisher: Research Management Center, International Islamic University Malaysia

ISBN: 978-967-418-414-8

First Edition, 2015, 215 pages

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Architecture and Society: Some Lessons on Muslim Architecture from India

Book Title: Architecture and Society: Some Lessons on Muslim Architecture from India
Author: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Spahic Omer
Publisher: Research Management Center, International Islamic University Malaysia
ISBN: 978-967-418-402-5
First Edition, 2015

 

This book deals with the subject of the relationship between Muslim architecture and society and how they influence each other, taking some social and historical segments of complex Indian society as a case study. The book consists of three independent studies which cover three vital aspects of Muslim architecture, especially in India:

  • Converting Hindu temples into mosques;
  • The royal funerary architecture of the Mughals;
  • The social significance of Mr. Nazeer Khan’s architecture.

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The Mosque as a Community Center (A Concept and Evolution)

the mosque as a community centerthe mosque as a community center back

The Mosque as a Community Center (A Concept and Evolution)

Author: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Spahic Omer
Publication date:  2014
Pages:  382
Publisher: AS Noordeen, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (
asnoordeen@yahoo.com
ISBN: 978-983-065-358-7

 

About the book and the significance of the topic:

It is a fact that today’s Muslims are subjected to trials rarely paralleled in history. At the same time, however — as another undeniable fact — there are more than a few serious attempts and initiatives aimed at remedying and improving the situation. Calling for the revival of the status of the mosque institution as a community center is integral to a majority of such constructive attempts and initiatives. Thus, studying meticulously and critically the roles and functions of the mosque in history when Muslims and the Islamic state through their recurring ups and downs dominated the world scene, will always be vital. Numerous lessons can be derived from such an undertaking, as history which progresses in what could be described as a cyclic rather than horizontal pattern, often repeats itself. The lessons thus obtained will be very significant in that the mosque institution and the world of its diverse social roles and functions always epitomized the message of Islam and the civilizational triumphs, or slumps, of Muslims. Indeed, no Muslim revival is completely possible today without mastering the history of Islam and Muslims, on the one hand, and without mastering the history of the mosque institution and how its intrinsically true and deserving standing and roles in society can be restored, on the other. Studying and reviving the mosque today cannot be done in a vacuum and in isolation from the sway of both history and the pressing current needs of Muslims.

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