The Mosque: History, Architectural Development and Regional Diversity Available to Purchase

The word “mosque” is from the Arabic masjid, which translates literally as “place of prostrations”, and the building is a house of worship for Muslims. Yet according to Martin Frishman, editor of this detailed and comprehensive study, the mosque is also “the outward and visible symbol of Islam”. The history of the religion, as well as its most basic tenets, is represented within certain architectural features of the mosque: the dome, the portal, the minaret (the tower from which Muslims are called to prayer), mihrab (a niche within the qibla wall, which traditionally faces the holy city of Mecca),...