ABSTRACT
The main purpose of this paper is to initiate a discourse on how the various perspectives and ideas of ‘political Islam’ influences the design decisions of mosque architecture in Malaysia between the period of 1955 prior to independence and until 1998 when the new city of Putrajaya was unveiled to the public. The paper focuses on three different ideas of political Islam as propounded by the first prime minister of Malaysia Tunku Abdul Rahman, the present prime minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamad and that of the present head of the opposition party, Tuan Guru Abdul Hadi Awang. The three mosques chosen for discussion which are the National Mosque in Kuala Lumpur, the Putra Mosque in Putrajaya and the Rusila Madrasa in Kuala Terengganu represents the ideas of the three politicians respectively.
Key words: Political Ideas, Mosque architecture and influences
INTRODUCTION
During the post independence period, newly independent Muslim countries who were once a former colonial territory such as Indonesia, Pakistan ,Algeria, Brunei and others, often felt challenged by their new reputation and by well developed nations. For this matter, these new independent governments main consideration were focused towards developmental activities, to elevate their status and to represent themselves as an advance, progressive and modern state through the erection of new buildings.
Adding to this, they also had an interest to proclaim and legitimize their political position and ruling authority in the eye of the local masses and at the global level. In order to establish this new identity, the state therefore played major role in introducing building programs and restructuring the built environment in the country. This includes the building of state mosques as part of the country’s development agenda. Serageldin (1990 ;18)17 mentioned that,’ the construction of huge mosque structures by central government authorities, is to express the state commitment to Islam and to stand as a symbol of national purpose.’ Oleg Grabar who is a scholar in Islamic architecture also added,‘…….the overriding concern of the post colonial era has been the establishment of a country’s national identity and of signs denoting that identity, as well as symbols connoting it. There are many sides to this concern, but without doubt one of them is how to express the Islamic identity of individuals, groups, or nation states. Within this particular concern the mosque plays a central role.’ (Grabar 1997 ; 244) 18 Jackson also added,‘ ‘That is why every new revolutionary social order, anxious to establish its image and acquire public support , produces many commemorative monuments and symbols and public celebrations… not only to please the public but to remind it of what it should believe and how it is to act.’ (Jackson 1980 ; 92)19 Although Jackson did not specifically mentioned religious buildings, in general, he put forth that buildings may also become memorable icon that can reminded individuals on ones position and status in society, as monumental buildings may transcend throughout history and time.
From this, it shows that the state, who is the client for the mosque, seems to utilize mosque for various reasons to suit their political interest as a symbol of their political authority, apart from treating it as a place to conduct prayers and other religious activities. This is projected in the design of the state mosques itself where they are presented in overwhelming appearance on a grand scale which impinged the existing townscape. Even though the mosque uses modern materials and equipped with the latest technology available, its design also somehow still tempered with historic features as well, such as the adaptation of minaret, gateway, mihrab, dome and ornamental features. According to Holod and Khan (1997; 14), these components are essential in contemporary state mosque in order to make the built form stands out as a recognizable symbol and landmark that can be viewed from miles away.
The main purpose of this paper is to initiate a discourse on how the various perspectives and ideas of ‘political Islam’ influences the design decisions of mosque architecture in Malaysia between the period of 1955 prior to independence and until 1998 when the new city of Putrajaya was unveiled to the public.
The paper focuses on three different ideas of political Islam as propounded by the first prime minister of Malaysia Tunku Abdul Rahman, the present prime minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamad and that of the present head of the opposition party, Tuan Guru Abdul Hadi Awang. The three mosques chosen for discussion which are the National Mosque in Kuala Lumpur, the Putra Mosque in Putrajaya and the Rusila Madrasa in Kuala Terengganu represents the ideas of the three politicians respectively.
In brief, the National Mosque represents the idea of Islam in relation to a new country trying to manufacture a Malaysian identity worthy of its multi-religious context with a tinge of pro-Western ‘progressive’ idealism framed within a strong modernistic movement among its early architectural elite. In contrast, the Putra Mosque brazenly declares the dominance of Malay-UMNO politics in the local context and herald the introduction of Malaysia as a global player in the Islam- Western political equation within an atmosphere of an intellectual uncertainty of the local architectural profession. However, the simple, unpretentious and quite resolve of the Rusilia Madrasa represents the up and coming force of Islamic ‘fundamentalism’ framed in a mosque not designed by any architect but possessing a socially integrative organic growth.
THE POLITICAL IDEA OF ISLAM
For the purpose of this paper it is necessary to explain the meaning of the phrase ‘political Islam’. The uses of the phrase in actual fact suggest that there is such a thing as a non-political Islam or an apolitical Islam. It must be understood at the outset that Islam is Islam and such use of the phrase must be seen in the light of the users’ ultimate intention in providing an academic discourse. In the Western anthropological or sociological parlance Islam is a ‘religion’ with a belief system and a set ritual with an underlying value system as its foundation. I wish to point out simply that Islam exists in many perspectives consciously or unconsciously realized. For instance, to the Malay community of Malaysia, Islam is but an integrated part of its culture and customs. To ordinary Malays most rituals deemed religious and magical are inherently ‘Islamic’ when such attitudes actually raises deep frowns among religious scholars and academics who know the difference between what the Prophet Muhammad had taught and which are the ‘innovations’ of a particular race. Then again, there are those political masters who would appeal to certain strong uniting and inspiring aspects of Islam in the hope of developing their people or their own agendas without giving much concern over the whole plethora of ‘Islamic values’ as exemplified by the sunnah (the way of the Prophet Muhammad). And yet there are still those deemed ‘sufist’ who integrate various rituals and rationales of other religion into the message of Islam in order to create the idea of an all important ‘inner spirituality’ devoid of concern over the mundane affairs. Finally, there is also the version of Islam that sets itself a nation building agenda using the eternal values of the prophet interpreted within the socio-cultural and technological context of the times. Thus, in one sense, these are all a sample of the different political idea of Islam because it involves a process of inculcating values into a community and not merely as a private worship. With the strict institution of the congregational prayers, Islam assures itself a strong political presence as opposed to those of other religions which had to invent community rituals in order to stay relevant.
The following sections attempts to illuminate how such political ideas of Islam manifest itself into the architecture of the mosque in Malaysia, thus putting a big question mark upon those architects and academics who are striving with the idea of a single unifying idea of ‘Islamic Architecture’.
MASJID NEGARA AND TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN’S VISION OF ISLAM
Built in the early 1960s, the National Mosque in Kuala Lumpur still stands today as a unique contribution to the idea of mosque architecture as well as a monument to the strife for a national architectural identity. The most distinguishing features of this important monument is the generous floating verandah that forms a horizontal plane hovering shy of the earth surface. There is no mosque to date that has a verandah space that is larger than the loosely enclosed space under the umbrella like roof. The other distinguishing feature is the folded plate roof that departed from the clichéd Indian styled onion domes prevalent in the colonial days prior to independence. The third important feature is its asymmetrical massing which is highly uncharacteristic of monumental state mosques or buildings of that time and the times preceding. The mosque sits relaxed in a site close to the urban fabric rather than on a hill or in the middle of a lake as if in an act of seclusion.
I strongly suspect that the Tunku, in his effort to rally the Malays behind him, chose to project the importance of Islam as a unifying tool. The Malay, before independence was a parochial minded entity loyal only to his or her own particular state. Islam remains one of the strong common features among the Malays and the Tunku set the foundation to make Islam a strong political character not only in local politics but also in the international scene. The decision to build a national monument in the form of a mosque can be seen as a political strategy towards this unifying effort. Coupled with the strong influence of late modernisms that shun symmetry, grandeur and exotic revivalism, the Tunku allowed a ‘progressive’ idea of the mosque in a dynamic but humble expression. The use of courtyards, pilotis and fully ventilated enclosures, make the building calls onto the spirit of the place in its tropicality thus striking a common cord of identity in the newly formed country.
Thus the political idea of Islam present in the National Mosque was as a unifying tool of the Malays, a statement of common national identity coupled with a relaxed and ‘progressive’ idea of Islam as a local and international force.
PUTRA MOSQUE AND DR. MAHATHIR’S VISION OF ISLAM
Unveiled in the final decade of the 20th century, the Putra Mosque sits majestically in the center of the shiny new city of Putrajaya, the brainchild of the fourth Prime Minister, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. Amidst great praises by the tamed mass media and cutting criticism from opposition parties and academics, the new city pushed its way into Malaysia’s history as a prime example of authoritarian decree in a rhetorical idea of a democracy. The design was in hush-hush so much so that much debates and opinions surface only after construction had gone more than half way.
The Putra Mosque is a complete anti-thesis to the National Mosque. As the National Mosque sits in a relaxed asymmetrical mass, the Putra Mosque rises up in a grand fashion with a commanding view of its huge manmade lake. As the former sits within a tight periphery of the urban side of Kuala Lumpur, the latter commands large real estate as a sculptural beacon of the city. The Putra Mosque calls on a foreign eclectic revivalism of Egyptian and Iranian vocabulary in contrast to the modernist garb of the National Mosque. With such architectural attributes there is a different political idea inherent in the structure which can only be understood by realizing the strong personal agendas of Dr. Mahathir Mohamad.
Dr. Mahathir came into power as a no nonsense ‘ultra Malay’ leader with no aristocratic background. He was never placed in his early political career as an ‘Islamist’. As one of the rare early Malay medical practitioner, he brings a clinical approach to political problems with not much concern over old ideas, concepts, customs or even values. His reign on Malaysia’s political scene came with the rising tide of Islamic reformation movement throughout the globe. The Iranian revolution to oust the tyranny of the Shah and the United States set the world in a new order of political equation. The success of Islamic movements in Algeria and Sudan gave pause to the feudalistic reign of NATO, USA and the USSR. After hundreds of years of decadence, Islam was once again a force to be reckoned with.
History saw Mahathir deftly handling the Islam issue by riding with the wave of reform. His assimilation of the charismatic young idealist, Anwar Ibrahim into the cabinet set the country to be the foremost example of not only a model for Muslim countries to emulate, but also as an alternative idea to that of Western secularized notion of civilization. In a single stroke Mahathir had pushed Malaysia to almost center stage in global politics as well as checked the advance of the main Islamic party PAS for two decades by his adoption of policies deemed as progressively Islamic. With Anwar Ibrahim at his side both leaders developed universities, academic institutions, economic structures, social policies and a cultural revolution that saw dress codes of the tudung (women’s head dress) change almost overnight the Malaysian scenery.
I, therefore, suspect that the deliberate choice of Middle Eastern and Central Asian revivalism of mosques was an attempt to identify Malaysia as the new center of Islamic civilization. Amidst the dictatorial regimes of Kings, Generals, Colonels and Presidents as in Saudi Arabia, Libya, Iraq, Egypt and Indonesia, ‘moderate Malaysia’ seemed a plausible cradle for the new birth. Coupled with an architectural profession which is more passive and empty of ideas, the post-modern revolution in the West had opened the door of revivalism. History saw local architects caving in to the exotic ideas of revivalism proposed by the clients. Anyway, revivalism usually means huge expenses and thus, high commission; the ‘holy grail’ of contemporary architecture. The irony is that the image that has come out of this equation was a new idea of Islamic imperialism as seen in the palatial like buildings with a ‘Malay-Muslim’ garb.
Thus, the Putra Mosque was a possible attempt to push the Malay-Islamic agenda in order to herald Malaysia as the new center of Islam in the world and at the same time redefine the national identity more towards a single ethnic variant.
CONCLUSION
It can, therefore, be seen that the political idea of Islam as propounded by individual leaders have a profound effect on the type of architecture used for the mosque. From the progressive and relaxed expression of the National Mosque, the imperial grandeur of the Putra Mosque and finally to the humble unpretentious expression of the Rusila Madrasa, each building holds key lessons for the student of architecture and history. Although there are many more political ideas yet to be explored in this new field of academia, it is fitting at this point to reflect that architecture is and always shall remain the realm of politics rather than whimsical attitudes and thoughts of the designers. Hence, in dealing with such an important subject as Islamic architecture or specifically mosque architecture architectural graduates should do well to understand that the other studio which was never offered in their curriculum was that of political idealism and social values.
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