Politics and religion in architecture: west vs east

Politics is “ the activities of the government, members of law-making organizations, or people who try to influence the way a country is governed” (Cambridge Dictionary, 2013). Specifically, in northern Europe the political climate is one of democracy, within that democracy lies libertarianism, centralism, and conservatism. What this means is a political climate that attempts to cater to all its citizens but at the same time allowing legislation to be swayed towards the dominant viewpoint through a vote that favours majority but still offers some consolation to the minority political agenda via seats in parliament. This form of governing was assumed to have existed in western countries as far back as 1341 –in places such as the UK-, even in monarchies as it was believed that by having organizations such as “ House of Commons” (Johannesson, 2011) that held meetings it allowed for a broad enough perspective that it catered to the general population. From there systems of parliament developed but almost always catered to the nobility, clergy –church had not yet been separated from state-, and upper-class thus not being the same as a modern democracy. By 1800 countries like England moved from absolute monarch rule to a system that involved voting. This system only gave “ about 5% of the population the vote” (Johannesson, 2011) which consisted of white upper-class men. The ability for all citizens to vote only became practice in 1928 where a person had to be 21 or older to vote, by 1969 this was changed to 18 or older (Johannesson, 2011). Between these years is where we start seeing modern democracies emerging in northern Europe, and with the emergence of modern democracies came the emergence of new design movements, such as “ art deco” (Trachtenburg, 1986), “ cubism” (Trachtenburg, 1986), “ modernism” (Trachtenburg, 1986), and “ post modernism” (Trachtenburg, 1986). (Trachtenburg, 1986)

These new movements that began to emerge reflected a political mindset that was also emerging at the time, both were beginning to neglect traditional views and move towards alternative views that were more appealing due to the fact that it showed a care for the people and enabled a new found sense of individualism as well as consumerism (Johannesson, 2011). What this meant for architecture in these countries is that opportunities for groundbreaking designs such as the Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral which shows characteristics of geometrized buildings shapes, minimal adornment, and a round interior, all which oppose the rectilinear, heavily adorn, and interior cross shape of pre modernist cathedrals. Designs such as this one exemplifies the break away from traditionalist, monarch European styles. (Trachtenburg, 1986)

Religion is “ habit” (Classical Arabic Dictionaries) or “ obedience” (Classical Arabic Dictionaries) and is دين in Arabic and is pronounced as deen. This definition can be related to the sentiment the Middle East has to religion, a sentiment of religion being incorporated into everyday life which alludes to “ habit” (Classical Arabic Dictionaries) and “ obedience” (Classical Arabic Dictionaries) as in Islam religion is supposed to be intrinsic to daily life – the five daily prayers- which means by making it part of their lives the people are effectively following their religion. As mentioned, the dominant religion in the area is Islam and for a large part a lot of the architecture and culture found there can be attributed to Islamic origins due to the religions fourteen century long presence in the area and also approximately 90% of the middle east being Muslim. This of course is attributed to the fact that the religion began with Muhammed PBUH in the seventh century in Mecca, the holy city of Islam that is located on the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East. The most prominent architecture associated with Islam would be “ Islamic” (Leick, 2012), with characteristics such as the “ dome” (Leick, 2012), which is so commonly found on mosques. This style encompasses both secular and religious styles as well as rooting itself in using ideas from the present and past. (Moser, 2012)

Unlike the west there is not a separation of religion and state but rather a marrying, as laws in the country are intertwined with religion. An example, although extending from extremism and not totally from the religion itself, is the law in Iran that requires women of all religions to don the “ hijab” (Ghassan, 2001). This marriage has not impeded on architectural freedom in the Middle East, as architects there also design buildings that can be seen as “ modernist” or a “ global style” (Leick, 2012). Rather freedoms of architects have been impeded by the climatic context, a context propagated by the many wars in the area, as well as sanctions or embargos being put in place by the west when there are conflicting views on a situation. This means that either buildings are being destroyed by bombs or the architects do not have the access to resources they need to be able to successfully create designs that explore different styles. An example of an “ Islamic” (Leick, 2012) building is The Palace Complex in Isfahan Iran (Fathy, 1995), which showcases the large domes and ornately decorated mosaic walls and ceilings that are attributed to this style. While, an example of a building that explores “ modernism” (Leick, 2012) is the Abu Dhabi Bus Station located in Abu Dhabi (Fathy, 1995) that makes use of the modernist practice of making objects appear to be gravity defying with is precariously balanced entrance. (Moser, 2012)