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    Muslim Space

    Загружено:

    Jayvee Gayoso
    readings

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Скачайте в формате PDF или читайте онлайн в Scribd
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    cuaeter3 Muslim Space and the Philippine Islamic Architecture Islam was brought to the Philippines by means of two cultural routes: Southeast Asia and the Iberian Peninsula. When Muslim traders and missionaries came via the nearest Southeast Asian outpost, they eventually sectied and systematically introduced anew culture to ourancestorsin the Souther Philippines. The earfiest evidence of Muslim presence in Sulu, and possibly of a Muslim settlement that can be found is the tomb of Tahun Maqbalu (Muqbalu) who died in 710 AD or 1310. Spain, being under very strong Arabic influence from 732 to 1492.AD, the Spanish colonization of the Philippines added another dimension to the propagation of Muslim influence in Philippine culture, allowing aspects of Ibero- ‘slamic culture to graftitselFto the Christianized colonial culeure, The Islamization of Southeast Asia commenced between the eighth and nineth century, a period when Arabs were extensively trading with the Chinese. These traders established trading centers in Southeast Asia as their regular commercial stopovers on their way to China. But with the political upheaval in South China during the later period of the T'ang dynasty, foreign merchants, including the ‘Arabs, were expelled from China. They sought asylum in various areas of Southeast Asia, principally in Malaysia, awaiting the restoration of orderin China and che resumption of normal commercial ties with the Chinese, In the interim, these traders established new economic routes in the adjacent islands of insular Southeast Asia. As trade became firmly entrenched, the stations ‘of commerce developed into ports and business hubs. Soon after, the Arab traders forged economic relations among the wealthy native population. Marriage with the rich natives and local headmen guaranteed the permanent consolidation of their business partnership, often taking the daughter of the local chief who himself converted to Islam. In these trade centers, the need for Muslim education was soon felt. Muslim teachers and missionaries were also among the first transmitters of Islamic religion. “They came from the Arab region, such as Baghdad. During the last quarter of the thirteenth century, if not ealier,a Muslim community in Sulu already existed. Historically, the introduction and diffusion of slam in the Philippines is attributed to Tuan Masha’ika and later to Karim ul-Mahkdum, the leading figures in the Islamization of Sulu, who came to mentor the children of the rich merchants of Sulu and assimilace all the people in the ares to the message of Allah. In fact, the first to convert to Islam were the trading partners of the Muslim Jamic teachers, the faith spread rapidly and merchants. With the arrival of more reached as far as Luzon. There is no historical evidence that the native people resisted the coming of a new religion, Through the support of the affluent and newly converted business partners, the spread of the new religion gained an unprecedented mileage throughout the area. ‘One explanation for the rapid Islamic expansion in the Philippines may be the conversion of community leaders. This was crucial inthe spread of the religion as the locai leadership compelled the population to embrace Muslim belief. Some scholars argued, however, that the indigenous population themselves were simply and spontaneously attracted to Islam because of the beautiful rituals, stories, and art. Moreover, the feeling of belonging to a larger community, to a group of equal people, the brotherhood of Islam, convinced the natives to the path of conversion. Many native practices survived, and people found ways to combine Islamic religion with theirlocal beliefs, tradition, and practices that led to the development of folkIslamic traditions. sam contributed to the consolidation of communities ruled by an independent datuship, and restructured these communities within the centralized framework of politico-religious sultanates. “Through the sultanate, the leadership was bestowed upon the sultan who exercised paramount authority over the people. These Islamic communities were founded in many coastal parts of the Philippines during this period, since it was largelyin these areas where Islam was frst introduced by visiting foreign traders and from where it systematically spread. Three sultanates were thereby established after the arrival and diffusion ofthe new religion. The Sultanate of Sulu was the first to be formally established in 1450, with Abu Bakr as its first sultan. The second coussolidation occured within Maguindanao; and the third was within Lanao, Communities which responded favorably to the ways of Islam were gathered togetherunder the mosque, the locus of communal spirituality. Islam acculturated the people to a novel way oflife. With itcame the alliance of economic and social influences into political power and authority. In Sulu, the oldest mosque is in Tubig, Indangan, Simunul islands. The original mosque, builtin the fourteenth century, is attributed to Karim ukMahkdur. It has been reconstructed many In Maguindanao, mostof the Maguindano carsilas—written genealogical accounts interwoven with oral traditions or folklore—impart an impression that the work of conversion was mainly the singular work of Sharif Muhammad Kabungsuwan around 1515. Itis asserted that the process of religious conversion in these areas \was a resultof the institution of system of political alliances and plural marriages on the part of Kabungsuwan after he had been able to install himself as the ruler of Maguindanao. Maranao traditions cite the arrival of Sharif Alawi to whatis now known as Misamis Oriental. Written and oral lore also tell ofthe spread of Alawi's teachingsin Lanao and Bukidnon. By all accounts, Islam was brought to Lake Lanao by the datus who were converted to the faith by means of marriage alliances with Muslim Iranuns and Maguindanao datus, predominantly with the former. The Islamic tradition found favorable reception from the natives of the Sulu + archipelago, Basilan, Palawan, and Mindanao—predominantly the Samal, Badja0, ‘Tausug, Jama Mapun, Yakan, Maranao, Iranon, and Maguindanao. They wholeheartedly embraced the new culture and integrated it into their own traditional Maran oe and 33 Mowronepoinginont mara abode deoorpaceofthe ous bg pl tang re tn stat space 68 ES way of life. The wisclom derived from the Koran became the vortex oftheir belief system. With the colonization of the Philippines by Spain beginningiin the sisteenth century ‘came the influx of Mudejar culture ta the archipelago. Before the ascendancy cf Ferdinand and Isabella to the Spanish throne, parts of Spain were under Islamic reign. Islamic influence is predominant in the Southern regions of Spain where Moorish leaders once built their palace. The Alhambra, for example, stands as an architectural testament to the strong Islamic legacy in Spain. Through the Spanish Inquisition, many conquered Muslims converted to Christianity, often through brute force. These Christianized Moors were called “mudejar” and were allowed to stay in Spain, bringing their own traditions to Spanish archirecture, evolving a style of architecture that resulted from their interaction with the Iberian culture that was named after them. The Mudejarinfluence is manifested in the design of some colonial churches, industrial, and commercial buildings in the Philippines buile during the Spanish colonial era. Phil Muslim Concept of Space As one religio-culzcral group bound together by Islam and common historical experience, the Philippine Mslims belong to a largerlslamic and Southeast Asian grouping. In the Southern Philippines there is no boundary that separates Mindanao and Sulu from the Celebes and Bomeo, and from the rest of the Islamic ‘cosmos for they are all affiliated under the universal ummah and incorporated into the global religious community called darul Islam. The ummah, therefore, transcends long-established tribal boundaries to create a degree of political unity among the Muslim faithfuls. Philippine Muslims consticute some thirteen ethnolinguistic communities. The ‘major groups include the Tausug of Sulu, Samal of Tawi-tawi, Yakan of Basilan, Maranao of Lanao Provinces, and the Maguindanao of the Cotabato region. With such plurality ofethnolinguistic roots from which Islamic tradition was grafted ‘upon, Filipino Muslims over history have varied widely in their cultural lives though they share certain practices dependent on space. Islamic theology affects all aspects of Muslim life. Muslims’ submission of their will to Allah ideally reappropriates space and reorganizes temporality. Salat (formal prayer) requires space both physically and mentally. Fasting inakes demands of ‘mental and spiritual space, while altering temporality. The haji demands its space and time. In salat, for instance, boundaries are formed when the prayer space is isolated even in a plain prayer rug. The calling of the adhan (the summon for an obligatory prayer) and the iqamah (to stand up for a prayer) signals movement from one realty to another as the Muslims stand before Allah In sala, the individual merges with the global ummah in a time for God thats distince and boundless. Both the practical needs of ritual and the profound juncture of the coterminous nature of the time and space of salat with the time and space of the wold have a fundamental influence on space. Muslim scholar Abraham Sakili maintains that Islamic architecture is entangled with Islamic space, and the understanding of the Muslim concept and use of such space should be probed in relation to the fundamental Islamic doctrine of Tawhid, ‘The Tawhid is further elaborated through the articulation of Islamic Cosmology 64 neeirexrunanc riueino and view of Man as Khalifa or Vice-regent of God inthis world, The correlation of tes, has a profound and direct bearing on the these three principles, he substant Islamic concept and use of space on Muslim architecture. The Tawhid means “Unity of Allah.” Itis the single most important doctrine of Islam, which atthe basic semantic level means monotheism. The Islamic Tawhid, san all-governing concept, considers everything in relation and in unity with God. ‘Muslim aesthetics and architectural omamentation have always been the pursuit ‘of geometrization and denaturalization of form to divert one’s imagination away from human nature and direct the thoughts toward the contemplation of the Divine. Islam instructs is believers that no material things should be considered sacred. Thus, there isa widespread use of calligraphic inscnption, lifted from the verse of Koran, as ornament on Muslim structures in order to shift human consciousness from the material world to the realm of spirituality ‘A Muslim believes that the Koran is the precise and literal words of Allah; thus, inscriptions must be inscribed in Arabic, the language of divine revelation. The choice of Koranic verses may be dictated by a building’s function. Forinstance, the following verse is most commonly inscribed on mosque doorways: | kepis St Bnsallsn skola “The mosques of Allah shall be visited and maintained by such as those who believe in Allah and the Last Day, establish regular prayers, and practice regular charity, and fear none (at all) except Allah, It is they who are expected to be on true guidance.” (Koran 9:18) A designer, therefore, who applies Islamic calligraphy, vegetal relief, or geometric patterns in intertwining and continuous patterns to architecture year for, above all, the creation of a visual pattern that will deliver the viewer to an instinctive perception of divine transcendence. The basic structural components ofthe mosque are concealed through an elaborate but infinitely repeating geometric pattern, for the architecture of the mosque encloses a space considered sacred by believers, Muslim architects attempt to craft an environment in which the transient and temporal characters of material things are emphasized and within which the sparseness and vacuity ofthe architectural containeris bestowed with prominence. Surface decoration, therefore, reduces the importance of structural elements by redirecting the attention away from natural materials ta the abstract denaturalized ornamentation of buildings. The percipience of space leads one to reflect on the divine, musts sence 65 Incerewined with Tawhid is the Muslim view ofthe universe. The Islamic cosmos is 33 th, Main based on the emphasis upon God as the Lnique Origin ofall things or beings on hey the hierarchy of existence who are all dependent upon Him. The Muslim views the smgicormaye Potted cosmos or the whole of nature in all its dimensions not as a phenomenon divoi Siolate, tones at from the real world, but assigns of God. Islamic cosmology ranks God tthe top “tare or places whee and, atthe same time, recognizes His encompassing presence in every dimension ‘Sing aris cud sue in the Muslim “hierarchy” of creation. mi rr ch “The diversity ofspacein the slamic universe is aligned and polarized by meansof Sane tnd” swage aw 2 focal point in Mecca, which isthe Ka’aba, a square building inside the great (Swmsvvan), Th was wt tmosquein Mecca containing a holy BlackSrone said have been given by Godvo | PaieniersS are rman. The Ka’aba isthe most sacred architecture of slam. Ie isthe lcurgical ais (ot ean sora and with which the mihrab of every mosque is aligned. Every Muslim turns toward its Wussiei| direction to pray. Muslims pay high reverence to the Ka'aba not as an object of ‘worship bucas a point of convergence where the spiritual and material life ofthe Muslims comes into contact. ‘The spot on which the Ka'aba is constructed is believed to be the first part of the world to be created. Itis the axis mundi of the Muslim cosmos, being the location at which communication between celestial and terrestrial realmsis possible. The harmony, dimension, stability, and symmetry of the Ka’aba are design principles that inspire and guide Muslim designe:s and builders all over the Islamic world. pire and gu The Mosque and the Axis of Prayer Ac the core of Islamic law stand the Five Pillars (in Arabic, it literally means “comers” This does not equate to an architecture of faith thatis pentagonal, for the Pillars are configured in a pattern of a quincunx (an arrangement of five objects ina square, with fourat the comers and one in the center). The First Pillar, the shahada (the profession of faith that begins with the verse “There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is the prophet of Allah”) is at the center to which the ‘Yaspacal loco esbiched y vate (upstream ‘sre. The rams a cea apeetyaae remaining four are peripheral: salat (prayer); siyamy (fasting); zakac (charity tax) and hajj (pilgrimage). The Pillars which have an architectural implication are the salat and the hajj Through worship, the congregation of the faithful becomes one with God in a sublime state of humility and reverence, best attained in the mosque, which nits Arabic equivalent, masjid, literally translates to a “place of prostration.” The function is clearly established in Sura 24, Aya 36: In houses which Allah has permitted to be exalted maybe remembered in them, there glorify Him therein in and the evenings (Koran 2, Architecturally the mosque's basic shape is derived from early Christian churches, with theirimporcant entry courtyards, and from Middle Eastern courtyard houses possibly because the Prophet Muhammad, Arab founder of the Islamic faith, addressed his first followers in the courtyard of his house. Acths outset ofitsinception, the mosque structure consisted only ofa courtyard bordered bya wall, pastemned after Muhammad's house in Medina, Saudi Arabia, which consisted of a courtyard surrounded by a brick wall of living rooms and a latrine, This courtyard was the place where the early Muslims congregated for their daily prayers. Ths first embryonic mosque, characterized by an open quadrangular court, soon developed into a building complexequipped with a numberof functional .corporating spatial arrangements unique from and decorative elements and components and buildings of earier religions. The Ka’aba “The Ka‘aba is believed to have been constnucted at God's command by Abraham and his zon, Hagar and Ishmael. eis located on the site which many Belew to ve been 2 sanctuary founded by Adam, the fist man. In the preislamic era ie fncioned a6 3 Shrine €0 360 Arabian divinities, and it was not uneil 630 (Christian Era) that Muhammad overthrew these divinities and rededicated the shrine to one true God [vey year, 0 milion pilgrims vt Mecca to perform the haj or pilgimage. The ha can only be performed in the 12th lunar month ofthe Islamic calendar musuim srace 67 ‘The minarets the fist thing worshippers see when they approach a mosque. Ii rom there that callings to the mosque are made, The ablation Founcain is where worshippers wash their hands, face, and fet before entering the prayer hall in order to ensure at they are pure. The wall of the morque that faces the diection of Mecca i called the Aibtah tthe center of the kiblah wall i the mihrab or prayer niche which isa very sacred area of the mosque Is also important acovstically asi allows the voice to resonate during prayer. The mimbars api rom which the Friday sermon is preached The mosque can be defined as a building erected over an invisible axis. This axis the principal determinant ofthe mosque design. The Muslim universeis distributed like a centrifugal wheel wth Mecca as the hub, with lines drawn from ali mosques in the world forming the spindle. These lines converge onthe city of Mecca and the

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