Abu Dhabi, Sharjah & Other Cities, United Arab Emirates Once little more than a collection of small kingdoms tucked away on the western side of the Arabian Peninsula, the region now known as the United Arab Emirates has grown from a relatively unimportant mercantile enclave into a world economic powerhouse. Since the end of World War II, vast reserves of oil have made … [Read more...]
Archives for April 2015
MOSQUES AND MUSEUMS OF THE GULF STATES (MASJID AL FATIH, MUSEUM OF ISLAMIC ART)
Doha, Qatar; Manama, Bahrain; and Kuwait City, Kuwait The three small Persian Gulf states of Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait are closely tied to the United Arab Emirates in terms if history, culture and great modern architectural ambitions. This is particularly true of neighboring Qatar and Bahrain, which at one point were nearly incorporated into the UAE. Huge quantities of oil … [Read more...]
KING FAHD ISLAMIC CULTURAL CENTER
Buenos Aires, Argentina Until fairly recently, Islam historically made little headway in establishing footholds in the Americas. Sizeable Muslim communities can as yet be found in only three countries: the United States, Brazil and Argentina. Of these, the Muslim community of Argentina is the smallest; and yet it is home to the King Fahd Islamic Cultural Center in Buenos … [Read more...]
QOLSHARIF MOSQUE (MASJID QOLSHARIF)
Kazan, Russia Thanks to its role as capital of the Kazan Khanate in the 15th and 16th centuries, Kazan has one of the oldest and largest Muslim communities in Russia. Kazan boasts numerous great mosques both ancient and modern, including the Masjid Qolsharif, the most important and magnificent mosque in Russia. The Masjid Qolsharif also enjoys the honor of being the second … [Read more...]
HASSAN II MOSQUE (MASJID HASSAN II)
Casablanca, Morocco Casablanca’s Masjid Hassan II is one of the great mosques of the 20th century. It is for all intents and purposes the national mosque of Morocco. More importantly, it holds several very impressive records. Aside from the fact that it is the largest mosque in Morocco, it is also the largest mosque in the world outside of Saudi Arabia. Only the Masjid … [Read more...]
FAISAL MOSQUE (MASJID FAISAL)
Islamabad, Pakistan The nation of Pakistan boasts the world’s second largest Muslim population, so it is not surprising that Islamabad, its capital, is home to one of the world’s largest mosques. The Masjid Faisal was in fact the world’s largest mosque outside of Arabia for about a decade in the late 20th century, and is still the largest mosque in the Asian Subcontinent. … [Read more...]
KOCATEPE MOSQUE (MASJID KOCATEPE)
Ankara, Turkey When the modern nation of Turkey left behind its centuries-old capital at Istanbul and relocated the government to Ankara, they also left behind countless spectacular mosques. Ankara then had virtually no major mosques to speak of. In order to rectify the situation, and establish Ankara as an important Muslim city within the new republic, Turkey built the … [Read more...]
MOSQUES OF AMMAN
Amman, Jordan The last two decades have witnessed a spectacular proliferation of new, modern mosques all across the Islamic world. But it was not in one of the great Muslim cities of antiquity where this trend began, but in the unassuming capital of one of the Middle East’s most unassuming nations: Amman, Jordan. Throughout the 20th century Amman saw the construction of … [Read more...]
NATIONAL MAUSOLEUM
Karachi, Pakistan Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the national hero and founder of modern-day Pakistan, may be the single-most important Islamic leader of the 20th century. He not only helped lead the entire Asian subcontinent to independence from the British colonial empire, but he established the first truly great modern Muslim state. He is buried in the Mazar-E-Quaid, the National … [Read more...]
OMAR ALI SAIFUDDIN MOSQUE (MASJID OMAR ALI SAIFUDDIN)
Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei The Masjid Omar Ali Saifuddin is one of the great mosques of the 20th century. Built by the oil-rich sultanate of Brunei, it is one of the most popular and visited mosques in the Islamic Far East. It has also been acclaimed by many to be one of the most beautiful mosques in the world, a claim that is not without merit. A modern-day structure, the … [Read more...]
