تکامل معماری اسلامی؛ ادراکی و رفتاری

The building of a mosque in this day and age is a great achievement of the Muslim community, particularly if the community is living in a non Muslim country. Technology has been the drive to improve construction method of early Muslim community that influence of values and perception towards Islam in the whole world until today. While appreciating the quantitative increase and aesthetic embellishments of many new urban mosques, several Muslim scholars, intellectuals and activists have expressed their concern and reservation regarding the function of these mosques in light of pristine world-view of Islam.

The title chosen for this research is to introduce the idea of changing uses and meaning of the mosque in contemporary Muslim societies. Although, when in the mosque, the believer might expect to be in direct contact with that which he regards as sacred, in practice increasingly finds himself confronted with manifestations of altered uses of the house of worship – changes of a non religious nature which he may find difficult to understand and to relate to. As Spahic Omer said, “To be sure, studying the Islamic Built Environment by no means cannot be separated from the total framework of Islamic: its genesis, history, ethos, worldview, doctrines, law, and practices. Any approach by anybody and at any point of time with recourse to disconnecting the Islamic Built Environment from that which held sway over its conception and formation would undoubtedly result in failure and , may distort the real picture of subject matter and with it the picture of Islam” (Spahic Omer, 2002) My contentions is that the entire history of the mosque has be reconsidered and reinterpreted, with particular reference to forms and design, as well as perception and behavior related to semiological systems (i.e. signs and symbols used by members of any social group to convey shared values) which determine the study of perception of abstract concepts such as ‘sacred’ or ‘sanctity’ space in mosque in Malay modern society.

The problem of the mosque in Islam must be seen in the larger context of social engineering rather than mere exercises in aesthetics or romantic revivalism (Tajuddin, 2002). The mosque has the great potential of changing the Muslim society if it is considered closer as an educational institution than a House of Rituals that prohibits so many activities under the false guise of 'sanctity' (M. Zafrullah, 2008). We believe that over sanctification of mosque brought about by scholars of architecture and religions have deteriorated the eternal idea of the mosque as a center for community development in Islam. Rather than deal with the question of which ornament to use and how big a dome should crown the prayer space. Muslims ought to pay particular attention to the programs and functions of the mosque that would benefit the people more than it would the egoistic few. A truly contemporary approach must take into account the needs and aspirations of the people for whom the mosque is built. The technology is the means by which it is build, and the choice of technology, to be appropriate, must depend on the conditions of a particular place. It is through an honest response to such considerations rather than through a literal expression of past style that the mosque of the future will retain their differences and remain close to the spirit of Islam.