Mosque - Types of Mosques

Many forms of mosque have evolved in different regions of the Islamic world. Notable mosque-types include the early Abbasid mosques, T-type mosques, and the central-dome mosques of Anatolia. The oil-wealth of the twentieth century drove a great deal of mosque construction using designs from leading non-Muslim modern architects and promoting the careers of important contemporary Muslim architects.Mosque - Traditional mosquesThe idea of having a dome centered over the prayer hall was pioneered by the mosques of the Ottoman empire. The Hagia Sophia in Istanbul although it was originally built as a church examplifies the design with a dome in the center and minarets around the outside. Mosques since that time have incorporated the dome as the marker of the center part of the prayer hall.

The thick, large columns seen in the Mezquita in Cordoba were hallmarks of the Abbasid caliphate. Another popular style was the "T-type" mosque which called from a slightly longer hall leading up to the mihrab at the front-center of the mosque. Sometimes, "T-type" mosques would also be accompanied with more than one dome with the largest being at the intersection of the two segments of the "T". Over the centuries, however, the Abbasid mosques and especially the Ottoman central-dome mosques remained the basis of Islamic places of worship.Mosque - Modern-day mosquesMosques do not have to be elaborate with minarets, courtyards, columns, and domes to be considered mosques. Mosques simply have to hold the five prayers daily.

As a result, many present-day mosques, especially in the Western world, are converted buildings without those features usually associated with Islamic places of worship. Muslims in prayer will face in the direction of Mecca even if there is no qibla wall denoting it. The imam will offer his Friday sermons (khutbas) and lead prayers about a meter in front of the first line in prayer. At mosques without minarets, and even at some mosques with minarets, the muezzin will issue the call to prayer from inside the mosque.

Modern mosques with public address systems will often broadcast the call to prayer over a loudspeaker so Muslims in and around the mosque can hear it.Mosque - Notable mosquesNotable mosques, for size and Islamic significance include:Masjid al-Haram; Mecca, Saudi Arabia (holiest site in Islam)Masjid al-Nabawi; Medina, Saudi Arabia (second-holiest site in Islam)Al-Aqsa Mosque; Jerusalem, Israel (third-holiest site in Islam)Imam Ali Mosque; Najaf, Iraq (holy site in Shi'a Islam)Faisal Mosque; Islamabad, Pakistan (largest mosque in the Indian subcontinent)Mezquita; Cordoba, Spain (tenth century Moorish place of worship)Hagia Sophia; Istanbul, Turkey (converted by the Ottomans to a mosque; fourth largest cathedral in the world)Shah Mosque; Isfahan, Iran (major mosque in Iran)