Not
only is the mosque a symbol of Islam’s diversity, it also typifies how
‘organic’ Islamic culture is. Mosques in China look Chinese rather than
Arabian, Syrian, Iraqi, or Greco-Roman. Mughal-era
and Ottoman-era mosques are easily distinguishable, although both are, at least
superfi cially, the products of the same. The ziggurat of Agar Quf (Dur Kuigalzu,
Iraq). This ziggurat was built by the Kassites (r. 1531–1155 BCE) and was
partially restored by the Iraqi government in the 1970s Turco-Islamic culture.
In fact, Mughal mosques mix Islamic and Indian elements, while Ottoman mosques
mix Islamic and Byzantine ones. Even when mosque-building was a way of
asserting Islam’s victory over other religions, Islam and its monuments were
defi ned in direct relation to those of local religious traditions. Whereas the
Romans were bullish in stamping out
other cultures’ architectural traditions, Muslims have always been conscious of
local contexts and have integrated features of earlier societies into their
own, often creating a unique blend between
old and new styles. In a way, Islam is the fi rst ‘green’ civilization (though,
it should be admitted, inadvertently so), with a long history of recycling
older materials and using, for the most part,
only local products and traditions.
