Case study of Jama Masjid
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Throughout the history of Muslim Empires—The Ottomans (Turkey), Safawids (Iran) and Mughals (Indian subcontinent)—construction of monuments was an intrinsic principle to exhibit imperial ideology and a way to
connect a viewer to the centre of power. In fact the creation and maintenance of monuments sometimes involved a great deal of attention being
paid to the discursive messages that accompany the sensory impression.7
The same attraction and attention was conceived by the mosques of India
after the arrival of Muslim rulers from Central Asia for their political establishments in the Indian Subcontinent. Many of the magnificent mosques in
India such as Qutb Minar, Jama Masjid of Delhi, Moti Masjid of Agra etc. have
been built from the funds and treasuries of the emperors. The mosques
were built by Indians not only for the purpose of worship but also to attract
Arab merchants in order to expand their trade overseas. Construction of
a mosque was not an activity undertaken only by the State but also by the
elite class—princes, nobles, rich merchants—bearing their own names.
The Masjid (mosque) is an Arabic word which frequently appears in the
Quran that technically means ‘place of prostration.’8 It is the place where
Muslims bow their heads to the ground in respect of God which is also an
important act required in their everyday ritual of prayer called namaz in
order to express their faith towards their God. The expansion of the Masjids
was the outcome of the conquest of different lands which led Muslims to
build their own space for worship. Eventually, for the consolidation of their
new rule the concept of the construction of congregation mosques or Masjid-
-e-Jami or Jama Masjid also originated by as early as the eighth century. For
Muslims the Quran represented a comprehensive revolution of their history,
society and intellect and hence for that they established a formal system of
worship and gave it the shape of a mosque.
By the end of the seventh century, the concept of congregational mosques
also known as Masjid-e-Jami or Jama Masjid took a formal shape and their
functions and typology were also formalised. The term Masjid-e-Jami means
‘the mosque of the community’ was a space for the collective particularly for
all male Muslims in an open space which also expressed as Friday mosque.
Markus Hattstein, in his book ‘Islam: Art and Architecture’ has also men-
tioned that the building and upkeep of mosque was the responsibility of
the state, because its primary motive was the maintenance of the cohesion
of the community of the faithful. With this motive and with the emergence
of new Muslim countries, the mosques flourished beyond being mere places
of worship.