Mosques

As in Judaism, in Islam there was no (and is no) religious hierarchy. Each mosque has a designated imam (holy man), with spiritual teachers who assist him in enlightening the Muslims under his care. The idea for the mosque originated in the Prophet Muhammad’s dwelling, dated 622, in Medina. Its design of a hall of columns surrounded by a courtyard became the usual arrangement for a mosque. Because Muslims turned toward Mecca when praying (and still do so), in a mosque the wall facing Mecca was indicated by a mihrab, a highly decorative niche or other distinctive element. In Spain this ornamentation often consisted of lusterware tiles. In front of the mihrab, a screen allowed the sultan and other high officials to pray in privacy. There was also a screened area behind which women could pray; they were not permitted to be among the male worshipers. The sermon was given from a pulpit above a flight of stairs, as in many Christian churches. Each mosque had at least one minaret, a tower from which the call for prayer could be heard. Although Muslims usually attended the mosque once each week, the call for prayer sounded five times each day. Muslims were expected to stop their activities, face toward Mecca, and kneel for prayer, bowing their face to the Earth. Neither Jews nor Christians practiced such a regular, public form of worship. The courtyard of the mosque contained fountains or wells because Muslims were required to perform ritual washing of their face, hands, and feet before entering the mosque. (The bathing traditions of Islam would have seemed excessive to any of their European contemporaries.) Mosques had gloriously ornate surface decoration, in tiles, marble, or carved wood. There were not, however, any representations of forms in nature because they were forbidden by the religion.

Spain’s most important mosques were those in Granada and Cordoba. The monumental mosque of Cordoba was erected during the Middle Ages, in a city that included 700 mosques by the 10th century. The Muslim city of Cordoba was probably the greatest cultural resource of the time, containing some 70

2.12 Prayer carpet. Turkey, late 16th century. The central section depicts a mihrab (prayer niche) like those in mosques. (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The James F. Ballard Collection, Gift ofJames F. Ballard, 1922 [22.100.51])

Libraries with staffs of scribes, artists, and scholars. When Christian forces conquered Cordoba in the late Middle Ages, the exterior of the great mosque was allowed to remain standing. It was so massive that the Christian cathedral could be constructed within its center. When Granada was reconquered in 1492, however, most of the mosques were destroyed.