Crafting Ambiguity: The Duality of Religious Expression in Almohad Architecture
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Abstract
The aim of this paper is to examine the way in which the Almohads perceived and applied architecture to explore and convey the tension between austere reli-gious devotion and architectural creativity. A creativity that is specifically Al-mohads’. Besides establishing themselves as a mighty and pious Empire appre-hended by locals as well as foreigners, the twelfth century Almohad rulers mani-fested an unprecedented artistic capacity shown in their architectural achieve-ment and ornamentation. The Almohad Empire had a deep and lasting effect on the conception of building mosques and minarets in the Western Muslim world, starting in Morocco and spreading to Algeria and the Iberian Peninsula. The Al-mohad quintessential artistic style goes hand in hand with the religious ideas put into practice by the founder of the Almohads, namely, Ibn Tumart (c. 1080-1130). The latter attempted to reform the religious perception of Islam by allegedly teaching focus on the Qur’an and the prophet’s sayings rather than on the widely acknowledged school of law, that is, Malikite jurisprudence. His reli-gious revolutionary reform, contrary to his rivals and predecessors, the Almora-vids, is characterised by an abhorrence and a disdain for moral laxity. As to his political ambition to impose the Almohadism as the new ruling power, Ibn Tumart died before he fully realised his dream. This was indeed fulfilled by his enormously gifted disciple and military strategist, Abd al-Mumin. Furthermore, the latter, his son, Abu Yaqub Yusuf, and his grandson, Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansur all manifested a sensitivity for an austere and remarkable architecture. This paper will draw attention to the meaning of some of their finest productions, specifically the mosque Tinmal and the three iconic minarets: Koutoubiya, La Ghiralda and Hassan Tower.
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How to cite this paper
Crafting Ambiguity: The Duality of Religious Expression in Almohad Architecture
How to cite this paper: Ilham Ibnouza-hir. (2024) Crafting Ambiguity: The Duality of Religious Expression in Al-mohad Architecture. Journal of Litera-ture Advances, 1(1), 1-14.
DOI: 10.26855/jla.2024.12.001
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