Rethinking the Friday Mosque: a Critical Enquiry of an Architectural Paradigm

Abstract Questioning the notion of master narratives in the study of architecture, this article explores various histories of the Friday mosque in different geographical and temporal contexts and through the lenses of different schools of religious interpretation. The text presents three case-based examples from ʿAbbasid Baghdad, Mamluk Cairo, and Safavid Isfahan to demonstrate that the pre-modern history of the Friday mosque does not follow a neat chronology. By examining the complex nodes of agencies and associations between the Friday mosque, its patrons and users, and the textual juridical engagements with mosques and prayer, the article demonstrates that the evolution of the Friday mosque was multicentred and asynchronous and always reflecting local religious and political contexts.