The Role of Traditional Craftsmanship in the Contemporary Mosque

Across the Islamic world, from Morocco to Malaysia and Africa to Afghanistan and beyond, there are hundreds of thousands of skilled Muslim artisans, wood and stone carvers and specialists in hard stone inlay, artists, calligraphers, metalworkers, weavers, embroiderers, paper makers and many more who continue until today to carry on timeless and precious traditions of Islamic arts and crafts.  Among them, perhaps not more than 3%, are recognized as great masters, often called ustads, or a variation of this honorific title.

In many cases, they are venerated and considered to be “living treasures,” repositories and practitioners of the deepest classical traditions of Islamic art and architecture with roots stretching back to the earliest days of Islam and before.   I have had the privilege of collaborating on a number of projects over the last 50 years with many of these great masters and I want to take this opportunity to share some of these experiences.  The talk will focus on several important themes as we explore the role of craftsmanship in the contemporary mosque.  The first is when commissioning the design and building of a new mosque, how do you approach the style of the mosque?  From which traditions do you draw inspiration from?  Is there a line that cannot be crossed between the past, present and the future?

How important is it to integrate traditional craftsmanship into the fabric of a contemporary mosque and how can we coordinate this collaboration successfully?

What responsibility do we have as Muslims today to give patronage to these gifted and often endangered artists and artisans, calligraphers and craftspersons?