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Text:
Jerrilynn D. Dodds
Photos:
Edward Grazda
Publisher:
PowerHouse Books, 114 pgs
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Dodds and Grazda focus on mosque architecture in
their
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The
corner of 96th Street and 3rd Avenue on the Upper East side of
Manhattan hosts an architectural and religious icon that has grown
from a beacon for Muslim New Yorkers to a symbol of the proud,
peaceful and friendly nature of Islam in a city still somewhat wary
women in a scarves or mean wearing beards. The Islamic Cultural
Center, with it’s smooth dome, delicate minarets and sleek, modern
design marries old with new, a fitting emblem of what New York City
has become.
But
the Center, which often figures largely in any news or photographic
piece, is one of many mosques in the city - some street front types
hidden between New York delis and discount clothing stores; others
beautiful, inspirational edifices that seem to strongly declare:
“Come in and worship Allah here.” The mosques of this diverse
city rarely receive any attention for their sheer numbers and
variety of architectural designs, which add a unique character to
the history of New York City scenery.
Now
a new book boldly ventures to grasp the transformation of New York
mosques from the mere eight or nine spread out among the five
boroughs in the early 1990s to the more than 90 here today. New York
Masjid: The Mosques of New York City by Jerrilynn D. Dodds and
Edward Grazda is a thorough, intelligent photographical and written
study of New York’s mosques from an architectural standpoint.
Between
the World Trade Center bombings in 1993 and the horrific events of
September 11th, 2001, the mosques of New York City have traveled an
eight-year path of redemption and growth to proudly stand among the
elite of religious architecture. Dodds, a professor of architecture
at the City College of New York, neatly dissects the history and
growth of the city’s mosques by addressing how they were built,
the importance of arches and domes versus a vision where
architecture has no meaning in lieu of tradition and faith.
Dodds’
eloquent yet simple text supplements Grazda’s beautiful
black-and-white photographs, which gives the book a taste of
elegance sharpened by the fascinating subject matter. This is truly
a fabulous coffee table books for Muslims, and others, to own.
An
introductory paragraph encapsulates why Dodds embarked on the
project:
We
entered into this study … with the idea of bearing witness to some
of the dozens of communities of New Yorkers who practice Islam,
through the architecture which serves them as collectives within the
city. This creation of shared space, this building up of
neighborhoods seemed to answer the destructive and exploitative
image the World Trade Center bombing of 1993 spawned.
There
are nearly 800,000 Muslims in New York City, Dodds writes, with
numerous mosques spread throughout the boroughs: 28 in Queens, 27 in
Brooklyn, nearly 20 in Manhattan and in the Bronx and at least 8 in
Staten Island. Most mosques are converted stores and buildings. The
first newly built mosque - Masjid Alfalah -led to the construction
of the “grand, visible” Islamic Culture Center.
Yet
many New Yorkers are unaware of the sheer quantity of mosques
because many are in basements of buildings or hidden behind demure
street signs. But increasingly, various New York neighborhoods with
large Muslim populations are latching onto mosque construction as a
way of making Islam more visible and improving the neighborhood.
The
mosque itself is more than a building, Dodds says, as it composes an
“Islamic community, the Ummah, and the functions that nurture and
support it.” Only in the architectural world, which is where the
book constrains itself, can mosques be discussed as buildings.
It’s
refreshing, in a way, to have a non-Muslim scrutinize the functions
of a mosque, from being just a prayer hall to a community center, to
the separation of sexes and why that’s so, the restriction of
images and the importance of a Qibla (the geographical direction of
prayer). Dodds eliminates eschews emotion in her analysis and
focuses on how a mosque becomes a mosque, and how New York mosques
are a vital part of the city.
Grazda’s
photos present a visually stimulating frame for Dodd’s text, at
times transcending her words to offer a spiritual touch to the book.
Grazda, who has published numerous photography books on Afghanistan,
has a special touch with Muslim subjects. He reduces the camera’s
intrusion in the sacred place of worship to offer an insider’s
look on how the mosque is more than a gathering spot for Muslim New
Yorkers.
Grazda
traces all aspects of New York mosques. There is the door buzzer
with the word, “Imam” on top in the Ali Pasha Mosque in Queens,
the warm, joyous gathering of men around the Imam after Friday
prayers against the glorious backdrop of the Qibla of the Faith Cami
mosque in Brooklyn.
There’s
the Al-Farouq Masjid in Brooklyn, which is virtually unnoticeable
between two other buildings. But Grazda’s photo highlights its
arched windows and inverted arches on the top frame of the building
that hints at its being a mosque. Photos of multitudes of shoes from
various angles show the respect Muslims have for their mosques.
One
special collage of 12 photos shows the domes and minarets of various
New York mosques that speak of connections through design. Yet as
Imam Osman of the Islamic Cultural Center once told Dodds, “Of
course, the architecture of this mosque has no meaning.” This
statement is echoed by numerous Imams Dodd spoke with throughout her
research. She surmises:
The
separation of the act of worship from the material creation of the
mosque might be taken for granted in Isfahan or Rabat, but it is a
fact that needs to be reasserted especially in New York. … in
particular to non-Muslim New Yorkers, who tend to fetishize
architecture and canonize architects, and who live in a place where
cultural authority has laid claim to countless abandoned spiritual
territories.
Therein
lies the triumph of New York’s mosques, which have evolved to
become a feature in the city’s landscape while downplaying the
very architecture that attracts city dwellers.
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