Dictionary of islamic architecture

See also:
Aleppo, Almohads, Crusader
architecture, Kharana, Qasr al-Hayr (East), Qasr
al-Hayr (West), Ukhaidhir
Further reading:
K.A.C.Creswell, ‘Fortification in Islam before AD 1250’,
Proceedings of the British Academy
38: 1953.
T.E.Lawrence, 
Crusader Castles,
new edn. ed. R.D. Pringle,
Oxford 1988.
R.D.Pringle, ‘Crusader castles: the first generation’,
Fortress
1: 1989.
J.Wood, ‘The fortifications of Amman citadel’, 
Fortress
16:
1993.
France
France’s first real contact with Islam was in the eighth
century at the battle of Poitiers where the Arab forces
were defeated by Charles Martel. The Arab raids into
France were not part of a serious attempt to conquer
the country and have left few archaeological or
architectural remains. However, during the ninth
century a series of Muslim Arab forts were
established along the Mediterranean coast. The
design of these buildings resembled the ribats of
North Africa and were intended as bases for naval
activity rather than as permanent settlements.
France’s first modern encounter with Islam was
in the late eighteenth century when Napoleon
launched his expedition to Egypt. The military
expedition was accompanied by a large team of
scholars who introduced the concept of ‘Orientalism’
to Europe. Conversely, the expedition was also
responsible for introducing European ideas and
architecture into the region. The colonization of
Algeria in the nineteenth century continued France’s
link with the Islamic world and was also responsible
for the introduction of European architecture into
North Africa.
Since the Algerian independence in the 1960s
there has been a steady flow of North African
immigrants to France, which thus now has a large
ethnic North African population resident mostly in
the larger cities (Paris, Marseilles and Lyons). The
earliest mosques in France were converted churches
and houses although more recently purpose-built
mosques have been erected. The centre of Islamic
life in Paris is the Islamic Centre which includes a
mosque built in the North African style with
horseshoe arches and geometric tile mosaic
decoration. The mosque’s minaret resembles those
of Tlemcen and Marrakesh. The best-known Islamic
building in Paris is the Institut du Monde Arabe built
in the late 1980s in recognition of the prominent role
of Arab culture in France. Although designed by
Europeans the building is based on traditional
Islamic principles modified for a twentieth-century
European setting. The Institut is a rectangular glass
building built over a steel frame and located next to
the University on the banks of the Seine. One of the
more unusual features of the building is the moving
metal window grilles, which open and close
according to the light. The movements of the window
grilles are computer controlled and form geometric
Islamic patterns.
Central Mosque, Paris, © Susan Bailey
France

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