Historiography of Mosque Architecture in Malaysia: Analysis of Texts by 5 Authors

Abstract

Malaysian mosques exhibit remarkable variations, ranging from humble traditional timber structures to massive modern complexes. This evolution has been studied by numerous historians, architects, and academicians resulting in a steadily expanding historiography of mosque architecture. However, this body of work on the history and development of local mosques has never been formally studied in detail as a whole. Therefore, this paper focuses on 2 major aspects: first, identifying general research approaches present in the historiography of mosque architecture in Malaysia, and second, classifying the formal elements and characteristics used to describe the architecture of local mosques. Based on selected texts from 5 Malaysian authors, it was identified that these works are descriptive studies that are primarily structured on a combination of chronological, stylistic, cultural, geographical and typological approaches. Additionally, descriptions of mosque architecture by the authors were based on a set of formal elements and characteristics which falls into 5 distinct categories: i) typological element, ii) spatial organisation, iii) roof form, iv) building technology, and v) design articulation. These results reflect the complexity of mosque development in Malaysia and the multiple angles that are possible to holistically examine them. This paper also discusses 3 significant aspects embedded within the study of mosque architecture in Malaysia, covering unique elements and characteristics of local mosques, followed by issues related to language, conceptual, and factual ambiguity, and finally on the complexity of mosque classifications.