Mayada Srouji
Muslims around the world have looked for ways to practice their religion in their Western country. We often see the influence of non-Islamic country in mosques, making the architecture a mixture of different cultures. Australian mosques are a place where both Muslim and non-Muslim Australians come together to pray, chat and to enjoy the beauty of Islamic art. The Punchbowl mosque is the result of the creative work of architectures with different backgrounds, and it’s beautiful!
The Punchbowl Mosque
This new built mosque, that has became a symbol of diversity and multiculturalism in Australia, is a very modern interpretation of how an Islamic mosque should look like, making it a combination of Islamic and Western architecture. The architecture behind this mosque, Candalepas, is a Greek orthodox Christian who spent time in various Islamic countries and visited lots of different mosques to get inspired. The mosque, that has a lot of glass walls to get in as much light as possible, has as a library, a cafe, a women’s community center and a visitor’s center and is open to all!
Designer Hakan Elevli explains to CNN why the mosque has a lot of glass walls: “People walking past on the street can see what’s going on inside. We wanted to show that there is nothing to hide.” He continues to say that the idea behind the mosque was that “they wanted to show non-Muslims that a mosque can be something that relates to the Australian way of life.”
The mosque contains 99 domes, representing the 99 names of Allah, that are curved in the domes by a group of Turkish calligraphers.
The place is a must-see for spiritual beings who love art and architecture.
