#islam in fiction

[griseldagimpel]

Why Basira Hussain in The Magnus Archives Isn't Textually Muslim

I've noted before that Basira Hussain in The Magnus Archives isn't textually Muslim and is implied not to have strong religious faith. And it is religious faith I want to talk about in this post. Basira may very well come from a Muslim cultural background. But she isn't depicted as a capital B Believer.

Let's start with: a character's background - of any and every sort - is going to have some kind of impact on that character. The specifics of that impact will vary - there is no universal experience of anything - and the extend of the impact will be affected by the specifics of the story they are inhabiting. But a character's background shouldn't just be garnish.

With The Magnus Archives, it's a story that deeply involves religion and religious faith, what with the fear entities being worshiped as gods and all. And that means that characters' non-fear-god religious background comes up more than it might in another narrative. Thus, we get stuff like Eugene opining that the Cult of the Lightless Flame shouldn't just imitate Christianity and Martin & Jon discussing whether the Christian God is a force they can invoke.

As such, the fact that religion never comes up with Basira - when it comes up with so many other characters in the story - leads me to believe that she doesn't have a strong religious background.

Are you following me so far?

Right. So why is this? Why did the creative team make this creative decision?

Well, it's because of season five.

The fourth season ends with the fear apocalypse beginning, and then throughout all of season five, no deity intervenes to stop the fear apocalypse. (Well, unless you want to argue this was the case with Georgie and Melanie's immunity, and there, yeah, I think from an in-story perspective their cult's pretty justified, honestly.)

We spend most of the our time with Jon & Martin, who explicitly come from culturally Christian backgrounds but don't have particularly strong Christian faith themselves and predominantly experience religion in the context of the fear gods. Then there's Basira, Georgie, and Melanie.

The goal of the fifth season is the stop the fear apocalypse, which the characters do, and then the series quickly ends. And the sequel series is over there in a whole different parallel universe.

Because, look, even after being undone, the fear apocalypse was going to fuck with a lot of humanity's religious faith (or lack there of!) something fierce. Gods are real but also they're monsters and also no other god intervened.

That's...a lot.

Basira's doesn't have strong religious faith because if she did, she'd have to process season five through the lens of her religion.

And that's...a lot.

And the creative team wanted Basira's story arc to be about her confronting the harm she and Daisy did as corrupt cops.

Also, look, a British podcast depicting the Christian God as either probably nonexistent or useless? That's like, whatever. England's got a whole Church of England. Christians in England aren't being persecuted for being Christian. The episode "The Architect of Fear" can have Robert Smirke write, "I am certain the Dread Powers cannot take a soul who keeps faith in the Resurrection." and then drop dead before he can even finish his letter. It's fine.

But a British podcast specifically depicting a Muslim character having to confront that their faith is false?

Muslims in England are a religious minority. They don't have a whole institutionalized Mosque of England behind them.

Yeah, that could easily end up coming off as Jerk Move.

Not saying that it couldn't be done or couldn't make a compelling narrative, but it would be a lot to take on. It would risk overpowering the corrupt cop reckoning character arc. And the creative team would have to tread carefully for it not to be a Jerk Move.

Ergo, it's easier on the creative team for them to just...not have Basira be religiously Muslim.

Relatedly, Melanie and Georgie aren't depicted as strongly religious for similar reasons. Because they're outside of the Eye's power! If either of them had a strong religious faith, the characters would likely be interpreting their exemption as being a reflection of their faith! And that would be another plotline where the creative team would likely feel like they had to tread carefully lest their story come off as Jerk Move. Again, not impossible to pull off. But difficult.

[nejjcollectsbooks]

thrifted bookish finds 1.may.24

i've discovered that i've missed out on so much by ignoring those uncomfortably large non-fiction books that crowd the bottom of every bookshelf. found a book on Islamic architecture and two nature books with the most adorable illustrations which I'll be posting pics of in the coming days.

> Monuments of Civilisation: Islam by Umberto Scerrato - middle eastern history, north african history, islamic history, history, architecture, non-fiction. > Nature Diary by Janet Marsh - memoir, nature, art, non-fiction. > Still Glides the Stream by Flora Thompson - historical fiction, literary fiction, British fiction, classic.

[augustsappho]

“Across the town students were fast asleep. Next to them, tomes by Plato and Locke and Montesquieu waited to be read, discussed, gesticulated about; theoretical rights like freedom and liberty would be debated between those who already enjoyed them, stale concepts that, upon their readers’ graduation ceremonies, would promptly be forgotten. That life, and all of its preoccupations, seemed insane to him now; he could not believe there was ever a time when his greatest concerns were what colour neckties to order from Randall’s, or what insults to shout at houseboats hogging the river during rowing practice. It was all such frippery, fluff, trivial distractions built over a foundation of ongoing, unimaginable cruelty”

"Babel" R.F. Kuang - ch.22 pg.434

This is generally applicable to the universal experience of putting things into a better perspective from the pov of a student. How living through horrors or simply witnessing them miles and miles away can be enough to shake an anger to your core and wash your eyes so that they now see differently than they did yesterday. "How strange! How could that have really seemed like the end of the world to me! I had no idea! I really had no idea what was to come!" Though I will admit unis in London have been so very incredibly good at advocating for Palestine, UCL, Kings, Golds, QMUL, all of you! I love you!

[kavehayati]

Most funniest thing ever btw is a person who likes alhaitham and kaveh and has alhaitham as his pfp and kaveh in his banner yet is a raging Zionist

[fiction-quotes]

“Man,” said Cadfael earnestly, “there are as holy persons outside orders as ever there are in, and not to trifle with truth, as good men out of the Christian church as most I've met within it. In the Holy Land I've known Saracens I'd trust before the common run of the crusaders, men honourable, generous and courteous, who would have scorned to haggle and jostle for place and trade as some of our allies did. Meet every man as you find him, for we're all made the same under habit or robe or rags. Some better made than others, and some better cared for, but on the same pattern all.”

  —  A Morbid Taste for Bones (Ellis Peters)

[storysere]

New Writing Blog 📖💚✍🏽

About Me:

I'm a muslimah who is trying to practice writing fiction so I will be writing a bunch of one shots / little stories to get some consistent writing done! Especially writing within the context of islam and islamic "culture.” I will also be taking requests! I love writing stuff for ppl and I know it will motivate me to write much more than any prompt will 😭

Many years ago on tumblr I used to write oneshots for ppl that took place in a fairy-tale land (which usually ended up being medieval Europe) But during that time was literally the golden age of Islam, so I thought why not write in that setting? Might be fun! I'm hoping to get some feedback too since so pls feel free to do that!

-----------------------------------------------------------

✨ REQUESTS ARE OPEN! ✨✅ Open to all genre's and prompt types EXCEPT gore, thriller, horror etc. not rlly my cup of tea.

What to expect:

Oneshots, character studies, exploration of situations + places, studies of real historical customs / setting within islamic culture + religion. I'll probably also do random prompts that I find online if I don’t get any requests 🥲😭

------------------------------------------------------------

REQUESTS/ STORIES MASTERLIST:

✅done ⏳in progress 📎not yet started

Betrothed to ur father's apprentice, u fall for a customer ⏳

Your Request! Send me an ask 💚

[haveyoureadthispoll]

Beginning in seventh-century Mecca and Medina, A History of Islam in 21 Women takes us around the globe, through eleventh-century Yemen and Khorasan, and into sixteenth-century Spain, Istanbul and India. From there to nineteenth-century Persia and the African savannah, to twentieth-century Russia, Turkey, Egypt and Iraq, before reaching present day London. From the first believer, Khadija, and the other women who witnessed the formative years of Islam, to award-winning mathematician Maryam Mirzakhani in the twenty-first century, Hossein Kamaly celebrates the lives and groundbreaking achievements of these extraordinary women in the history of Islam.

[writerfarzanatutul]

Who's Allah?-Muslim Story

Now they were sitting under a tree. Hannah had a small rabbit in her hand. One of the rabbit's eyes was damaged, but Hannah loved it dearly. Hannah and the rabbit, whom they lovingly called Gyro, were Isaac's only friends.

Hannah was stroking Gyro's back when Isaac started staring at her intently.

"Hannah, are you bald? Don't you have any hair on your head?" Isaac asked curiously. Hannah was a Muslim girl. They had come from Pakistan. Her father worked in Isaac's father's factory, and her mother worked in Isaac's house.

Since Hannah had come to their house, Isaac had only seen her in a hijab. He had never figured out if she had hair.

Hannah looked at him with some annoyance.

"Why wouldn't I have hair? My hair is very beautiful. Say 'MashAllah' or else you'll give me the evil eye."

Isaac didn't know what 'MashAllah' meant or what the evil eye was.

"Hannah, what does 'MashAllah' mean?"

"MashAllah means when we see something beautiful, we remember Allah and acknowledge that Allah created it beautifully."

The seven-year-old girl didn't fully understand the meaning of MashAllah but tried to explain it to her friend as best as she could.

"And who is Allah?"

Isaac was hearing the name Allah for the first time in his eight-year-old life.

Hannah's mouth dropped open in shock.

"You don't know Allah?" Hannah asked as if it were an unbelievable fact.

"No."

Isaac felt embarrassed, seeing Hannah's reaction, as if everyone knew Allah except him.

"Allah created all of us."

"Everyone?"

"Yes, everyone."

"Even plants?"

"Yes, even plants, the sky, the earth, dust, and everything."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. And Allah loves us very much. When I need something, I pray to Allah, and He gives it to me. Allah also protects me from mommy's scolding."

( Assalamualaikum everyone, I write Islamic stories that is based on love , faith, redemption, second chances and halal romance. This is a snippet from my story Mafia Captured. )

[ahb-writes]

10 (More) Random Entries from the Dictionary of Islamic Architecture

The following entries were pulled from the Dictionary of Islamic Architecture (1995).

Iznik tilework (architectural facet)

Fatimids (people)

Gujarat (region)

Susa (city)

Yasavi (shrine of Ahmed Yasavi) (building)

Ukhaidhir (building complex)

Machicolation (architectural facet)

Kharana (building)

Bedestan (structure type)

Anjar ('Ayn Jar) (city)

(Previously: 10 Random Entries from the Dictionary of Islamic Architecture)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

❯ ❯ Iznik tilework (architectural facet)

Ottoman tiles produced from the mid-sixteenth century will have a distinctive under-glaze blue color and design.

Iznik is a town in north-west Anatolia famed for its pottery production. during the Ottoman period. Under the Byzantines the town was known as Nicea and enclosed within a large circuit wall which still survives. The city was one of the first towns to be conquered by the Ottoman Turks and contains the earliest dated Ottoman mosque known as the Haci Ozbek Cami.

Before 1550 the kilns of Iznik seem to have been mostly concerned with making pottery rather than tiles. Sometime around 1550 there was a change to tile production which was induced by the tiling of three great monuments, the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, the Suleymaniye Mosque in Damascus and the Suleymaniye complex in Istanbul. Before 1550 Ottoman tiles were hexagonal with bold cuerda sec designs, the new Iznik tiles were square and carried underglaze designs. The new shape and use of underglaze painting enabled large multi-tile compositions to be made. Another innovation of this period was the use of thick red slip as an underglaze color which gave Iznik pottery its distinctive appearance.

See also: Istanbul; Ottomans; Suleymaniye.

❯ Further reading ❯ (1) J. Raby, 'A seventeenth-century description of IznikNicea', Istanbuler Mitteilungen, 149-188, 1976; (2) J. Raby and N. Atasoy, lznik: The Pottery of Ottoman Turkey, London 1989. ❯ Text ❯ Peterson (1995) Dictionary of Islamic Architecture, page 130. ❯ Photos ❯ (1) SOPA Images/Contributor; (2) Ayhan Altun; (3) Ayhan Altun.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

❯ ❯ Fatimids (people)

Caliphs who ruled North Africa, Egypt and Palestine from the tenth to the twelfth century.

The Fatimids were a religious dynasty who claimed descent from the prophet's daughter Fatima. In historical terms the Fatimids belonged to an extreme sect of Shi'a known as Ismailis who emerged as rivals to both the Umayyads of Spain and the Abbasid caliphate in Baghdad. The Fatimids' first successes were amongst the Berber tribes of North Africa who adopted the Fatimids as leaders. Their first conquest destroyed the Aghlabid rulers of Ifriqiyya (Tunisia) in 909 and replaced them with the Fatimid caliph the Mahdi Ubaid Allah. In the following years the Fatimids pursued an aggressive expansionist policy, conquering Tripoli and making raids on the French and Italian coasts. During the reign of the Caliph al-Mu'iz the empire was expanded westwards to include the whole of North Africa to the Atlantic Ocean and eastwards to Egypt and Palestine in 969. The conquest of Egypt began a new phase in Fatimid history with the foundation of Cairo as the imperial capital.

The architecture of the Fatimids can be divided into two periods, the North African period from 909 to 969 and the Egyptian period from 969 to 1171. The North African period was a time of expansion and religious extremism which can be seen in the architecture of the mosques. Examples of early Fatimid mosques are at Ajdabiya in Libiya and Mahdiya in Tunisia. The first of these was the mosque of Mahdiya, which was built like a fortress with two square comer towers flanking a single projecting monumental entrance. The mosque at Ajdabiya had a similar plan but lacks the monumental entrance facade. For ideological reasons, neither of these mosques had a minaret, a feature which remained absent until the last years of Fatimid rule in Egypt.

See also: Ajdabiya; Cairo (The Fatimid Period); Libiya; Mahdiya; Tunisia.

❯ Text ❯ Peterson (1995) Dictionary of Islamic Architecture, pages 86-87. ❯ Photos ❯ (1) J.M. Bloom; (2) Wikimedia Commons.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

❯ ❯ Gujarat (region)

Predominantly Hindu coastal region of western India with distinctive Islamic architecture. Gujarat is a fertile low-lying region located between Pakistan, Rajasthan and the Indian Ocean. The position of the region on the Indian Ocean has meant that it has always had extensive trading contacts particularly with the Arabian peninsula. It is likely that the first Muslims in Gujarat arrived sometime in the eighth century although there is little published archaeological evidence of this. The oldest standing mosques in the area are located at the old seaport of Bhadresvar in western Gujarat and have been dated to the mid-twelfth century although they may stand on older foundations.

The first Muslim conquest of the area took place at the end of the thirteenth century under the Ala al-Din the Khaliji sultan of Delhi. The earliest monument from this period is the Jami Masjid at Cambay which includes columns taken from ruined Hindu and Jain temples. The form of the mosque resembles that of the Quwwat al-Islam Mosque in Delhi with a rectangular courtyard with gateways on three sides and an arched screen in front of the sanctuary on the west side. Other early mosques built in a similar style include those of Dholka Patan and Broach all of which are located close to the coast. During the fifteenth century many mosques, tombs and other monuments were built in the regional capital Ahmadabad, the most significant of which are the Jami Masjid and the tomb of Ahmad Shah. These buildings incorporate many features from Hindu temple architecture including projecting balconies, perforated jali screens and square decorated columns. Monuments of the sixteenth century contain the same Hindu and Islamic elements combined in a more developed fashion as can be seen in the Jami Masjid of Champaner built in 1550. The Mughal conquest in the mid-sixteenth century brought Gujarat into the mainstream of architectural development. However, the architecture of the region exerted a considerable influence on the Mughal emperor Akbar, who built the city of Fatehpur Sikri in Gujarati style.

The secular architecture of Gujarat is mostly built of wood and characterized by elaborately carved screens and overhanging balconies. Another characteristic feature of the region is the use of step wells, or vavs, which consist of deep vertical shafts, approached via recessed chambers and steps. Sometimes these were very elaborate structures with multiple tiers of steps.

See also: Ahmadabad; India; Mughals; Qutb Minar.

❯ Further Reading ❯ (1) Z. A. Desai, 'Some Mughal inscriptions from Gujarat', Epigraphica Indica: Arabic and Persian Supplement, 1970, 63-92; (2) J. Jain-Neubauer, The Stepwells of Gujarat in Art Historical Perspective, New Delhi 1981; (3) E. Koch, '[The] Influence [of Gujarat] on Mughal architecture', in Ahmadabad, ed. G. Michell and S. Shah, Bombay 1988, 168-185; (4) M. Shokooy, M. Bayani-Wolpert and N. H. Shokooy, Bhadresvar: The Oldest Islamic Monuments in India, part of Studies in Islamic Art and Architecture, Supplements to Muqamas, vol. 2, Leiden 1988. ❯ Text ❯ Peterson (1995) Dictionary of Islamic Architecture, pages 102-103. ❯ Photos ❯ (1) Gujarat Tourism; (2) C. Krishna Gairola/University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections; (3) Booksfact.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

❯ ❯ Susa / Soussa / Sousse (city)

Tunisian coastal city noted for its ninth-century Aghlabid buildings. Under the Byzantines the city was known as Justinianopolis in honor of Justinian who rebuilt it after the Vandal destruction. In 689 CE, it was captured by the Arabs and became one of the principal ports for the Aghlabid conquest of Sicily. In 827, the city was refortified with ramparts and walls built in the Byzantine style. Important Aghlabid buildings within the city include the ribat built or restored by Ziyadat Allah in 821, the Bu Fatata Mosque built in 840 and the Great Mosque established in 859.

See also: Aghlabids; Tunisia.

❯ Text ❯ Peterson (1995) Dictionary of Islamic Architecture, page 271. ❯ Photos ❯ TravelFeed.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

❯ ❯ Yasavi (shrine of Ahmed Yasavi) / mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi) (building)

Shrine built by Timur for his son Jahangir between 1397 and 1399.

The shrine is located in the city of Turkestan (modern Yasi) in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The building is oriented north-south on a rectangular ground plan (65.5m by 46.5m) with portals at the south and north ends. The main doorway is the magnificent south portal which is flanked by huge cylindrical corner towers or minarets over 20m high. Behind the portal is the dome of the prayer hall rising to a height of over 37m. At the other end of the structure is the north facade in the center of which is the entrance to the mausoleum. The mausoleum is capped by a tall 'melon-shaped' ribbed dome set on a high cylindrical drum. Externally the building is well articulated with its two entrance facades, domes and an extensive covering of tilework. Internally, however, there is less feeling of unity beyond the principal rooms: leading off from the prayer hall and mausoleum are many smaller rooms with different vaulting systems which do not seem integrated in an overall design.

❯ Text ❯ Peterson (1995) Dictionary of Islamic Architecture, page 310. ❯ Photos ❯ (1) Yevgeniy Volkov/Shutterstock; (2) leszczem/Shutterstock; (3) AlexelA/Shutterstock.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

❯ ❯ Ukhaidhir / al-Ukhaidir Fortress (building complex)

Early Abbasid palace in the desert of south-western Iraq.

The palace stands in the desert west of the city of Kerbala and east of the oasis of Shithatha. The building is made out of rough-hewn limestone blocks and mud plaster with baked brick used for roofing vaults, resembling earlier Sassanian structures (cf. Kharana in Jordan). The palace may be divided into two structural phases, a central palace core and an outer enclosure wall added slightly later. The exterior curtain wall is composed of tall blind niches alternating with solid semi-circular buttress towers. On top of the wall there was a parapet which was cantilevered over the niches allowing a continuous series of slits (machicolation) which could protect the lower parts of the wall from attack. The main gateway is set between two quarter-round towers and contains a slot for a portcullis. To the right of the entrance on the outside there is a large stable block. The central core of the palace contains a mosque, a bath house and a main reception hall. The upper floor is reached by ramps running up at right angles to the axis of the main gateway. There are small tunnels running over the main vaults which provided cooling and ventilation.

Recent survey work in the vicinity of Ukhaidhir has demonstrated the development of the area during the early Islamic period, starting with the small palace at Tulul Ukhaidhir several kilometers to the north of the main palace. In addition there is an outer mud-brick enclosure containing a variety of mud-brick buildings which are now only visible as humps.

See also: Abbasids: Atshan, Khan; Iraq; Sassanians.

❯ Further reading ❯ (1) G. Bell, Palace and Mosque at Ukhaidhir: A Study in Early Muhammadan Architecture, Oxford 1914; (2) B. Finnster and J. Schmidt, Sasaidische und fruhislamische Ruinem im Iraq, Baghdader Miffeilungen 8, Berlin 1976. ❯ Text ❯ Peterson (1995) Dictionary of Islamic Architecture, page 294. ❯ Photos ❯ (1) Taisir Mahdi; (2) Mustafa Hamzah Almosawy.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

❯ ❯ Machicolation (architectural facet)

Downward openings or slits used defending a castle or fortification.

There are three types of machicolation, a box machicolation, concealed machicolation and continuous machicolation. A box machicolation resembles a projecting window or gallery and may also be used for this purpose. There are usually one or more slits in the floor and the box is normally located over a gate or doorway. Box machicolations were used in Roman times and their first use in Islamic structures is at Qasr al-Hayr (East and West).

Concealed machicolations are usually set into the roof above a vaulted passage leading from a gateway and are often used in conjunction with a portcullis. The first example in Islamic architecture comes from the eighth-century palace of Ukhaidhir in Iraq. These were frequently used in medieval Islamic fortifications.

Continuous machicolation consists of a parapet which is cantilevered over the front face of a wall with a series of downward openings. The earliest example of this is also at Ukhaidhir although it is not used later on in Islamic architecture.

See also: Fortification.

❯ Text ❯ Peterson (1995) Dictionary of Islamic Architecture, page 167. ❯ Photos ❯ (1) Bernard Gagnon; (2) Vyacheslav Argenberg/Getty.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

❯ ❯ Kharana / Qasr al-Kharana (building)

Early Islamic or Sassanian building in the Jordanian desert 60km east of Amman.

Kharana is a remarkably preserved square two-story structure with solid semi-circular and circular buttress towers. The building is made out of roughly-hewn stone blocks laid in courses covered with successive layers of plaster. There are three rows of vertical slits in the walls which have been interpreted as arrow slits, although. their height above the inside floor level makes this unlikely. The gateway is set between two quarter-round towers which lead into an entrance passage flanked with two long vaulted rooms that functioned as stables. Inside the building is a square courtyard with a series of undecorated rooms (for storage?) whilst on the upper floor the rooms are decorated with plaster/stucco designs similar to those at Ukhaidhir in Iraq. These include engaged pilasters, blind niches and decorative bosses. Two of the upper rooms have semi-domes resting on wide squinches at the end.

Although it was built before 710 (according to an inscription) and is Sassanian in style, the building is now generally believed to be early Islamic.

See also: Tunisia.

❯ Further reading ❯ S. Urice, Qasr Kharana in the Transjordan, Durham, NC: AASDR, 1987. ❯ Text ❯ Peterson (1995) Dictionary of Islamic Architecture, page 147. ❯ Photos ❯ Haupt & Binder.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

❯ ❯ Bedestan (structure type)

Special closed form of Turkish market where goods of high value were traded. The usual form of bedestan is a long domed or vaulted hall two storeys high with external shop units.

Originally, bedestan referred to the area of a market where cloth was sold or traded from the bezzaz han (cloth market). The earliest bedestans were probably specific areas of a general bazar or market. The earliest known bedestan is the Beysehir Bedestan built in 1297 according to an inscription above the gateway. The building consists of a closed rectangular courtyard covered by six domes supported on two central piers. There are doorways on three sides and on the outside there are small open shop units, six on the east and west sides and nine on the north and south sides.

During the Ottoman period bedestans developed as a specific building type and became the center of economic life in a city. Because they could be locked, they were often used for jewelry or money transactions and came to be regarded as signs of prosperity in a city. Ottoman bedestans were built in a variety of forms and may include features such as external shops, internal cell units and arastas (arcades). The simplest plan consists of a square domed hall with one or two entrances like those at Amasya or Trabzon. More complicated structures like the Rustem Pasha Bedestan in Erzerum consist of a central enclosed courtyard surrounded by a closed vaulted corridor containing shop units.

❯ Text ❯ Peterson (1995) Dictionary of Islamic Architecture, page 33. ❯ Photos ❯ (1) Mustafa Cambaz; (2) GarySandyWales; (3) selimaksan.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

❯ ❯ Anjar ('Ayn Jar) (city)

Umayyad city in Lebanon.

Anjar was built by the Umayyad caliph al-Walid in 714-715 CE. The city is contained within a rectangular enclosure (370m north-south and 310m east-west) supported by a series of solid semi-circular buttress towers and four hollow corner towers. There are four principal gateways and the walls were originally crowned with stepped merlons (crenellation). Internally the city is built to a regular plan recalling earlier Byzantine and Roman cities. There are four principal colonnaded streets which meet at the center in a tetrapylon. Many of the buildings are built of alternating courses of ashlar blocks and layers of baked brick. There is a series of shop units (3.5m wide and 5m deep) lining the main streets behind the colonnades. In the south-east quadrant of the city is a palace within a rectangular enclosure (about 70 by 60 m). The interior of the palace is divided into four units arranged symmetrically; at the south end there is a building with a triple aisles and an apse resembling a basilical hall, this is duplicated at the north end. To the north of the palace is the mosque which is entered from the west street. The mosque is a rectangular structure (47m by 30m) with a small central courtyard surrounded by two aisles on the west, east and qibla (south) sides whilst there is one aisle on the north side. On either side of the mihrab are two entrances which lead into a narrow lane that connects with the palace. There is a small bath house next to the north gate which comprises a square vaulted hall, leading via two intermediate rooms into a hot room.

❯ Text ❯ Peterson (1995) Dictionary of Islamic Architecture, page 20. ❯ Photos ❯ (1) Malcolm P. Chapman; (2) Henryk Sadura; (3) Eric Lafforgue/Art in All of Us/Contributor.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Current article: 10 (More) Random Entries from the Dictionary of Islamic Architecture

Previous article: 10 Random Entries from the Dictionary of Islamic Architecture

[wakanai]

I can't be the only one on tumblr uncomfortable with the whole fyosus thing..

[iamthepulta]

mission failed, Thriftbooks got me

but I got The Book of Charlatans AND Mercury Mining and Empire with double point rewards, so who's actually the winner here?

[griseldagimpel]

I've seen a lot of cool Magnus Archives fan art of Basira where she's wearing a headscarf, but given that she turns to logic and reason when confronted with the Stranger's Unknowing, I'm thinking she's probably not a [Muslim] believer.

She might come from an Islamic religious-cultural background, but she never attempts to invoke the Abrahamic God's help against the dread powers. Or even discuss the possibility of doing so on tape at any point.

For that matter, Basira is an Avatar of the Hunt! If she was Muslim, that would be hardcore idolatry! But we never [on tape] hear her have any concerns about this.

(Seriously, just in general, the fear gods definitely existing would have such an impact on one's religious beliefs or lack their of. The divine exists and can be called upon if one is a special favorite enough! That's huge! I'll bet some of the Avatars are just SO smug about this fact.)

[saturnshari]

tiny fandom rant

thinking abt how being an Intellectual Brown woman isolates me from fandom experiences bc since i call out orientalism/racism against swana and my people in media that makes me too "anti" but the shit id be into and ship since i was 13 would land me 100ft deep into "proship" territory....

[skepticalpigeon]

Alternate reality science fiction where the original ten commandments are radioactive and the ark of the covenant contains most of the radiation but is itself radioactive enough that it quickly kills anyone who touches it, like the elephant's foot at Chernobyl.

[theupfish]

No Canadian school ever canceled any event with Nadia Murad

Nadia Murad is a Yazidi survivor of the 2014 Yazidi genocide by ISIS. She is now an activist and Nobel Piece Prize winner.

Earlier this year, posts began to circulate social media, claiming that her visit to a Canadian school was canceled, for "fear of spreading Islamophobia."

Well....

https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.34RW8MG

Nadia Murad never even had any events scheduled in Canada to begin with. The story is as fake as the roadkill on Trump's head. Somebody pulled it right outta' their bum.

The oppression of the Yazidi people could definitely use some more attention, though.

[almakfi]

in au/fantasy verses basim still abstains from alcohol and haram meat because seeing as he follows islamic dietary laws even in his agnosticism it's a) something deeply integral to his character and his complex relationship with faith and b) not a good look, focusing on any verse other than his canon and removing/failing to address the influence of islam on his daily life as a consequence of that