Re-reading Conceptual Art in the Service of Manifesting Transcendent Concepts and Enhancing Spiritual Experience in Contemporary Mosque Architecture

Abstract

The mosque, as the house of God and a symbol of the unity of Muslims, has always occupied a position beyond mere ritual function and has served as a domain for the manifestation of art, wisdom, and meaning. In the post-structuralist era, conceptual art, with its emphasis on idea and inner experience, has provided a unique capacity for the re-creation of architectural spaces through a contemporary expressive language. The aim of this study is to examine the limitations and possibilities of employing conceptual art within the physical and spatial structure of contemporary mosque architecture. This research seeks to answer the question of how the principles of conceptual art can be utilized in the design and construction of contemporary mosques, and what achievements architects in other countries have attained, as well as the extent to which they have succeeded in preserving symbols, identity, and the realm of meaning. The findings of this study indicate that the application of conceptual art in mosque construction has often been more successful in non-Islamic regions (such as Europe), where it has been more effective in attracting audiences without generating religious sensitivity. However, in Islamic countries—particularly those possessing a rich and distinctive tradition of Islamic architecture (such as Iran, Turkey, Syria, and Egypt)—the use of conceptual art must be approached with greater caution. This is because the mosque is inherently symbolic and structuralist in nature, whereas conceptual and contemporary art have emerged within a rhizomatic framework characterized by instability, Dadaist tendencies, and a lack of symbolic structure. Therefore, in the design of religious structures, especially mosques, through the application of conceptual art principles, greater attention must be paid to the ontological tension between traditional (sacred) art and conceptual art, in order to avoid the elimination of symbolic elements and an excessive focus on visual and material aesthetics.