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Proceedings, 6 
th
International Space Syntax Symposium,
İ 
stanbul, 2007 
 
THE SOCIAL LOGIC OF THE MOSQUE:
a study in the relationships between buildingtypology and urban morphology
 
059
Ziad Aazam
The Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff University 
Abstract
To use the idea of building type comprehensively as a method in the design process(Colquhoun, 1967), the socio-spatial knowledge of the architectural artefact has to beretrieved (Hillier and Hanson 1984, Markus 1993). Based on the fact that each buildingtype is a unique socio-spatial configuration that requires different methods to unpack itsrelationships, this paper argues that the congregation mosque, the chosen type for thisstudy, requires a socio-spatial organisational analysis beyond that of its boundary.Building on formal theories of type which consider the traditional city as the source oftypology (Vidler 1976, Rossi 1982) and space syntax idea of 'interface', this study aimsat defining the relationships between this particular building typology and urbanmorphology. The analysis answers these questions: Can a relationship be establishedbetween the mosque's internal socio-spatial organisation and the city's local and globalstructure? And, will such a relationship contribute to our understanding of thephenomena of this building type? To investigate these relationships, the study explores12 case studies of mosques selected from diverse cities representing the Islamicworld's cultural diversity and historical continuity.It accomplishes this aim using the visibility graph analysis to show the building'srelations to its contexts at the local dimension, and the axial analysis to show thebuilding's integration within the city's local and global structure. The results show atendency towards greater similarities among the diverse cases in exhibiting a relativelyhigh integration, visually at the local level and structurally at the local and global levels.The paper concludes that contrary to the typical spatial discontinuity between the insideof the building's boundary and the city, the mosque shows a high degree of spatialcontinuity with the city's local structure. The spatial continuity and high integrationindicate a strong agreement with its concept as an institutional form, which is based onIslamic principles and intentions and operates within rules and responsibilities ofculturally diverse Muslim societies (Hakim 1986, Akbar 1988).
Introduction
This paper is an extension of the investigation that seeks differentways of understanding a particular building type. The architecturalconventions confine the study of building typologies to the building’sboundaries and assume that any venture beyond these boundaries is
Keywords:
 
MosqueCityUrban elementInterfaceSocial logic
Ziad Aazam
The Welsh School of  Architecture, Cardiff University Bute Building, King Edward VII  Avenue, Cardiff CF10 3NB,Wales U.K.aazamz@cardiff.ac.uk 
 
 Aazam; The Social Logic of the Mosque: A Study in the Relationships between Building Typology and Urban Morphology 
Proceedings, 6 
th
International Space Syntax Symposium,
İ 
stanbul, 2007 
 059-02
a crossing to the realm of urban designs and policies. Although it isclear that the building becomes an urban element among others at thelocal and global scales of the city, particular building types remaincharacteristically strong to the degree of defining the city itself. Ofsuch building types, the religious and cultural buildings come to thefore. With such building types, an attempt to explore their role in thecity beyond the confinement of their boundaries may contribute to ourunderstanding of them.The writings of Rossi (1982) and Vidler (1976) advocate the idea thatthe city itself is our source of typology unlike the earlier typologies thatwere based on nature and machine. The view of architecture thattakes the construction of the city as an embodiment of history, values,and cultures can be used as a base for a new typology. Vidler statedin his study “The Third Typology”:“We might characterize the fundamental attribute of this thirdtypology as an espousal, not of an abstract nature, nor of a
Figure 1: 
 
Satellite images of the 12 mosques in their local context 
(Google Earth images except for FEZ and DJN)
 
 Aazam; The Social Logic of the Mosque: A Study in the Relationships between Building Typology and Urban Morphology 
Proceedings, 6 
th
International Space Syntax Symposium,
İ 
stanbul, 2007 
 059-03
technological utopia, but rather of the traditional city as the locus ofits concern. The city, that is, provides the material for classification,and the forms of its artifacts provide the basis for re-composition”(Vidler 1976, p. 1).Vidler’s concept was motivated by ‘a desire to stress the continuity ofform and history against the fragmentation produced by the elemental,institutional, and mechanistic typologies of the recent past’ (p. 2). Insuch a process of formation, the city becomes a whole with its pastand present as manifested in its physical structure. While such a viewtakes a formal coherence of the city as its objective, it fails to addressthe human aspect without which the city does not exist in the firstplace.The aim this paper is set out to reach is based on the view that for atypology based on the city architecture to contribute to its formalcohesion, an understanding of the social cohesion in space has tocomplement such a typology.To investigate a particular building type with a possible role in the city,the congregation mosque is chosen as a religious building type. Thesample of 12 mosques and their cities (Figure 1) selected for thisstudy is representative of historical continuity and geographicaldiversity of the traditional Muslim world.These cases are explored spatially at the city’s global and local levelsfrom the view of the building itself. The concern then is to what degreethe building can be understood in relation to the city’s global and localstructures? And in what way such a relationship can contribute to ourunderstanding of the phenomena of this building type?To answer these questions, the study is based on the assumption thatthe ‘living traditions’ which characterise the sample of historical cases,continue to demonstrate little deviation of its social and spatialorganisation from its original intent; and that such a historicalcontinuity is indicative of the cases persistence to represent thevalues of the society. The cases, therefore, render themselvessuitable phenomena for the exploration.The objective is to find a general tendency that characterises thebuilding’s performance at the city’s global and local levels. The paperis divided into two parts. The first part is concerned with introducingthe congregation mosque as an urban element representing animportant institution of the Muslim society. The second part analysesthe building’s spatial role within its city’s global and local settings.
Concepts Concerning the Mosque Type
City and Mosque 
Religious scholars emphasised the presence of the mosque as acondition for a society to fulfil its Islamic way of life in the city. AsHakim (1986) noted from his study of the Islamic literature that the cityshould have a congregation mosque, masjid al-jami, in which theFriday sermon was given and in which the city’s residents and itssurroundings were served. This importance was first established bythe construction of the Prophet’s mosque in Madinah. The mosqueserved both as a place of worship and as a community centre for thecity, and thus played an important function in the formation of the newsociety. Its relationship with the city continues to be significant.
Categories of Space 
Some of the mosque’s spaces can be categorised not only as part ofthe building’s interior but also as part of the building and city’s localrelationships. The gate space is an obvious example that expresses a
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