Cold Stones and Hot Zones: December 2009

The Swiss, long known for religious tolerance, have just voted to ban the minaret, an important but not essential part of Islamic architecture.

An Op-Ed column in the New York Times of Dec 6, 2009 nicely comments on the social and political aspects of this story.

What is the purpose of minarets in Islamic buildings? Some believe that towering minarets are made to establish Muslim supremacy. Perhaps, but they serve far more practical functions. Minarets associated with masjids (mosques) are used to call the faithful to prayer. This was a practical option in the days when personal watches were not so common, but not one any more. Minarets also serve an air-conditioning function - as the sun heats the dome, cold air is drawn in through the open arches (or windows) and hot air is released from the minarets, cooling the structure. Remember High School Physics - warm air is lighter than cold air and rises to the top.

Without going into the politics of the minaret, I celebrate the stupidity of the Swiss with pictures from my archives. There are masjids with minarets and there are also masjids with no minarets. Many tombs and forts in the Indian subcontinent, which serve no religious function, also have minarets to enhance their architectural style.

Take a look.

Minarets on Masjids

From my Turkey files - 1. Sultanahmet Cami (Blue mosque), Istanbul; 2. Yeni Cami (New mosque), Istanbul; 3. Eyup mosque, Istanbul; 4. Iznik minaret (notice the blue tile work from the city where the colour turquoise was discovered).

From the Indian subcontinent

Badshahi Masjid, Lahore, Pakistan - Built in 1673 by the sixth Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb, it is remarkably similar to the Jama Masjid of Delhi. Sorry, I don't have Delhi's Jama Masjid in my digital files yet.

Faisal Mosque, Islamabad, Pakistan - Built in 1986, it adds a modern architectural style in Pakistan's capital city.

Moti Masjid (Pearl Mosque), inside the Red Fort, Delhi, India - This personal masjid of Emperor Shahjehan has small minarets that served neither the purpose of calling for prayer nor were symbols of power. They were ornamental, adding only to the beauty of this masjid.

Minarets on Tombs

Humayun's Tomb, Delhi, India - Humayun was the second Mughal emperor. Clearly these minarets serve only an ornamental purpose on his tomb.

Gate of Akbar's Tomb, Sikandra, near Agra, India - Akbar was the third Mughal emperor. Notice the similarity between these and the minarets of the Taj Mahal (see later)

Jahangir's Tomb, Lahore, Pakistan - Jahangir was Akbar's son and the fourth Mughal emperor.

Shahjehan's Tomb, Agra, India - Shahjehan was Jahangir's son and the fifth Mughal emperor. He is buried beside his wife, Mumtaz Mahal, in the beautiful Taj Mahal. In this wide angle view from across the Yamuna river, the Taj Mahal is flanked by a masjid on the right (look, no minarets!!) and an identical structure on the left built just for the purpose of maintaining symmetry.

The Taj Mahal has one of the most elegant minarets you will find on a building. They are tall, but not overbearing on the structure. I am always reminded of a painter's fingers when I look at them. See if you agree.

Itmad-ud-daulah's Tomb, Agra, India - This is a small, ornamental tomb belonging to a nobleman in Jahangir's court and his father-in-law. Notice the small minarets that accentuate the corners of this tomb that stands, like most other mughal tombs in the middle of a charbagh - a four-cornered garden.

Minarets in Forts

The Red Fort, Delhi, India - Will the ramparts of the Red Fort be as beautiful without the minarets, which serve no religious purpose?

Golconda Fort, Hyderabad, India - A small structure close to the highest point of the fort has two exquisite minarets in a style seen in Qutub Shahi tombs (see my Hyderabad photo essay).

Other Minarets

Two other minarets stand out in the architecture of the Indian subcontinent.

Qutub Minar, Delhi, India - This is clearly a minaret of power, built on the ruins of Lal Kot, the citadel of Tomars and Chauhan, to celebrate the victory of Qutubuddin Aibak over Prithviraj Chauhan. Construction of the Qutub Minar was started in 1193 and was finally finished in 1386 by Firozshah Tughlaq. The inspiration for the Qutub Minar was the Minaret of Jam in Afghanistan. Is this famous minaret named after Qutubuddin Aibak, the first Sultan of the Slave Dynasty or after Khwaja Syed Muhammad Qutubuddin Bakhtiar Kaki, a Sufi saint venerated by Aibak's successor Iltutmish?

Charminar, Hyderabad, India - Sultan Muhammad Quli Qutub Shah built Charminar (four minarets) in 1536 as a thanksgiving to the Almighty for the end of the plague outbreak in his city. Though it was built to be a mosque, the mosque is hidden in one corner of the topmost level; it is the minarets that are overpowering and a defining feature of this structure. My picture below shows the Charminar from the adjoining Makkah Masjid, whose minaret is seen in the foreground.

It is not just muslims who have used minarets on their buildings. When the British built their new capital on Raisina Hill in New Delhi, they put minarets on the facade seen today on buildings of the Noth Block and South Block, which house important ministries of the Government of India. Check out my picture of the North Block, all decked up for India's Republic Day.