An American [Werewolf] in Lahore – Part 1

March 23, 2013 By 14 Comments
Me at the Minar-E-Pakistan in Feb. 2012

Last year, I went to Pakistan after 25 years and to Lahore for the first time ever.  My father was from Karachi, but since most of my relatives are here in the U.S. now, we did not have much reason to visit Pakistan.  My wife’s family is from Lahore, so since we both had the time to go last year, we decided to make a last minute trip.  This will be the first part in a series, chronicling my eye-opening trip to Pakistan, and I hope I can pass along some entertaining, yet useful information … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Architecture, Food, Islam, Media Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 14 Comments

Top 10 Ways on How NOT to Build a Mosque in America

July 6, 2012 By 28 Comments
Top10WaysHowNotToBuildaMosque

Here are the top 10 items which the American Muslim Community should do if they do NOT want to build a new Mosque: 10. If your community finds a good sized piece of land (or an existing building) at a good price, then don’t look into the zoning or check to see if a religious assembly can legally be held there!  You can figure out the zoning later, after you have bought the land and invested a lot of the community’s money. Getting a legal use permit is a waste of time and money.  We … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Architecture, Islam Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 28 Comments

Book Review: The Crisis of Islamic Civilization

June 2, 2012 By 2 Comments
CrisisCover

Recently someone recommended I read this book called “The Crisis of Islamic Civilization” by Ali A. Allawi. Mr. Allawi served as the Minister of Defense and Minister of Finance in the Iraqi postwar governments. He is currently a Senior Visiting Fellow at Princeton University. I must say that I was pleasantly surprised while reading this book, because unlike other books with similar subject matters, this was not just an academic book filled with many footnotes and a few historical facts, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Architecture, Books/Magazines, Islam Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

Minar-E-Pakistan (Tower of Pakistan)

March 31, 2012 By 2 Comments
Minar-E-Pakistan

Minar-e-Pakistan is a tall monumental tower in Iqbal Park, Lahore which was built in 1968 in commemoration of the Lahore Resolution of 1940. The minar (tower) reflects a blend of Mughal and modern Architecture, and is constructed on the site where on March 23, 1940, seven years before the formation of Pakistan, the Muslim League passed the "Pakistan Resolution", demanding the creation of Pakistan. Here is a slideshow of some picture of the Minar-E-Pakistan and Iqbal Park from my recent trip to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Architecture, Islam Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

Islamic Science Rediscovered in San Jose, CA

September 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment
The Oglee Arch - designed by Muslim Architects

Recently I went to the Tech Museum in San Jose, CA where one of the exhibits here on a limited engagement is "Islamic Science Rediscovered."  I highly recommend everyone who is interested in Science to check it out.  But surprisingly it is not only about Islamic contributions to Astronomy (the astrolabe, development of star charts), Mathematics (algebra, arabic numerals and the number zero) and Medicine (development of optics, eye surgery), which most people may already be aware of - But it … [Read more...]

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Masjid Makeover by Rahim’s Wood Gallery

July 22, 2011 By 1 Comment

My friend, Rahim Akbar is a Naval architect and engineer by day and an inspired artist by night. He hails from a well known Mughal family that is endowed with a rich and rare history in architectural design, woodworking, iron smith and masonry. His outstanding works which are carved in wood, may be seen gracing ceilings, walls, doors, or as stand alone pieces that invite the viewer to step into the world of the written word… or simply remind one of the beauty and serene complexity of … [Read more...]

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The Agha, The Architect and The Mosque

July 7, 2011 By 7 Comments
MaryamPic1

I originally wrote this interview for ILLUME magazine here.  Below is the full and un-edited version of my interview with Maryam. Maryam Eskandari, an architect at the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at Harvard and MIT, currently has a traveling exhibit on American Mosques. Her exhibit, Sacred Space: (Re) Constructing the Place of Gender in the Space of Religion is touring the nation.  ILLUME recently conducted an exclusive interview with Maryam  to get her views on the design of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Architecture, Art, Islam Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 7 Comments

Islamic influence on American Architecture (Article)

October 8, 2010 By 4 Comments
AlamoSlide

    Islamic influence on the Design of the World Trade Center Spanish Moor (Islamic) Influence on the Alamo Lately, there has been a lot of misinformation and hatred toward Islam and Muslims being spewed out by major media outlets, which in turn has caused a lot of fear in the minds of many Americans about Muslims and thus many mosque projects across the country from New York to Tennessee to California are being criticized and sometimes even attacked by arsonists and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Architecture, Art, Islam, Media Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 4 Comments

Islamic Influences on American Architecture

August 31, 2010 By 2 Comments

Below is the power point slide show from a presentation I made in May 2009 to a group of Architects, Engineers and other interested people before a tour of the ISEB mosque in Fremont, CA Because of all the recent Mosque controversies across the country, I thought some people may be interested to learn more about Mosques in general and Islamically influenced Architecture in the United States.  I think some of you may be pleasantly (or not ) surprised! Check it out and let me know if you have … [Read more...]

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30 Mosques in 30 days

September 17, 2009 By 1 Comment
30masjid

Here is a link to a blog by two Muslim guys (Aman Ali and Bassam Tariq) travelling around NYC every day in Ramadan having iftaar (breaking of the fast) at a different mosque each night. It's pretty interesting because not only do they talk about the different types of food, but also the culture and history of the mosque as well. They also got some very nice pictures.  Check it out here: http://30mosques.tumblr.com/post/189907332/day-26-masjid-at-taqwa#disqus_thread … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Activism, Architecture, Islam Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment