The Architecture of Grief: Representing the Evolution of Shia Mourning Spaces and Contributions to Islamic Architecture

Abstract

In Shia Islam, commemorative mourning rituals for the martyrdom of Imam Hussain, the grandson of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, at the Battle of Karbala in 680 CE, have undergone a process of evolution over the past 1,400 years. In documenting the evolution of the typology of the Shia Mosque, we find that its programs are directly related to the mourning rituals and symbolic icons that they house. This evolution is marked by the migration of material and visual forms to new lands, and its resultant replications vary in their scale and in their accuracy, often interacting and absorbing the cultural underpinnings of the region it occupies. This process reflects the spatiotemporal re-imagining of the phenomenology of “parallel pilgrimages” that captivates generations of Muslims. This thesis aims to explore these practices by focusing on ritual architectural events such as craft-making, mosaic arts, processions, and the creation of replica shrines. With the aim to demystify the current Shia practices and their distinctions from universal mosque spaces, a design approach focused on religious and cultural contributions on this form of collective grief and remembrance can have an opportunity to provide a space for clarity and education for what is a heavily stigmatized practice.