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MUIS Academy - Commentaries
Revisiting old waqf mosques in Singapore: Architectural traditions, cultural diversity, and place histories from present-day perspectives
7 October 2015
Society
The roundtable discussion was attended by 30 participants. They were Warees Investment1 officers, MUIS senior officers who oversee mosque planning and development, social activists, mosque executives, asatizah and students of arts and architecture. The discussion touched on the diverse origins of mosque architecture in Singapore, the contemporary key considerations for mosque designs and future prospects.
Dr Imran’s presentation delved directly into illustrating, evidently, the uniqueness of mosques that were built in the 19th Century by the various communities that had settled in Singapore and had quickly attempted to assimilate into the local populations. He gave ample examples of combinations of Javanese and Malaccan symbols; Hadrami and Chulian; and Chulian and Javanese in different mosques. Such diverse hybridity was a hallmark of the Singaporean multi-ethnic Muslim Community.
Dr Imran argued that with the demolishment or renovation of mosques into modern functional facilities, they risked losing, in the process, much of their original cultural and religious identity, sense of community, place in history and spirituality. As a result, he highlighted that the upcoming generations of the Singaporean Muslim community, who were disembodied from their cultural roots, had resorted to adopting foreign Islamic symbols – such as Andalusian, Turkish or Middle Eastern – as their own.
The discussion that ensued acknowledged that the nation-wide economic progress and land scarcity left Singaporeans with limited options for large-scale conservation efforts. However, there was and there still is a need to for decision-makers to consciously manage change. There is a need to strike a balance between modern pragmatic functionalism and culturallyexpressive traditional forms of art, architecture and spirituality.
An alternative narrative to cultural impoverishment is that Singaporeans are adapting, negotiating and adding on new layers of identity along the way. However, a stronger foundation in our cultural and artistic heritage may ensure that Singaporean Muslims can continue evolving more authentically.
The session also discussed the degree of causality between architectural form and a heightened sense of the sacred that would induce a deeper sense of spirituality. The participants were divided for and against, as some expressed that a sense of the sacred emanates from an internal spiritual spring in the heart of man.
In conclusion, the session increased the awareness of Singapore’s cultural heritage. Such heritage should be consciously considered in the planning processes of new projects, not just in mosque architecture, but also in our understanding of Islamic traditions, educational methodologies and even in arts, finance, and policy-making.
