Synagogues in the Islamic World - by Mohammad Gharipour (Hardcover)

About the Book

This beautifully illustrated volume looks at the spaces created by and for Jews in areas under the political or religious control of Muslims in regions such as Central Asia, the Middle East, North Africa and Spain.

Book Synopsis

This beautifully illustrated volume looks at the spaces created by and for Jews in areas under the political or religious control of Muslims. Covering regions as diverse as Central Asia, the Middle East, North Africa and Spain, it asks how the architecture of synagogues responded to contextual issues and traditions, and how these contexts influenced the design and evolution of synagogues. As well as revealing how synagogues reflect the culture of the Jewish minority at macro and micro scales, from the city to the interior, the book also considers patterns of the development of synagogues in urban contexts and in connection with urban elements and monuments.

From the Back Cover

'This book covers a remarkable geographic range and explain Sephardic Jewish architecture in its cultural contexts. Readers who think of Jews and their visual arts as primarily Ashkenazic will have much to learn from these essays, composed by Muslim, Christian and Jewish specialists in a spirit of inquiry and collaboration.' Carol Herselle Krinsky, Department of Art History, New York University Explores the design and development of synagogues in the Islamic world This beautifully illustrated volume looks at the spaces created by and for Jews in areas under the political or religious control of Muslims. Covering regions as diverse as Central Asia, the Middle East, North Africa and Spain, it asks how contextual issues and traditions influenced the evolving architecture and design of synagogues. Revealing how they reflect the culture of the Jewish minority at macro and micro scales, from the city to the interior, the book also considers the patterns of development of synagogues in connection with urban elements and monuments. Key Features: *Uniquely explores the elements and concepts applied in the design of synagogues in the Islamic world *Shows connections between Jewish and Islamic architecture and the collaboration among Muslims and Jews in the design and construction of synagogues *Takes an interdisciplinary and cross-cultural approach, providing a new setting for the analysis of Islamic architecture *Addresses historical, social, urban and architectural aspects of synagogues throughout the Muslim world including Iraq, Afghanistan, Morocco, Egypt, Spain, Turkey, Tunisia, Iran and India Mohammad Gharipour is Associate Professor at the School of Architecture and Planning at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland. He has authored and edited numerous books including Persian Gardens and Pavilions (2013), Urban Landscapes of the Middle East (2016) and Calligraphy and Architecture in the Muslim World (co-edited with Irvin Cemil Schick, Edinburgh University Press, 2013). Cover image: Sinagoga De Santa Maria La Blanca (c) mtrommer/Bigstockphoto.com Cover design: [EUP logo] edinburghuniversitypress.com ISBN 978-1-4744-1171-4 Barcode

Review Quotes

An essential corpus of knowledge. Mohammad Gharipour is to be congratulated and thanked for successfully and vigorously completing a long-anticipated move toward the development of a comprehensive history of synagoguearchitecture.--Ilia Rodov "IMAGES"

The authors cover a remarkable geographic range and explain Sephardic Jewish architecture in its cultural contexts. Readers who think of Jews and their visual arts as primarily Ashkenazic will have much to learn from these essays, composed by Muslim, Christian and Jewish specialists in a spirit of inquiry and collaboration.'--Carol Herselle Krinsky, Department of Art History, New York University

This beautiful book is a pioneering work as it deals with a wide range of Islamic countries without limitation to a specific period or community. [It] is a pleasure to read and to look at and it should be appealing to students and advanced scholars alike.--Shaul Stampfer "Religious Studies Review"

With fascinating insights and abundantly illustrated in color...this book is the first serious attempt to assess the architectural heritage of Jews across the Muslim world. Its editor is to be commended on his remarkable achievement.--Sharman Kadish "Ars Judaica The Bar Ilan Journal of Jewish Art"

About the Author

Mohammad Gharipour is Associate Professor at the School of Architecture and Planning at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland. He obtained his Master's in Architecture from the University of Tehran and a Ph.D. in Architecture and Landscape History from Georgia Institute of Technology. He has received several awards such as the Hamad Bin Khalifa Fellowship in Islamic Art, the Spiro Kostof Fellowship Award from the Society of Architectural Historians and the National Endowment in Humanities Faculty Award. His books include Persian Gardens and Pavilions: Reflections in Poetry, Arts and History and Bazaar in the Islamic City and Calligraphy and Architecture in the Muslim World (co-edited with Irvin Schick). He is the director and founding editor of the International Journal of Islamic Architecture.