Overview

This volume examines the emergence of alternative spaces and architectural landscapes of Islamic practice in contemporary Africa through the lens of the masjid, whose definition as a “place of prostration” has enabled Muslim populations across the continent to navigate the murky waters of the contemporary condition through a purposeful renovation of spiritual space. Drawing from multiple disciplines and utilizing a series of diverse case studies, Michelle Apotsos reflects on the shifting realities of Islamic communities as they engage in processes of socio-political and cultural transformation. Illustrated through the growth of forward-thinking and in flexible environments that highlight how Muslim communities have developed unique solutions to the problem of performing identity within diverse contexts across the continent, she re-imagines the major themes surrounding definitions of Islamic architectural space in the contemporary period in Africa and the nature of the “modernity” as it has unfolded across diverse contexts on the continent.

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9781108461412

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Reviews

'As art history goes global, this book should be required reading for anyone studying Islamic architecture, self-fashioning, visual culture, and world-making. Michelle Apotsos presents diverse case studies in Africa, ranging widely across time, space and provocative conceptual terrain-from intersectionality to cyberpilgrimage. Such forward-thinking scholarship will surely transform collective understanding.' Holly Edwards, Williams College 'In this groundbreaking study-the first monograph to consider the mosque in contemporary Africa - Michelle Apotsos analyzes the social, political and cultural dynamics that have influenced the articulation of sacred space in Muslim communities on the continent. It is a welcome addition to the literature dealing with the visual cultures of Islam in Africa.' Raymond Silverman, University of Michigan

Author Information

Michelle Apotsos is Associate Professor in African Art History at Williams College, where she specialises in Afro-Islamic architectural sites and landscapes. She is the author of Architecture, Islam, and Identity in West Africa: Lessons from Larabanga (2016) and has published in various journals including African Arts, the International Journal of Islamic Architecture, and Material Culture Review. She is a member of the African Studies Association, the Arts Council of the African Studies Association, the Society of Architectural Historians and the Global Architectural History Teaching Collaborative based at MIT.

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