Islamic Architecture

Islamic Architecture

Architectural designs around the world satisfy the basic needs of humans from simple house designs, roads, and all other infrastructures. In most cultures, architectural designs are highly valued and linked with people’s belief systems. Muslims from different nations around the world observe and understand Islam differently based on the values, ideas, and cultures of the societies in which they live. But all the Islamic cultures hold the same belief that their values directly influence human values and the way they live in the community. These values enable them to develop a specific activity system where people live in particular means that allow for the creation of architectural designs that reflect their activity systems. Cultural practice is essential in Islam, as observed in the ways they live and how they express their values.

One concept that is common in Islamic architecture is decorations seen in the buildings and the artworks on objects developed by Muslims. Islamic architecture consists of unique decorative themes and techniques found in mosques and their religious structures. Adherence to Islamic principles in decorations demonstrates the close link between their applied architecture and arts (Mulder, 2017). Almost all buildings built using Islamic designs have similar artwork that reflects the shared values and ideals of Islam. The only difference is the quality of execution and the styles of the buildings but the same forms, designs, and the same ideas. Muslims use decorations in their everyday life, as seen in their living space that is applicable in architectural design. Islamic architecture emphasizes space and visualization. For example, the floors in the mosques and homes have decorative patterns with a variation of textures and colors to bring the visual appeal.

Islamic architectural designs are mostly two dimensional but with the possibility of three-dimensional forms, especially with the differentiation in the use of textures. Most buildings have shining and reflecting glazes and consist of repetitive designs.

Multiplication of elements in the construction of the arch in the mosques shows the practical application of the architectural principles in calligraphy and geometry. Another critical aspect of Islamic decorations is the use of light and water to generate various layers and patterns that transforms into space in most buildings (Erdoğan et al., 2016). The element of space created by the decorations on the surfaces which have a close link between decoration and space as used Islamic architecture. The aspects of decorations applied in architecture include geometry that represents the repetitive, symmetrical, and continuity in pattern generation in Islamic cultural systems. Another element of decorations is calligraphy, which is an essential part of Islamic art and because it used in recording the accounts in the holy book of the Quran. The majority of Islamic buildings have calligraphy decorations in paintings and surface inscriptions. The other elements of Islamic decorations used in building designs that reflect their cultural values and ideas include floral patterns, water, light, and figures. The various aspects of Islamic decorations present the values that guide Islamic architecture — the use of illustrations and animal patterns that represents the creation of living. Islam discourages architecture from using because nature is in the domain of God. Islamic design also ensures that buildings have well lighting systems, which is essential in Islamic culture because they believe that light symbolizes divine unity. From the demonstration of the decoration concepts highlighted, religion is indeed very critical. The Islamic values and belief systems have intimate links with their architectural designs and general way of living.

Christianity and Buddhism

There are significant similarities between Buddhism and Christianity that both use compassion as the approach of alleviating suffering. But the two religions also have substantial differences based on their artistic and cultural development. Christianity originated in the ancient Roman province of Judea as a monotheistic religion. Christian faith consists of the teachings of Christ, the son of God, and the savior of humankind trough his suffering, death, and resurrection to cleanse human sins. Buddhism originated in ancient India and is a non-theistic religion with teachings based on the teachings of Buddha and does not believe in one supreme creator but the recognition of several gods. The teachings of Buddha, which means the enlightened one guides people to eliminate ignorance to end human suffering in the world and focuses on personal spiritual development. An understanding of the basics concepts of these two religions sets an excellent platform for the discussion of how they relate in terms of notable similarities and differences.

The primary similarities in the teachings of both Christianity and Buddhism are that both religions emphasize the need for human caring. Looking after each other and do good to go to the right place in the afterlife. The two religions also focus on the importance of moral living, both physically, mentally, and spiritually. The need to show compassion, including love and kindness when relating to fellow human beings and nature, gets promoted in the teachings of both religions. The two religions promote strong relationships that ensure peaceful coexistence in the world. Human beings have to act with compassion so that they can go to heaven for Christians and achieve the state of nirvana in the case of Buddhists. People who do not work with compassion towards others and go against the teachings of both religions go to hell for punishment in Christianity. In Buddhism, they do not get a favorable rebirth when they die in Buddhism. A detailed analysis of these two religious beliefs presents them as moral agents since they advocate for the need for a world that is peaceful, full of love, mercy, kindness, and compassion. Buddha teaches that love is the only force that can eliminate hatred in the world. The same principle is also seen in Jesus’s teachings when he teaches about the need to show love to our enemies instead of contempt. Another notable similarity is that both their instructions consist of the personal accounts of Jesus Christ in Christianity and Gautama Siddhartha in Buddhism (Homrighausen, 2015). It is interesting to note that neither Buddha nor Jesus recorded their accounts; instead, done many years after their time on earth.  The two religions also have rich historical backgrounds and have many believers globally.

Despite the similarities in their teachings, Christianity and Buddhism have several significant differences. A closer look at the pieces of art inspired by Buddhism and Christianity presents substantial differences. Christian art greatly influences the cultures of the communities who practice Christianity around the world. Most artists use their creativity to describe the biblical accounts based on their views and Christian faith that have a significant influence in artworks in the western culture (Anderson, 2017). Christian artists use devotional impressions that allow their viewers to interact with their pieces of art and make them reflect on their beliefs and faith. The differences in techniques are that Buddhists pieces, including the paintings and sculptures, always present their concepts based on the doctrines of Buddha that significantly differ from those in Christianity. Buddhist arts mostly consist of symbolic sculptures in the images of Buddha and their gods, while Christianity artwork mainly consists of a symbolic representation of divinity in paintings. A similarity in the aspects of arts is observable in ritual art during meditations in Buddhist culture and the mass in the Christian religion.

The examples presented have demonstrated the similarities that are notable in Christian and Buddhism, including the shared values that promote ethical living and compassion for other humans. The teachings were also presented in parables by both Jesus Christ and Buddha. After looking at their differences in art and lessons, it is now easier to say that both Buddhism and Christianity complement each other. The two religions contribute to making the world a morally upright place even if their doctrines have significant variations.

Hinduism and Buddhism

Hindu and Buddhists both believe that people’s actions, whether positive or negative, will receive similar reactions in the idea of karma. A belief that whatever a person does returns to them in equal measures and that a person’s actions in their previous lives represent what happens in their current living. Buddhism and Hinduism beliefs hold that the death and rebirth cycles bring the liberation of the human soul.

Hindus practice different rituals in exercising their faith and hold different religious beliefs about the deities that they worship. Like Buddhists, the Hindus believe that a person gets reborn into a different life after their death on earth. The teachings of Bhagavad Gita on karma maintain that people’s actions, while they live here on earth, will determine the quality of their lives after rebirth in the next life. The Bhagavad Gita is one of the most sacred records of religious accounts in Hinduism. The holy writings present the story of one of their great warrior Arjuna who was overwhelmed with deep sorrow and confusion on the battlefield. The lord Krishna gives him the teachings of love and compassion and the path to right devotion and knowledge that are similar to Buddhism teachings on the dimensions of wisdom. When Hindus die, they go through the state of samsara as they wait for rebirth into another life where they get judgment based on the quality of their life on earth (Shelton, 2014). Every Hindu aims to attain liberation through the process of moksha the enables them to escape the process of samsara. The Bhagavad Gita presents guidance on how people can gain freedom by applying the concepts of ideal meditation of thoughtful and conscious living with the stability of the mind. Achieving liberation requires the individuals to have a stable mind, practice self-discipline, and entirely depend on God for wisdom and knowledge referred to as the state of moksha.

Buddhists beliefs about karma also teach that the way a person acts here on earth will determine the outcomes of their lives and can carry on into the next life. The current experiences in a Buddhist life are a reflection of their previous lifetimes, and whatever they do now will determine the quality in the next life. In both Buddhism and Hinduism, karma represents the natural order of occurrences in the human world but not a form of reward or punishment from a divine being. The people that do not live according to the teachings presented in the Buddhist faith will have negative karma. With negative karma, they can either go into hell or get reborn in the form of an animal. Those people with positive karma go into heaven after they get reborn. The ultimate goal of a Buddhist is to escape the cycle of death and rebirth since they believe that nothing in the world lasts for eternity. Other Buddhist believers hold the opinion that karma does not reflect every human activity because some things happen out of nature. This belief contradicts the modern Buddhist beliefs of karma. The Dhammapada records the most accurate accounts of the teachings of Buddha, as found in its twenty-six chapters that promote the virtues of the four levels in Buddha’s Eightfold Path. The aspect of karma presented in the second level of attributes that emphasizes the value of morality and teaches that every human action has consequences which will affect their living (Timothy, 2017). According to the teachings, any person who commits evil to other people and continues to act so will have their evil actions returned to them eventually. The lesson encourages good deeds and helps those who do good to keep with their activities for eventually; they shall receive the benefits of their actions.

The teaching of both Dhammapada and Bhagavad Gita presents the concepts of karma in ways that promote healthful living for their believers around the world. When keenly analyzed, every religion relates in one way or the other. So it is essential to concentrate on the things that unite the people instead of the differences. With the notable difference in religious faiths, both Hinduism and Buddhism aims to achieve human enlightenment and self-awareness to eliminate suffering in the world.