Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Islamic architecture – Africa, West'

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1991.<br>Title as it appears in the June 1991 M.I.T. Graduate List: The architectural culture of Islamic institutions in the West.<br>Includes bibliographical references (p. 229-242).<br>This thesis stems from an awareness, reinforced by personal design experience, of a dilemma which exists about character, in terms of appropriateness of and the representation of Islam, in the Institutions built for Muslim immigrants in the West. While architects building in Islamic nations are fighting their own battles against modernism in architecture in order to maintain continuity within the context of their traditional and contemporary cities, architects building for Muslim communities overseas are searching for appropriate images for their Institutions in cultures which historically have been unaware of the true nature of Islamic civilizations in the world. This study attempts to understand the complexities involved in designing for such building programs, which include mediating between the clients' insistence on the re-creation of the architectural traditions which have been left behind, and the immediate urbanistic, symbolic, social and political forces of the contexts which weave and knit the buildings in their surroundings. Within the limited scope of this endeavor, emphasis is placed on consideration of the architectural character of these religious institutions. However, one cannot completely ignore other aspects of the histories of these buildings, which illustrate the process of their making. These buildings are often loaded with self-conscious and fully acknowledged historical references, taken from the so called generic tradition of 'Islamic Architecture', and are collaged to impress upon the believer or non-believer alike, with recognizable imagery and form, the religious and ideological associations of their functions. However, this method of orchestrating often leaves an unstable territory, within which a critical evaluation of them reveals the inherent contradictions. The theoretical discourse of the thesis will deal with, on one hand, a wide range of general issues, such as the image of Islam in the eyes of the West, the human need for continuity and the use of typology in architecture, and on other hand, the distillation of arguments on specific topics such as the iconography of Islamic architecture and the various interpretations put forward to explain its extensive use of geometry and ornament. The case studies of the Friday Mosques in London and Rome and the Jamatkhanas in London and Burnaby extend and demonstrate the above dialogue with the past and will form the basis of formulation of design principles which might be utilized in future building programs.<br>by Hafiz-Ur-Rehman Sherali.<br>M.S.

The general aim of the dissertation is to contribute to an understanding of Islamic reform in West Africa. To this end fieldwork was conducted among the Songhay of eastern Mali, a people who experienced a sudden rise in the popularity of Islamic reform in the early 1970's which divided many communities along religious lines. The term 'Wahhabiyya', often used to describe a trend in religious reform in West Africa which is inspired largely by the Saudi Arabian model of puritan Islam, is accepted by most members of this Songhay movement. In the region of Gao, in which this locally-based Wahhabi movement emerged, the situation is one in which Islamic reform among the village population is more 'radical' and uncompromising than among town dwellers. The central concerns of the dissertation are to compare the social backgrounds and religious orientations of 'moderates' and 'radicals' and, in particular, to account for the strong appeal of Islamic reform among the villagers. In order to assess the impact of religious reform attention is paid throughout the dissertation to the social and religious life of the non-reformist population. In tracing the background of the topic it was necessary to explore the history of the Songhay with specific reference to the introduction of Islam and its place in the 'traditional' religious complex as well as changes in the family, the economy and the politicaltostructure which have occurred since the advent of French colonization. These issues are set within a general comparison of the reformist and traditionalist communities which includes consideration of the way Islam is observed, the place of leadership and organization, and the way Islamic education is implemented.

Boston University. University Professors Program Senior theses.<br>PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you.<br>2031-01-02

This essay is divided roughly into two main sections; in the first I have discussed the Tswana as a whole, their environment, their origins and their more recent history. In addition to this, I have tried to give a clear picture of their tribal political structure and economic activities, as well as their domestic activities, all of which are integrally linked to the kind of house form adopted by the Tswana. The last, and most important, part of the first section is a presentation of some of the earliest written descriptions of Tswana dwellings made by the first white travellers to enter Tswana territory. The second section takes the form of a presentation of findings observed during the course of personal field research undertaken in the Tshidi-Rolong village outside Mafikeng. This research was done by means of a number of questionnaires drawn up by myself and filled in on the spot with information supplied by house owners and sometimes the builders themselves. This survey was carried out largely at random, with several of the houses chosen arbitrarily because of an interesting feature which set them apart from other dwellings. This written information is backed up by a large bulk of visual information in the form of photographs taken personally, both of the dwellings in general, and of details of the houses. Although this essay may appear to be rather fragmented, my aim is to give a graphic account of changes in Tswana dwellings by comparing features of contemporary dwellings with those observed in the early nineteenth century. The fact that among the Tswana , the building style of one sub-tribe may vary slightly from that of another subtribe, has not affected my study to any large extent , since I was fortunate enough to have done my field research among a branch of one of the original groups, namely the Rolong, whose houses, along with those of the Tlhaping, were the first to be documented. Therefore, most of the differences which have occurred between the dwellings of the contemporary Tshidi-Rolong and those from the early nineteenth century are a direct result of the process of westernisation.

This thesis is a report of a study of some aspects of the architecture and urban planning of the M'zab Valley communities of southern Algeria, North Africa. The interrelation of physical planning and religious/social structures of the communities of the M'zab Valley are explored. This study was concerned with the following questions: (1) What are the various environmental factors that influence the design values of the M'zabites? (2) To what extent is the distinctive style of architecture in the M'zab due to religion: the Ibadi heritage or Islam in general? (3) How has the M'zab social structure responded to outside influences in recent years? (4) What is the present trend of the M'zab urban communities in architecture and planning?

This thesis reassesses the Early Islamic Trans-Saharan Trade primarily via archaeological data from the northern Sahel of West Africa. Specifically, it focuses on the trading entrepots which developed on the southern fringes of the Sahara during the Early Islamic period. This research was motivated by the recognition that historical sources, while offering useful insights into Trans-Saharan commerce, are unable to answer certain key questions due to inherent limitations in source material. Additionally, although previous archaeology at the entrepot sites has provided useful data, its analytical application has been limited. This is largely because most relevant archaeological work was done 30 or more years ago and was technologically or methodologically limited in aspects of artifactual analysis and dating. It was therefore decided that our understanding of entrepot archaeology would be best served by a new field project. Accordingly, excavation and surface collection was undertaken at the previously untested entrepot site of Essouk-Tadmekka in northern Mali. The results from Essouk provide a new perspective on the Early Islamic Trans-Saharan Trade process and make the following important contributions to research on Trans-Saharan commerce: 1) new evidence that large-scale trade was earlier than traditionally believed (c. 750-950AD) as well as fresh data on the nature of the 10th/early 11th century 'trade boom' 2) greater insight into the changing socio-economic history of the entrepot system, demonstrating specifically that the Almoravid era (c. 1050-1140AD) inaugurated a profound shift in the organization of trade, and also showing how there was a final alteration and disruption of the 'Essouk' system by the arrival of new Berber groups (c. 1300-1400AD) 3) better understanding of the movement of Trans-Saharan commodities and their archaeological correlates, including new evidence relevant to the gold trade (coin moulds) and new ways of interpreting the flow of Trans-Saharan Trade (e.g. via in-depth analyses of notionally 'local' ceramic traditions).

Kabir, Nujaba Binte.<br>"November 2009."<br>"Architecture Department, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Master of Architecture Programme 2008-2009, design report"--Leaf preceding t.p.<br>Thesis (M.Arch.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2009.<br>Includes bibliographical references (leaves 75-76).<br>Abstracts in English and Chinese.<br>ABSTRUCT --- p.i<br>摘要 --- p.iii<br>ACKNOWLEDGEMENT --- p.iv<br>TABLE OF CONTENT --- p.V<br>LIST OF FIGURES --- p.vii<br>INTRODUCTION --- p.1<br>Chapter PART I. --- HISTORY OF SULTANATE MOSQUES ARCHITECTURE IN BENGAL & SHAPE GRAMMAR ANALYSIS.<br>Chapter Chapter 01. --- History and Origins of Sultanate Mosques --- p.9<br>Chapter 1.1 --- Historical context --- p.9<br>Chapter 1.2 --- The Geographical & climatic context --- p.10<br>Chapter 1.3 --- Origins of Bengal mosque architecture --- p.11<br>Chapter 1.4 --- Pre-Muslim architectural traditions of Bengal --- p.14<br>Chapter 1.5 --- The common characteristics of the Sultanate mosque --- p.15<br>Chapter Chapter 02. --- Shape Grammar: Analysis of Style and Grammar Interpreter. --- p.19<br>Chapter 2.1 --- Analysis of style --- p.19<br>Chapter 2.2 --- Generative application --- p.21<br>Chapter PART II. --- DEVELOPMENT OF THE GRAMMAR FOR SULTANATE MOSQUES.<br>Chapter Chapter 03. --- The Style of the Corpus of Sultanate Mosques and the Features Require Developing the Grammar. --- p.24<br>Chapter 3.1 --- The corpus of the Sultanate V Mosques in Bengal --- p.24<br>Chapter 3.2 --- Examining the corpus of the Sultanate Mosques in Bengal --- p.29<br>Chapter 3.3 --- Features Require Developing the Grammar --- p.30<br>Chapter 3.4 --- The Grammar --- p.39<br>Chapter Chapter 04. --- The Vocabulary of the Sultanate Mosques. --- p.41<br>Chapter 4.1 --- Vocabulary elements --- p.41<br>Chapter 4.2 --- The formation of the grammar --- p.43<br>Chapter Chapter 05. --- Stage 1: Generation of the Starting Unit --- p.47<br>Chapter 5.1 --- Concept --- p.47<br>Chapter 5.2 --- The algorithm --- p.48<br>Chapter 5.3 --- Result and discussion --- p.51<br>Chapter Chapter 06. --- Stage 2: Formatting the Grids and Forming the Columns --- p.53<br>Chapter 6.1 --- Concept --- p.53<br>Chapter 6.2 --- The algorithm --- p.54<br>Chapter 6.3 --- Result and discussion --- p.56<br>Chapter Chapter 07. --- Stage 3: Formatting the Walls around the Complete Grid. --- p.58<br>Chapter 7.1 --- Concept --- p.58<br>Chapter 7.2 --- The algorithm --- p.58<br>Chapter 7.3 --- Result and discussion --- p.61<br>Chapter Chapter 08. --- Stage 4: Locating the Corner Towers and the Openings on the Walls --- p.62<br>Chapter 8.1 --- Concept --- p.62<br>Chapter 8.2 --- The algorithm --- p.63<br>Chapter 8.3 --- Result and discussion --- p.66<br>Chapter Chapter 09. --- The Language of Designs --- p.68<br>CONCLUSION --- p.72<br>REFERENCES --- p.75<br>APPENDIX --- p.78

This multi-case study examined the experiences of five former students who attended madrasas in Mali between 1980 and 2009. These students were university graduates and worked in Bamako, Mali, at the time of data collection. With these five participants, I explored the religious, personal, social, educational, and professional effects of madrasa education on students, and I explored their perspectives about the curriculum, teaching, role, and future of madrasas in Mali, a Muslim majority country in West Africa. I collected research data through 15 semi-structured interviews and document review. The findings revealed that the participants perceived madrasas as needed in Mali for educating future Muslim religious leaders and scholars who understand the contemporary world and master Arabic, an essential language for Islamic scholarship and religious rituals. The participants argued that madrasa education connects Mali to its intellectual heritage, all of which was written in Arabic prior to French colonization. They equally stated that madrasa education enabled them to observe Islamic teachings in all aspects of their life and to know these teachings better than the average Malian Muslim. They were thus able to guide their family members, their coworkers, and their neighbours in religious matters. The findings also showed that the participants had strong foundations in Islamic subjects and Arabic. However, for lack of fluency in French or competencies in modern subjects, some participants faced difficulties in terms of higher education and career. Hence, the participants appreciated that the Malian government designed a new curriculum in 2003 to improve madrasa students’ fluency in French and competencies in modern subjects. This new curriculum gave students the opportunity to study at Malian public universities and enter the job market easier than before. However, the participants lamented that the new curriculum neglected Islamic subjects and Arabic. Neglecting these subjects, in participants’ views, threatens the religious mission of madrasas. To sustain madrasas in Mali for future generations, the participants thought that state officials and madrasas union need to cooperate to design a curriculum that balances Islamic subjects and Arabic with modern subjects and French; madrasa owners must pay teachers a good salary; teachers must teach with devotion; parents must supervise children’s education; and students must be advised about the importance of madrasas, university education, and careers. Based on these findings, I recommended that Malian state officials support madrasas because the role madrasas play in the Malian education sector cannot be substituted with other types of schools. I also proposed that curriculum designers structure the madrasa curriculum to balance Islamic subjects and Arabic with modern subjects and French. Structuring the curriculum as such makes madrasas respond well to the educational needs of students including religious needs and career aspirations. Hence, the madrasa continues to play its roles in Malian society.<br>Graduate

Contexte : L’anémie falciforme ou drépanocytose est un problème de santé important, particulièrement pour les patients d’origine africaine. La variation phénotypique de l’anémie falciforme est problématique pour le suivi et le traitement des patients. L’architecture génomique responsable de cette variabilité est peu connue. Principe : Mieux saisir la contribution génétique de la variation clinique de cette maladie facilitera l’identification des patients à risque de développer des phénotypes sévères, ainsi que l’adaptation des soins. Objectifs : L’objectif général de cette thèse est de combler les lacunes relatives aux connaissances sur l’épidémiologie génomique de l’anémie falciforme à l’aide d’une cohorte issue au Bénin. Les objectifs spécifiques sont les suivants : 1) caractériser les profils d’expressions génomiques associés à la sévérité de l’anémie falciforme ; 2) identifier des biomarqueurs de la sévérité de l’anémie falciforme ; 3) identifier la régulation génétique des variations transcriptionelles ; 4) identifier des interactions statistiques entre le génotype et le niveau de sévérité associé à l’expression ; 5) identifier des cibles de médicaments pour améliorer l’état des patients atteints d’anémie falciforme. Méthode : Une étude cas-témoins de 250 patients et 61 frères et soeurs non-atteints a été menée au Centre de Prise en charge Médical Intégré du Nourrisson et de la Femme Enceinte atteints de Drépanocytose, au Bénin entre février et décembre 2010. Résultats : Notre analyse a montré que des profils d’expressions sont associés avec la sévérité de l’anémie falciforme. Ces profils sont enrichis de génes des voies biologiques qui contribuent à la progression de la maladie : l’activation plaquettaire, les lymphocytes B, le stress, l’inflammation et la prolifération cellulaire. Des biomarqueurs transcriptionnels ont permis de distinguer les patients ayant des niveaux de sévérité clinique différents. La régulation génétique de la variation de l’expression des gènes a été démontrée et des interactions ont été identifiées. Sur la base de ces résultats génétiques, des cibles de médicaments sont proposées. Conclusion: Ce travail de thèse permet de mieux comprendre l’impact de la génomique sur la sévérité de l’anémie falciforme et ouvre des perspectives de développement de traitements ciblés pour améliorer les soins offerts aux patients.<br>Background: Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) is an important public health issue, particularly in Africa. Phenotypic heterogeneity of SCD is problematic for follow-up and treatment of patients. Little is known about the underlying genomic architecture responsible for this variation. Rationale: Understanding the genetic contribution to the inter-patient variability will help in identifying patients at risk of developing more severe clinical outcomes, as well as help guide future developments for treatment options. Objectives: To characterize genome-wide gene expression patterns associated with SCD clinical severities and to identify genetic regulators of this variation. More specifically, our objectives were to associate gene expression profiles with SCD severity, identify transciptional biomarkers, characterise the genetic control of gene expression variation, and propose drug targets. Methods: A case-control population of 250 SCD patients and 61 unaffected siblings from the National SCD Center in Benin were recruited. Genome-wide gene expression profiles and genotypic data were generated. Results: Genome-wide gene expression patterns associated with SCD clinical variation were enriched in B-lymphocyte development, platelet activation, stress, inflammation and cell proliferation pathways. Transcriptional biomarkers that can discriminate SCD patients with respect to clinical severities were identified. Hundreds of genetic regulators were significantly associated with gene expression variation and potential drug targets are suggested. Conclusion: This work improves our understanding of the biological basis of SCD clinical variation and has the potential to guide development of targeted treatments for SCD patients.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)<br>While the Arab spring succeeded in ousting the long-term dictator led governments from power in many Arab countries, leading the way to a new democratic process to develop in the Arab world, it did not end the old suspicions between Arab Muslims and the West. This research investigates the beginning of the relations between the Arab Muslims and the West as they have developed over time, and then focuses its analysis on perceptions from both sides beginning with 9/11 through the events known as the Arab spring. The framework for analysis is a communication perspective, as embodied in the Coordinated Management of Meaning (CMM). According to CMM, communication can be understood as forms of interactions that both constitute and frame reality. The study posits the analysis that the current Arab Muslim-West divide, is often a conversation that is consistent with what CMM labels as the ethnocentric pattern. This analysis will suggest a new pathway, one that follows the CMM cosmopolitan form, as a more fruitful pattern for the future of Arab Muslim-West relations. This research emphasizes the factors fueling this ethnocentric pattern, in addition to ways of bringing the Islamic world and the West to understand each other with a more cosmopolitan approach, which, among other things, accepts mutual differences while fostering agreements. To reach this core, the study will apply a direct communicative engagement between the Islamic world and the West to foster trusted relations, between the two.