ABSTRACT
The skylines of many of the Islamic world’s cities are adorned with the profiles of monumental prayer complexes and to a lesser extent funerary buildings. Unlike pre-colonial Islamic art, in which religious concepts arguably play a subdued role, Islamic architecture seems to rely more deeply on Islam’s ever-evolving body of religious beliefs and practices. The quest to accommodate Muslim prayer rituals and funerary practices combined with the aspirations of Muslim elites, who strove to project their power and status in visible ways, drove the development of monumental prayer and funerary monuments that mark the historic cityscapes of the Islamic world.
