ABSTRACT
Abu Zayd leads Aisha to the Congregational Mosque of Xi'an to meet with al-Harith and Salim. Aisha does not recognise the building as a mosque until she sees the mihrab in the prayer hall. This leads her to interpret the tower in the third courtyard as a minaret. She reflects on the fact that the design of mosques can often be highly responsive to local building practices and architectural forms, particularly in areas where the majority population adheres to different beliefs.
