DUBAI // Farouk Yaghmour hopes he has played a role in an architectural revolution to sweep the Middle East.
Dr Yaghmour, the Jordanian architect behind the distinctive Spine mosque on the Palm Jumeirah, says the real art to building modern places of worship is simplicity.
"Usually, the more simple and the more relaxed environment you are in, the more you will be with God instead of distracted by unnecessary details," he says.
"I wanted to provide worshippers with space that connects them more with the religious practice rather than more details.
"I believe an architect in his practice should be true and honest to the time he is living in by using the latest material.
"I believe that a mosque should not be overly designed and its elements should be abstracted to give a very spiritual environment for prayer."
Dr Yaghmour's creation, which opened this year after two years of construction, is officially the Abdulrahman Al Siddik mosque, named after the benefactor's father. Its second name was due to its location, on the spine of the man-made island in Dubai.
Its cubist design makes it unique in the country.
The mosque's white and blue glass glistens from miles away.
At a cost of Dh21 million, its materials and labour costs were less expensive than traditional mosques.
It was built using marble, concrete, glass, steel and aluminium instead of stone and ornaments.
"With traditional mosques, you need special materials and skilled labourers and technology," says Dr Yaghmour, of Yaghmour Architects in Amman, where an identical mosque has been built.
"So I thought, 'why should we always copy traditional mosques?' We have difficulty in finding these labourers and material nowadays.
"It was a chance to manifest ideas of proposing a new contemporary means for a mosque," he adds. "It helped transform the building typology in building mosques."
Its design won first prize in a competition to create the first mosque on Palm Jumeirah. Nakheel provided the land and paid for half the cost of its building.
Yet despite its contemporary feel, the mosque's religious aspect is strongly present. Its 20-metre high dome, made of blue glass, and parts of its walls are transparent to make visitors feel closer to God.
"It provides indirect light that filters through the wall following the facade's orientation to the Qibla in Mecca," Dr Yaghmour says. "My inspiration was that the wall should be transparent."
The mosque has a 49-metre minaret and spans more than 1,700 square metres. It has capacity for 1,000 worshippers; 800 in the men's section and 200 in the women's.
There are men's and women's praying halls with courts tied to each, two ablution areas, the imam's residence, and one for the muezzin, the man who leads the call to prayer and cares for the mosque.
Dr Yaghmour has built both traditional and modern mosques.
"Contemporary mosques are more authentic and true to our times," he says. "That's why I prefer them now."
Although he hopes the Spine mosque will be the first of many around the Middle East, he says winning over people with the modern design was one of his biggest challenges.
"At first, people were sceptical with such an approach but it changed completely after its construction," Dr Yaghmour says.
"People who were against it now arrange visits and they got the message that a mosque can be modern, too, as long as you stick to the basics of its orientation, which is Mecca.
"I hope it will become a trend across the Middle East."
