Semiotic analysis of mosque typology: Case of the Grand National Assembly (TBMM) Mosque

Abstract

Mosques are religious structures that hold significant importance in the daily lives of Muslim societies, shaping the social way of life by influencing it. There have been modifications to the structures in terms of technology, social life, and culture since the acceptance of Islam. The typology of mosques we are accustomed to today is based on conventional forms that have been kneaded through various cultural and religious stages, formed by our traditions and social lives. Although limited in number, there are also modern adaptations. The study’s objective is to use semiotic analysis to read the modern mosque typologies in the context of structure, interior space, and equipment and to discover the semantic relationships in the mosque. The TBMM Mosque was selected as a case of the research in terms of its interior elements. The architectural shell and the worship space have been analyzed as a whole in terms of both Islamic philosophy and the reflection of this philosophy on mosques. Document analysis and participant observation were used as data collection in the case study on the TBMM Mosque, and semiotic analysis was used to assess the data. In this context, traditional mosque structures were examined, and the role of semiotics in architecture was explored. In light of the information given and the observations made, the case was analyzed using the semiotics method. The intended outcome is to draw attention to the functional and semantic contributions of the modern adaptation examined and to demonstrate that the architecture can be read. This study tries to understand whether the semantic and religious infrastructure that takes place in the traditional mosque typology is included in modern mosque adaptations.