In my onion a mosque should be a functional and working building. Who and what define the functions. The Qur`an and Hadith (the hadith being a documented evidence of the Prophets, actions and saying). It is perfectly reasonably for a Non Muslims to study this text and derive a brief for a mosque. A brief derived from this method would result in a modern mosque and not one defined and restrained by culture. Remember that when early Muslims where building mosques, the domes and minarets where functional items. The domes allowing greater spans, in prayer halls, the taller minarets enabling the voice of the call to prayer to travel further. Early Muslim architects where building functional buildings. They were also high-tech architects as well. The materials and the resources that they had to hand, would be pushed to the limits. If the architects who built the grand mosques that adorn the Muslim world, had the technology and building materials that are available to modern architects, I am sure they would not hesitate in putting these to use. To sum up, the person most suited to design a mosque in the 21st century is somebody who has not studies Islamic architecture and never even seen a mosque, but that person is well aware of all the functional requirements of a mosque.

A good web site to visits to demonstrate the technology of Muslim architects and engineers is http://www.muslimheritage.com/.

So,
Pour concevoir une mosuée faut-il être musulman? Si j'ai bien compris telle était votre question.
D'après ma connaissance, et pour être très pragmatique, certains pys musulmans axigent la pratique de la religion pour la conception d'une mosquée chez eux. Je trouve cela très légitime, mais je pense qu'il faut plus être exigent avec la compréhension de la religion et des prescriptions du fiqh se rapportant à toutes les étapes et les états de la prière pour pouvoir offrir aux fidèles un espace adéquat pout leur pratique religieuse et sociale. Car il ne faut pas oublier que la mosquée est aussi un haut lieu de sociabilité pour la communauté musulmane.
Par ailleurs, en Europe notamment, un certain nombre de mosquées a été conçu par des non musulmans, je pense à la grande mosquées réalisée par Calatrava.
Donc cela dépend des pays en fait. Je t'invite à consulter un numéros des rencotres de l'Aga khan sur le sujet du religieux dans l'architecture et notamment l'article de Rassim Bdran à ce sujet
Bon courage!!!

But there is a problem; in Islam there is a rule that a non-Muslim person cannot enter a Mosque, to Muslims a mosque is Allah's home (sacrad place).

Sorry for my weak english :)

Your point on the mosque in bahrain is well taken, But I would blame the advisor/client/breif and not the architect. If the architect is non-muslim, the client should at least study the design. Regents park mosque in London is designed by a non muslim.

A view answers / questions: What is meant by "the mosques in the west are to serve an islamic / cultural function?" In my opinion it would be both: I'm designing an islamic cultural centre, where a mosque, youthcentre, hamam, expositions & info about islam, congresroom, rooms for courses are all holded in 1 building. It's my idea to stimulate the integration more and in the same time give the muslims in holland there own space. (the first also by reaching out to the muslimwoman, who are mostly forgotten but who are also THE connection towards a better integration, but that's another discussion)

So isn't it better to design it as a non-muslim; not being resticted by religious/cultural backgrounds and most of all being bound by the image from the old-fairytale-like-mosque-backhome, that muslims in the west have ( a dream that they have from how good /prefect it is in there homecountry, but why did they move to the west....yes cause it wasn't that perfect)So my job is to show those people that the feeling they have with the old mosques can be created in a different way as well. All the characteristics a mosque has, can be interpertid in another (western) way, that creates a new image by the old typology of the mosque. Just what is said aswell; the dome / minaret were used as an functional thing, if this function is not necesarry nowadays in the west, why use it? (FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION...)
Just look at all the examples in the west of beautiful churches designed by famous architects like Ito, Siza, Le Corbusier,Holl etc. Those buildings aren't the typical old churches that we know from history. They are all interpertations of a church in modern times and designed for specific places.

I agree also with the example of the Bahrain-mosque; just cause I'm not an muslim doesn't mean that I don't respect the 'rules & habbits' of the islam! On the conterrary: something like a Kibhla; an orientation to Mecca is for me as architect a challenge to deal with and to see new ways of designing. So taking the problem away by designing a round mosque is not only taking the direction away, but also the challenge of an architect and the interresting about the building!

As a last comment:
There was something mentioned in the french text about a mosque designed by Calatrava, but I couldn't find this anywhere, does anybody knows something more?

Whats right and whats wrong? This differance in rendering surley applies itself to how their places of worship look and feel.
So in other words, if the architect can render any item correctly, then the architect anderstands that item and feels it correctly, in case of a mosque, knowing what Islam is all about, "and I do mean the philosophy behind Islam" will lead to a corect design of a mosque. And, in any case, if you understand Islam CORRECTLY, you propably are a Muslim even if you are not!! :0)
"and God Knoweth"
ps: Good Luck Charlotte.

And yes, many Muslims now horribly Misunderstand Islam, and yes they have reduced it into a set of radical rules, that hardly have anything to do with what Islam is really about, and if we take that last statement into reference with what we know about the effect buildings have on poeple/users and vice versa, the argument about contemporary mosques being so ugly and ecletic and totally void of essence, becomes quite an interesting argument!!
ps: this is a pretty nice discussion!! :0)

I am not a Koranic scholar, but it seems that the Koran says that both men and women must dress modestly in times of prayer. We can question and decide for ourselves what modesty means. That is why man has been given an intellect, the greatest gift according to the Koran, so that he can read and interpret the text. We dont need other Muslims telling us what is wrong and right, how to behave, when to go to mosque, and how we must feel towards others. There is no compulsion in religion (again from the Koran). I would urge those that are interested in Muslims taking responsibility for their failings and the decline in their civilisations to read the following books:

1. Conference of the Books, the Search for Beauty in Islam, by Khalid Abou el Fadl

2. Taking back Islam, by Micheal Wolfe