the interfaith forum on religion, art and architecture
For every issue we publish, Faith & Form features one article here on our website. As each new issue is distributed, our home page is updated with the latest featured article. Previously posted articles will remain on the website and will be accessible from this page. Our online article archive goes back to 2006.
Islam’s arc of belief as reflected in its houses of worship worldwide The patriarch of the Jews, the exemplar to Christians, and prophet of Islam is asked to repair The Cube (Al-Ka’ba): “… and we commanded Abraham and Ishmael: Purify My House (the Ka’ba) … [continue]
Editor’s note: This excerpt is from The Transnational Mosque: Architecture and Historical Memory in the Contemporary Middle East by Kishwar Rizvi, copyright 2015 by the University of North Carolina Press, used by the permission of the publisher … [continue]
The making of new sacred space in Ireland “Isn’t it characteristic of religion to produce distinctive, emotionally charged places—sacred places? Yes, it is. But only one kind of religion, albeit one that most of humankind embraces.” Yu-Fu Tuan, Religion: … [continue]
The imagined and manifested images of Paradise in Islam The aspiration of paradise was embedded in the daily consciousness and imagination of Muslims through their prayer, scripture, and invocations to God. The brilliance of paradise described in the Qur’an … [continue]
“A sober look at our world shows that the degree of human intervention, often in the service of business interests and consumerism, is actually making our earth less rich and beautiful, ever more limited and grey, even as technological advances and consumer … [continue]
As a 24-year-old student of Physics I am fascinated with how the elements of the physical world can potentially enthrall us. As a photographer for the past five years, I am drawn to document the material places that capture culture in creative ways. In my … [continue]
Editor’s Note: The Tenth Anniversary Celebration of the Muslim-Roman Catholic Dialogue in the Capital District of New York took place on June 2, 2015 at the new Al-Hidaya Center and Mosque, Latham, New York, designed by Reza Hourmanesh. The event was called … [continue]
Creative architectural renderings for houses of worship tend to excite my visual imagination. I am particularly interested in how architects tackle the challenge of renovating and repurposing an existing space for contemporary uses. Renderings frame … [continue]
The term “sacred-secular” refers to environments that convey a sense of spirituality for purposes that are otherwise not connected to an organized religion or recognized faith tradition. For example, over the past half-century modern art museums have often … [continue]
An epic transformation of the historic Crystal Cathedral to a new cathedral for Catholic worship Renderings by Shimahara courtesy Johnson Fain and Rios Clementi Hale Studios In the late summer of 2013, our Los Angeles-based firms, Johnson … [continue]
