ICON

/ˈīˌkän/

noun

2. “a person or thing regarded as a representative symbol or as worthy of veneration.”

Definition by Oxford Languages

In architecture, the word icon is synonymous with monumental buildings as tangible representations of a time, a feeling, a nation, and a people. And yet, to speak of iconic architecture in the Middle East creates particular challenges. For the word’s etymology, derived from the Greek eikon meaning “likeness, image, portrait; image in a mirror; a semblance, phantom image,” has had a fraught historical reception, especially among the region’s Jews and Muslims. 

Be it the role of icons in nation-building, iconography and spiritual space, or iconoclasm and the destruction of monuments, this issue of Mashrabiya looks for submissions that address the challenging status of the iconic in Middle Eastern architecture.

Submissions are open to students, faculty, practitioners, and others, and can be in the form of text, poetry, visual art, photography, or interviews. Non-printable material will be considered for our website