A neighbourhood mosque of 1200 m2 built up area in a new Ramtha City suburb, north of Jordan, with adjacent school for religious education. It includes a large men’s prayer hall at ground level with a mezzanine level prayer balcony, and a prayer hall for women in the basement, in addition to ablutions for men and women, an apartment for the imam and one for the mu’athen. The mosque design follows a contemporary approach with emphasis on functionality and simplicity, while providing distinction through massing, use of three colours of stone, details and colours, together with the use of Arabic calligraphy and Islamic decorative patterns.

With its cubic masses, stepped composition, smooth walls, and various details, the mosque building incorporates symbolic references to the architectural heritage that has characterized mosques in the region throughout various historical eras. The main prayer hall takes the form of a cube rising from the heart of the building, symbolizing the Kaaba. The silver dome atop the cube mimics the dome of Al-Aqsa Mosque, thus linking the overall image of the mosque to its religious architectural heritage. The cube is surrounded by four low rectangular blocks, or iwans, one of which becomes the qibla wall, an abstraction of the central Ottoman mosque model. The entrance consists of a lower block, aligned with the street, not the direction of the Qibla. This is a characteristic of Mamluk mosque architecture, reflecting another layer of historical symbolism. This connects the design to the region’s architectural heritage, including the Umayyad, Mamluk, and Ottoman periods, within a contemporary framework.

This project is a conscious attempt to connect the mosque’s design to its historical and regional context, while remaining true to its present. This is achieved by creating a dialogue between the past and the present, employing the icons and patterns of historic mosques, and adding to this rich heritage through a contemporary interpretation that speaks to its time and contemporary society.

The design of this mosque is characterized by the absence of columns in the main prayer hall, and its walls contain no windows. Instead, the prayer hall is flooded with natural light from the hidden glass panels in the four corners of this spacious cubic space, in addition to the four skylights in the corners of the dome.

The mosque’s walls are covered with a mixture of stones of various colours. This variety of stones contributes to the overall character of the building, while the different sources of the stones reinforce the building’s affiliation with the wider geographic region. Most importantly, the use of these stones expresses the symbolism of unity between the two banks of the river (Jordan and Palestine). The primary colour used is yellow, from the Palestinian stone known as “Taffouh” (Taffouh) stone. The grey stone used is the Palestinian stone called “Birzeit”, similar to the Jordanian Karkar stone. The white stone is the Jordanian Ma’an stone.

The mosque’s minaret stands in the main corner of the site, separated from the cube. It stands 30 meters tall and is square in shape. It consists of three sections covered with interconnected stones, which decrease in size as they move upwards. It is topped with a rectangular silver metal plaque with an engraved crescent. The three parts of the minaret vary in orientation and stone type, from grey to yellow to white, depending on the colours and orientation of the main mass of the mosque. The shape of the minaret is unusual for minarets in Jordan and abroad, but it can be seen as reflecting historical precedents such as the spiral minaret of Samarra in Abbasid Iraq or the Mosque of Ibn Tulun in Cairo.