Editing Mosque (section)

===Diffusion and evolution===
[[File:Blue Mosque Courtyard Dusk Wikimedia Commons.jpg|thumb|[[Courtyard]] of the [[Blue Mosque, Istanbul|Blue Mosque]] in [[Istanbul]], [[Turkey]]]]
The [[Umayyad Caliphate]] was particularly instrumental in spreading Islam and establishing mosques within the [[Levant]], as the Umayyads constructed among the most revered mosques in the region — [[Al-Aqsa Mosque]] and [[Dome of the Rock]] in [[Jerusalem]], and the [[Umayyad Mosque]] in [[Damascus]].<ref>{{harvnb|Kuban|1985|p=27}}</ref> The designs of the Dome of the Rock and the Umayyad Mosque were influenced by [[Byzantine architecture]], a trend that continued much later with the rise of the [[Ottoman Empire]].<ref>{{harvnb|Flood|2001|pp=101–103}}</ref>

The [[Great Mosque of Kairouan]] in present-day [[Tunisia]] was the first mosque built in the [[Maghreb]] (northwest Africa), with its present form (dating from the ninth century) serving as a model for other Islamic places of worship in the Maghreb. It was the first in the region to incorporate a square [[minaret]], which was characteristic of later Maghrebi mosques, and includes [[nave]]s akin to a [[basilica]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.qantara-med.org/qantara4/public/show_document.php?do_id=1287&lang=en |publisher=The Qantara Project |title=Minaret of the Great Mosque of Kairouan |year=2008 |access-date=5 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130511205253/http://www.qantara-med.org/qantara4/public/show_document.php?do_id=1287&lang=en |archive-date=11 May 2013 }}</ref><ref name="elleh114">{{harvnb|Elleh|2002|pp=114–115}}</ref> Those features can also be found in [[Al-Andalus|Andalusi]] mosques, including the [[Great Mosque of Cordoba]], as they tended to reflect the architecture of the [[Moors]] instead of their [[Visigoths|Visigoth]] predecessors.<ref name="elleh114" /> Still, some elements of [[Visigothic architecture]], like [[horseshoe arch]]es, were infused into the mosque architecture of Spain and the Maghreb.<ref>{{harvnb|Ruggles|2002|p=38}}</ref>

[[File:Faisal mosque2.jpg|thumb|left|[[Faisal Mosque]] in [[Islamabad]] is the largest mosque in Pakistan and in South Asia with a capacity of 300,000]]

Muslim empires were instrumental in the evolution and spread of mosques. Although mosques were first established in India during the seventh century, they were not commonplace across [[Indian subcontinent|the subcontinent]] until the arrival of the [[Mughal Empire|Mughals]] in the 16th and 17th centuries. Reflecting their [[Timurid dynasty|Timurid]] origins, [[Mughal architecture|Mughal-style]] mosques included [[onion dome]]s, [[ogee|pointed arches]], and elaborate circular minarets, features common in the [[Persian architecture|Persian]] and [[Architecture of Central Asia|Central Asian styles]].<ref>{{harvnb|Bloom|Blair|2009|p=182}}</ref> The [[Jama Masjid, Delhi|Jama Masjid]] in [[Delhi]] and the [[Badshahi Mosque]] in [[Lahore]], built in a similar manner in the mid-17th century,<ref>{{harvnb|Bloom|Blair|2009|p=187}}</ref> remain two of the largest mosques on the Indian subcontinent.<ref>{{harvnb|Asher|1992|p=202}}</ref>

The first mosque in [[East Asia]] was established in the eighth century in [[Xi'an]]. The [[Great Mosque of Xi'an]], whose current building dates from the 18th century, does not replicate the features often associated with mosques elsewhere.<ref name="cow30">{{harvnb|Cowen|1985|pp=30–35}}</ref> Minarets were initially prohibited by the state.<ref name="ahm109">{{harvnb|Ahmed|2002|p=109}}</ref> Following traditional [[Chinese architecture]], the Great Mosque of Xi'an, like many other mosques in eastern China, resembles a [[pagoda]], with a green roof instead of the yellow roof common on imperial structures in China. Mosques in western China were more likely to incorporate elements, like domes and minarets, traditionally seen in mosques elsewhere.<ref name="cow30" />[[File:Kampung Hulu Mosque.JPG|thumb|[[Kampung Hulu Mosque]], the oldest mosque in Malaysia]]A similar integration of foreign and local influences could be seen on the [[Indonesia]]n islands of [[Sumatra]] and [[Java]], where mosques, including the [[Demak Great Mosque]], were first established in the 15th century.<ref name="blobla439">{{harvnb|Bloom|Blair|2009|p=439}}</ref> Early Javanese mosques took design cues from [[Hindu temple architecture|Hindu]], [[Buddhist architecture|Buddhist]], and Chinese architectural influences, with tall timber, multi-level roofs similar to the pagodas of [[Balinese temple|Balinese Hindu temples]]; the ubiquitous Islamic dome did not appear in Indonesia until the 19th century.<ref name="ahm109" /><ref>{{harvnb|Bloom|Blair|2009|p=281}}</ref> In turn, the Javanese style influenced the styles of mosques in Indonesia's [[Austronesia]]n neighbors—[[Malaysia]], [[Brunei]], and the Philippines.<ref name="blobla439" />

Several of the early mosques in the Ottoman Empire were originally churches or cathedrals from the [[Byzantine Empire]], with the [[Hagia Sophia]] (one of those converted cathedrals) informing the architecture of mosques from after the [[fall of Constantinople|Ottoman conquest of Constantinople]].<ref>{{harvnb|Essa|Ali|2010|pp=230–231}}</ref> The Ottomans developed [[Ottoman architecture|their own architectural style]] characterized by large central domes (sometimes surrounded by multiple smaller domes), pencil-shaped minarets, and open façades.<ref>{{harvnb|Essa|Ali|2010|pp=231–232}}</ref>

[[File:Great-Mosque-of-Tirana-2018.jpg|thumb|left|[[Namazgah Mosque]] in 2018. It was the largest mosque in the [[Balkans]] at the time of completion.]]
Mosques from the Ottoman period are still scattered across [[Eastern Europe]], but the most rapid growth in the number of mosques in Europe has occurred within the past century as more Muslims have migrated to the continent. Many major European cities are home to mosques, like the [[Grand Mosque of Paris]], that incorporate domes, minarets, and other features often found with mosques in Muslim-majority countries.<ref name="blobla193">{{harvnb|Bloom|Blair|2009|p=193}}</ref> The first mosque in North America was founded by [[Albanian American]]s in 1915, but the continent's oldest surviving mosque, the [[Mother Mosque of America]], was built in 1934.<ref>{{harvnb|Nimer|2002|pp=39–40}}</ref> As in Europe, the number of American mosques has rapidly increased in recent decades as Muslim immigrants, particularly from [[South Asia]], have come in the United States. Greater than forty percent of mosques in the United States were constructed after 2000.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Grossman |first=Cathy Lynn |url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/religion/story/2012-02-29/islamic-worship-growth-us/53298792/1 |newspaper=USA Today |title=Number of U.S. mosques up 74% since 2000 |date=29 February 2012 |access-date=6 October 2013 |archive-date=17 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180917220154/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/religion/story/2012-02-29/islamic-worship-growth-us/53298792/1 }}</ref>