Editing Architecture of India (section)

==== Malaysia ====

Indo-Saracenic architecture was a [[Revivalism (architecture)|revivalist architectural]] style mostly used by British architects in India in the later 19th century, especially in public and government buildings in the [[British Raj]], and the palaces of rulers of the [[princely state]]s. It drew stylistic and decorative elements from native [[Indo-Islamic architecture]], especially [[Mughal architecture]]. The basic layout and structure of the buildings tended to be close to that used in contemporary buildings in other revivalist styles, such as [[Gothic revival architecture|Gothic revival]] and [[Neoclassical architecture|Neo-Classical]], with specific Indian features and decoration added.
[[File:Masjid Ubudiah, Kuala Kangsar.JPG|thumb|[[Ubudiah Mosque|Masjid Ubudiah]], showcasing elements of Indo-Saracenic style]]
According to [[Thomas R. Metcalf]], a leading scholar of the style, "the Indo-Saracenic, with its imagined past turned to the purposes of British colonialism, took shape outside India [ie the subcontinent] most fully only in Malaya".

In Malaysia, due to British colonial influence and the migration of Muslims from India, many Mughal architectural elements in the design of mosques were incorporated. [[British Malaya]] was a predominantly Muslim society, where there was hardly any recent tradition of building in brick or stone, with even mosques and the palaces of the local rulers built in the abundant local [[hardwood]]s. [[Kuala Lumpur]] was a 19th-century foundation, only a small settlement when the British decided to make it the capital of their new [[Federated Malay States]] in 1895, and needed a number of large public buildings. The British decided to use the Islamic style they were used to from India, despite it having little relationship to existing local architectural styles.