Above: A sample page from the forthcoming English Qur’an translation by Thomas Cleary with parallel Arabic.
About a year ago I reached blog saturation level which means I simply ran out of ideas to blog. My lightweight involvement with narcissagram probably diverted my energies elsewhere. Other factors meant I had no time to write. But I have had time to reflect on many things from architecture to music and all points between. One of the most interesting projects which arrived out of the blue was a fresh publication of Thomas Cleary’s translation of the Qur’an for a client in, of all places, Kabul, which now has a thriving community of young entrepreneurs who have decided business is a better option than the bloodthirsty pursuits of some of its older generation.
I had designed a first printing of Cleary’s English translation around 2002 for Starlatch (in a record 3 weeks) but it was now out of print. The project was to put together a new version with parallel Arabic text. No mean task and it meant inventing novel ways of marshalling the text onto the pages without interfering with the Arabic which could not be touched. It hasn’t been published yet but I include a typical page here to give a foretaste of it. This Ramadan I have been carefully reading it on an Ipad partly to absorb Cleary’s unique translation, which I love by the way, with the Arabic close at hand for reference, and partly to spot any little typos which may have slipped in. It’s like reading the book fresh for the first time. I’ll keep this blog posted on its progress.
C A M B R I D G E C E N T R A L M O S Q U E
The other major event over this last year was the opening of the new £23 million Cambridge mosque. I’ve followed this with interest since the year 2000 when Dr Abdal Hakim Murad aka Tim Winter first toyed with the idea of, at that time, a madrassa in Cambridge for which I was asked to come up with some designs. The brief : Anglo-Ottoman! Nothing came of this idea as land was notoriously difficult to find in Cambridge. In the end the madrassa idea became the Cambridge Muslim College which is celebrating it’s 10th anniversary this year. The Mosque idea persisted however and in 2009 Tim Winter had an option on some land in the middle of Cambridge for a mosque which he managed to purchase with a loan from a Lebanese bank to beat the property developers all waiting ready to pounce with deep pockets. By this time I was firmly located in Andalusia but Tim asked me to come up with a design (also to be Anglo-Ottoman) for a thousand worshipper mosque on his purchased site with underground car park. I was given three weeks and it had to be fully costed. I’ll expand on this in a future post as it is quite a long story but the drawings managed to help raise the necessary funds to pay off the loan (of several million). After I’ve actually visited the new building later this year I’ll go into this in more detail and give a review deo volente.
Ian Whiteman 
awaiting your blog on the cambridge mosque after your visit. If it is your design (you are somewhat modest mashaAllah) I congratulate you. Rabbana has chosen you for a great gift indeed
No, the mosque was designed by Marks Barfield who also designed the London Eye. I played only a minor role.
As Salamu alaikum Sidi Ian. May Allah bless you for your efforts to make Dr Cleary’s translation available in print again. Do you have any updates on the project?
The project was completed but because Dr. Cleary passed away the sponsor couldn’t get clearance to print. However efforts are being made to bring it out. Inshallah.
Assalaamu alaikum Sidi Ian, do you know if there is anything we can do to help with the publication of this update Dr Cleary’s translation? Thank you and may God bless you for your efforts.
Interesting you ask. I understand that Cleary left the rights of publication to Sh Hamza and Zaytuna. Something is afoot to publish but the text is being checked over. I’m hopeful something will emerge in the near future. Books always move very slowly.
Salam alaikum, Si Abdullatif. Did you post your original sketches of the Cambridge mosque somewhere we can see them?
I’m a bit of a traditionalist a la Leon Krier, and I thought you were the same. I’m a bit surprised that you came up with a rather modernist (if not post-modernist) design. I’d like to learn a little more about your thought process here.
I err more on the side of adapting traditional English vernacular to Islamic principles, like Abdel-Wahed El-Wakil’s Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies. As Britain becomes more and more Muslim, I think this is the way to go.
Bricks from the local soil and stone from local quarries bring a sense of connectedness to the environment. And classical proportions put the eyes at ease. I think this is what people want, because I imagine that most British people converting to Islam are in search of tradition and a refuge from the post-modernist onslaught and confusion.
With that said, I think the Cambridge mosque is as well-executed as a modernist mosque can be.
I’ve also written a bit about the principles of Islamic design here, if you’d care to share your thoughts: tosmeem.com/principles
Dear Omar
I haven’t posted those original Cambridge Mosque designs, (at least I don’t think so).
I’ve been meaning to post on my blog about the New Cambridge mosque but got a bit tongue tied as I couldn’t quite express my feelings about it. Keep looking and I’ll try upload my critique of it as well as the original plans I did which were just for raising the few million pounds to secure the land. Which it did. Abdal Hakim gave me three weeks to come up with a design for a thousand worshipper mosque with car parking for 80 cars etc. and fully costed. To be of Anglo Ottoman design. I was invited to work with Warwick Pethers in the competition but he didn’t qualify for it as he had no computer. It might have been an odd partnership actually. I try and avoid architectural projects but they come after me. I prefer typography and book design. Anyway thanks for your interest, I have my own philosophy of architecture and it might confound a lot of people. Mosques and other buildings I’ve worked on tended be pretty traditional mixing Andalusian and Ottoman ideas but in a minimalist way. In some ways the whole idea of architect and client repels me. Where I live I see amazing craft skills but which always need guidance of some kind.