Architecture, power and religion in Lebanon : Rafiq Hariri and the politics of sacred space in Beirut / By Ward Vloeberghs.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Vloeberghs, Ward, 1979- author.

Series:

Social, economic, and political studies of the Middle East and Asia ; volume 114.

Social, economic and political studies of the Middle East and Asia ; volume 114

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Jāmiʻ Muḥammad al-Amīn (Beirut, Lebanon).

Architecture--Lebanon--Beirut--History.

Architecture.

Islamic architecture--Lebanon--Beirut.

Islamic architecture.

Mosques--Lebanon--Beirut.

Mosques.

Buildings--Lebanon--Beirut.

Buildings.

History.

Lebanon--Beirut.

Ḥarīrī, Rafīq Bahāʼ, 1944-2005.

Ḥarīrī, Rafīq Bahāʼ.

Physical Description:

xii, 463 pages : illustrations (partly color) ; 25 cm.

Place of Publication:

Boston : Brill, 2015.

Summary:

In Architecture, Power and Religion in Lebanon, Ward Vloeberghs explores Rafiq Hariri's patronage and his posthumous legacy to demonstrate how religious architecture becomes a site for power struggles in contemporary Beirut. By tracing the 150 year-long history of the Muhammad al-Amin Mosque - Lebanon's principal Sunni mosque - and the subsequent development of the site as a commemoration venue, this account offers a unique illustration of how architecture, religion and power become discursively and visually entangled. Set in a multi-confessional society marked by social inequalities and political fragmentation, this interdisciplinary study analyses how architectural practice and urban reconfigurations reveal a nascent personality cult, communal mourning, and the consolidation of political territory in relation to constantly shifting circumstances. Book jacket.

Contents:

Architecture, Power and Religion: An Interdisciplinary Approach 4

Might and Faith in 21st Century Lebanon: Context and Literature 12

Extant Literature 15

Aims and Methods of this Book 18

Scope, Relevance and Structure of this Book 22

Part 1 A Man of Might and Faith?

1 Rafiq Hariri as a Lebanese Actor: Lifetime 29

1.1 Businessman (1944-1982) 29

From 1944 until 1965: Early Family Life and Youth in Lebanon 29

From 1963 until 1979: Contractor in Saudi Arabia 32

From 1979 until 1982: Rafiq Hariri, a Philanthropic "Entrepreneur"? 35

1.2 Politician (1982-1992) 41

From 1982 until 1989: Saida as a Springboard 41

From 1989 until 1992: Out of the Loom 50

1.3 Prime Minister (1992-2004) 52

From 1992 until 1998: Heights and Lows of Harirism 52

Hariri's Political Economy: Business as Usual 55

International Means of Support 61

Domestic Power Structures 67

From 1998 until 2000: Staging Comeback 76

From 2000 until 2004: Return to Premiership and Cohabitation 78

Extension of Lahoud's Presidency 83

Rafiq Hariri: A Stereotypical "minister"? 86

2 Rafiq Hariri as a Political Actor: Legacy 89

2.1 From Victim to Martyr (2004-2005) 89

14 February 2005 90

30 Days that Shaped a Decade 95

Moulding a Martyr 104

Saint George Hotel 105

2.2 Dynast (2005-2015) 109

Hariri's Political Legacy: Cement for the 14 March Coalition 109

Setting up the Family Succession 114

Saad Hariri and the Burden of Succession 117

2.3 Politicising a Legacy (2005-2015) 120

From UNIIIC to STL 120

Hariri's Legacy and Regional Sunni Victimhood 125

Part 2 A Building of Might and Faith?

3 The Muhammad al-Amin Mosque: A Political History 131

3.1 Ottoman Legacy (1853-1933) 131

3.2 Ambitious Actors (1933-1948) 136

3.3 National Tensions, International Extensions (1948-1976) 143

National Tensions: 1948-1966 143

International Extensions: 1966-1976 146

3.4 Renewal on the Sunni Scene (1976-1996) 151

3.5 The Shaykh and the Za'im: Hariri's Breakthrough (igg6-2002) 156

Mufti Qabbani 156

Rafiq Hariri 162

3.6 From Inauguration to Commemoration (2002-2015) 171

Triple Inauguration: 2002-2008 171

First Concrete Poured: 2003 174

Inauguration of the Muhammad al-Amin Mosque: 2008 176

Transformation of an Edifice: From Mosque to Public -Mausoleum (2008-2015) 185

4 The Muhammad al-Amin Mosque: An Architectural History 187

4.1 Contextual Analysis 187

Beirut Mosques 189

4.2 Formal Analysis 193

Exterior 196

Interior 205

4.3 Genealogical Analysis 210

SalehLamei 211

Rasem Badran 218

Azmi Fakhouri 226

Part 3 Designing Might and Faith?

5 The Muhammad al-Amin Mosque: Between Sacred Space and Political Territory 237

5.1 Critical Analysis 237

Abdel Wahid El-Wakil 238

Saad Khaled 243

Youssef Haidar 249

Assem Salam 254

5.2 Thematic Analysis 260

The Muhammad al-Amin Mosque as a beacon of neo-Ottomanism 260

The Muhammad al-Amin Mosque as a Bastion of Sunni Power 265

The Muhammad al-Amin Mosque as First-Class Architecture for an Elite 267

Communal Monuments, Monumental Communities 273

5.3 Religious Architecture as Sites of Political Struggle 274

Talking Buildings, Visualising Power 276

Religious Architecture and Power: Evidence from Lebanon 278

Religious Architecture and Power: Beyond Beirut 286

6 The Making and Maintenance of Hariri Political Territory 292

Territory & Commemoration 293

6.1 Appropriating a Mausoleum 298

The Making of a Mausoleum: Installing Hariri's Tomb 299

The Cult of a Mausoleum: Commemorating Hariri at the Tomb 304

The Management of a Mausoleum: Arranging and Rearranging Hariri's Tomb 317

6.2 Negotiating Norms and Forms 326

Negotiating a Corner: Re-Orienting the Mosque's Main Entrance 327

Negotiating Archaeological Heritage: Roman Ruins Under Concrete Threat 335

6.3 Contesting Architectures and Visual Retaliation 340

Material Retaliation: Erecting a Campanile 341

Spatial Retaliation: The i'tisam (2006-2008) as a Pattern for Protest? 349

6.4 Confirming Commemorations 360

Confirmations at the Core of Hariri Political Territory 361

Confirmations at the Periphery of Hariri Political Territory 363.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9789004305823

9004305823

OCLC:

918591141