Aug 22, 2006, 2:49 PM

New Iran mosques lack Islamic originality: official

TEHRAN, Aug. 22 (MNA) -- Mosque architecture in Iran has made no progress in the recent years, head of the Iranian Society of Architecture Luminaries said here Monday.

Alireza Qahhari, who made the statement on the World Mosque Day, Aug. 21, added, “There are about 60 thousand mosques in the country, many of them lack architectural style.”

Per capita for public buildings in Iran like libraries, universities, and cinemas has been defined, said the official regretting that there are no statistical data for the mosque per capita.

To this end, the number of mosques needed in the country should be known through an expert-level research, Qahari opined.

Many of the modern mosques lack Islamic architecture and are not comparable with those built during the era of upswing in Islamic architecture, he rued.

Qahhari urged the officials to study new ideas, warning the problem will be exacerbated if not addressed.

SH/KK

END

MNA

News ID 19154