The Journal of Architecture ISSN: 1360-2365 (Print) 1466-4410 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rjar20 Architectural mimicry and the politics of mosque building: negotiating Islam and Nation in Turkey Bülent Batuman To cite this article: Bülent Batuman (2016) Architectural mimicry and the politics of mosque building: negotiating Islam and Nation in Turkey, The Journal of Architecture, 21:3, 321-347, DOI: 10.1080/13602365.2016.1179660 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13602365.2016.1179660 Published online: 17 May 2016. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 43 View related articles View Crossmark data Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=rjar20 Download by: [Bilkent University] Date: 24 June 2016, At: 05:51 321 The Journal of Architecture Volume 21 Number 3 Architectural mimicry and the politics of mosque building: negotiating Islam and Nation in Turkey Bülent Batuman Department of Urban Design and Landscape Architecture, Bilkent University, Turkey (Author’s e-mail address:
[email protected]) This paper discusses the politics of mosque architecture in modern Turkey. The classical Ottoman mosque image has been reproduced in state-sponsored mosques throughout the second half of the twentieth century. Defining this particular design strategy as architectural mimicry, I discuss the emergence of this image through the negotiation between the nation- state and the ‘nationalist conservative’ discourse within the context of Cold War geopolitics. Comparing the Turkish case with the Islamic post-colonial world, I argue that the prevalence of architectural mimicry is related to the nostalgia it generates.