Building Islam

The cathedral mosque of Cordoba, built as Creswell describes, from a period of 784 AD till the 16th century is regarded as one of the “most marvelous building in the world” as a result of it expansion, political history and context.
The Cordoba mosque was built by the Umayyad dynasty during a period of strife in the Islamic world when the Umayyad were exiled to Spain. Thus a new mosque was built and seen as an attempt to legitimize the Umayyad dynasty as the rightly guided caliphs. Furthermore the Umayyad attempted to strengthen their position by using the mosque as a repository of Muslim relics such as the bloodied leaves of the caliph Uthman’s mushaf as well as building it to architecturally emulate the prophet’s mosque in medina.
Can the mosque be called completely Islamic? Or is it a mosque with outside influences. Or is can it be called a church with Muslim inuences. Its identity, unlike most religious buildings remains muddled up within the context of its rulers as well as the conquered inhabitants of Cordoba.