10.6092/issn.1973-9494/17303
application/pdf
1973-9494
17303
en
Dalila Senhadji
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0
Conservation Science in Cultural Heritage
Algeria
The architecture of Mosques and the Covid-19 pandemic
Text.Serial.Journal
https://conservation-science.unibo.it/
22
Articles
2023-07-20
2023-06-20
2023-07-20
2023-07-20
73-95
CSCH
Dalila Senhadji
2022
10.6092/issn.1973-9494/17303
73
Laboratory Metropolis Architecture Urbanism Society (LAMAUS), Department of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Mohamed Boudiaf University of Science and Technology Oran, Algeria
1973-9494
Algeria
en
95
The architecture of Mosques and the Covid-19 pandemic
https://conservation-science.unibo.it/article/download/17303/16519
22
T   HE ARCHITECTURE OF MOSQUES AND THE COVID-19
    PANDEMIC


   Imadeddine Khoukhi *
   Laboratory Environment and Technology for Architecture and Heritage (ETAP),
   Institute of Architecture and Urban Planning
   Saad Dahlab University Blida1, Blida, Algeria

   Dalila Senhadji
   Laboratory Metropolis Architecture Urbanism Society (LAMAUS)
   Department of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture and Civil Engineering
   Mohamed Boudiaf University of Science and Technology Oran, Algeria

   Keywords: mosques, outer courtyard, COVID-19, El Oued, Algeria



   1. Introduction

    The architectural typology of the mosques of Algeria and elsewhere is a timeless
subject. This issue is continually being investigated, and most often regards histori-
cal mosques. However, our research focuses on those mosques built by religious
associations.
    Senhadji Dalila [1] has worked on this issue in Oran where she has highlighted ran-
dom architectural models (i.e. they do not correspond to criteria of Islamic architecture)
because of the ambiguity of the legislation. The 2013 decree which came into force
clearly states that the Maghrebian architecture for mosques should be adapted and was
supposed to fill the gaps existing in the 1991 decree.
    Article number 26 of the 2013 decree1 stipulated the elaboration of a stan-
dardised rulebook relating to the construction model to be used for building
mosques and was a common decision made by three ministries, the Ministry of the
Interior and local authorities, the Ministry for Religious Affairs and waqfs 2 and the
Ministry of Housing. This rulebook should help to fill the gaps in the legislation
regarding architectural typology, but is difficult to achieve given the vast territory,
and the regional and local specificities of historical, climatic and social pattern in
the country. In other terms, mosques in the south of Algeria are unlike those in the
north. But today, they are subject to the same legislation in terms of construction
and architectural typology.
    In this study, we opted to focus on mosques in the vicinity of the wilaya3 of El
Oued4 whose town centre is called One Thousand Cupolas, and where many ty-
pologies, mostly built and financed by religious associations, have been observed.
The name symbolizes a specific architectural characteristic where the roofs are




   * Corresponding author: khoukhi-imadeddine@hotmail.com; khoukhi_imadeddine@univ-blida.dz
                                                                                              replaced by vaults and cupolas that cover the buildings [2]. In the historical neigh-
                                                                                              bourhoods of Zgoum, Guemar and El Oued [2], the vernacular buildings are char-
                                                                                              acterized by the classical Maghrebian model of houses where various rooms are
                                                                                              situated around the inner courtyard. They were built in accordance with the climat-
                                                                                              ic conditions5 and local culture of the place. Unlike the vernacular houses, there is
                                                                                              no courtyard in the historic mosque of Sidi Messaoud 6 which dates back to the end
                                                                                              of the 16th century.
                                                                                                  We first observed the absence of the inner courtyard or sahn7 in recent mosques
                                                                                              and the existence of another courtyard. The paradox in relation to the traditional
                                                                                              houses lies in: first, the absence of the courtyard named the sahn in the mosques
                                                                                              of El Oued; second, the existence of another component, an outer courtyard
                                                                                              which played a fundamental role in health measures during the global Covid-19
                                                                                              pandemic.
                                                                                                  Therefore, the added value of our research, regarding the typology of mosques
Imadeddine Khoukhi, Dalila Senhadji - The architecture of Mosques and the Covid-19 pandemic




                                                                                              built by religious associations and the gaps related to current legislation concerning the
                                                                                              construction of mosques, revolves around the particular architectural component ‒ the
                                                                                              outer courtyard ‒ in managing health crises like COVID-19.



                                                                                                 2. Mosques and the COVID-19 pandemic

                                                                                                  In Algeria, the law8 groups mosques into six categories. The first two categories are
                                                                                              the Great Mosque of Algiers and the historical mosques. The remaining four categories
                                                                                              are classified according to two important factors: the number of worshippers and the
                                                                                              area surrounding the mosques. Thus, the main mosques receive more than ten thou-
                                                                                              sand worshippers, the national mosques more than a thousand worshippers, while the
                                                                                              local and neighbourhood mosques less than a thousand.
                                                                                                  But the COVID-19 pandemic and its unexpected effects have shown the important
                                                                                              role that the established capacity of mosques can play, as stipulated in current legis-
                                                                                              lation. Thus, the Algerian government was compelled by such preventive measures,
                                                                                              like other countries, to close all mosques nationally on February 17, 2020. However,
                                                                                              as the health crisis eased and on the basis of the capacity factor, a first decision to
                                                                                              partially reopen mosques was made on August 15, 2020 9. Only mosques with a ca-
                                                                                              pacity of more than a thousand worshippers were allowed to open. A second decision
                                                                                              was then made, dated December 2, 202010, to reopen mosques with a capacity of five
                                                                                              hundred worshippers or more, until finally all mosques reopened on February 14, 202111.
                                                                                              The COVID-19 pandemic contributed to the creation of a new category of five hun-
                                                                                              dred worshippers or more.
                                                                                                  The second factor of classification requires spaces adjacent to mosques to be used
                                                                                              as follows: local mosques must have one or two Quranic classrooms and a house, while
                                                                                              the national and main mosques must have a Quranic school, a conference room and
                                                                                              spaces for cultural activities.
                                                                                                  Decisions made in response to the spread of COVID-19 have also affected
                                                                                              such spaces. For example, ablution facilities have been closed for a long time 12,
                                                                                              but the pandemic has revealed the importance of the use of the outdoor spaces.
                                                                                              In the case of places of worship, the World Health Organisation [3] has recom-
                                                                                              mended that any gathering taking place during prayers should preferably be in an
                                                                                              outdoor space.


                                                                                 74
    The WHO also recommended keeping a physical distance between worship-
pers, with fixed seating, managing the number and flow of people at the entrance
and exit, as well as inside the places of worship. This situation necessarily calls for
an outdoor space. In the context of the pandemic, it reminded us that an outdoor
space (i.e. an outer courtyard) already exists in the mosques of El Oued that have
been built and financed by the religious associations there. This outdoor space is
different from the typical courtyard that is also found under the name of sahn. It
occupies an important status in the practice of worship and is usually used during
the summer for night prayers, and in the winter for day prayers. When the mosques
were reopened during the pandemic, people continued using the outer courtyard
for their prayers.



   3. An outer courtyard or a second courtyard

    Does the outer courtyard of El Oued mosques qualify as a second courtyard?
    Did this courtyard originate in mosques in the course of the history of Islamic archi-
tecture?
    Did it ever exist in historical mosques in Algeria?
    In order to be able to provide an adequate answer, this research focused on the
presence of courtyards in the history of Islamic architecture.



   4. The origin of the courtyard in Islamic history and historical mosques in
      Algeria

    Islam originated in a hot climate where it rarely rains hence it was natural to per-




                                                                                                  CONSERVATION SCIENCE IN CULTURAL HERITAGE
form prayers in the open air. The first mosque of Medina had a simple courtyard with a
surrounding wall. It was a model for many of the mosques that were built later on. The
mosque at that time was also a place of political and religious decision-making from
where everything was managed.
    In the Maghreb or south of the Mediterranean and in the Middle East, the
courtyard allowed the reception of a number of worshippers to participate in the
Friday prayer and religious festivals when the temperature was moderate but
when the heat and light caused discomfort there would be fewer worshippers or
none at all in the courtyard because they moved indoors to avoid the sun and heat
[4]. In most western Islamic mosques, the courtyard was an appendage and gen-
erally smaller than the covered space [4]. In some cold regions, prayers are per-
formed in covered rooms for almost the whole year. In the Ottoman Empire, for
example, there was an inner courtyard, but the prayer hall had direct access from
the outer space. The courtyard was more of a cultural element [4]. In short, the
design of a mosque with or without a courtyard depends on two essential elements:
climate and culture [5] .
    The Islamic dynasties that passed through Algeria left many examples of historical
mosques across several regions. We focused on the sahn or inner courtyard and outer
courtyard in mosques which were selected so as to cover many regions and list as
many dynasties as possible over different periods of time. Examples are represented
in Table 1.


                                                                                             75
                                                                                              Table 1. Courtyards in Algerian historical mosques (source: [6] )
Imadeddine Khoukhi, Dalila Senhadji - The architecture of Mosques and the Covid-19 pandemic




                                                                                              ● Presence of architectural elements
                                                                                              The table revealed five categories of mosques in Algeria.
                                                                                              • Mosques with neither an inner courtyard nor an outer courtyard.
                                                                                              • Mosques with only an inner courtyard of various shape: square, rectangular
                                                                                                 (Figures 1A and B), semi-circle or irregular (Figures 2A and B).


                                                                                 76
   • Patio and outer courtyard; the example of the great mosque Bounoura (Figure 3A).
   • Mosques with an inner courtyard and an outer courtyard, such as Sidi Brahim
      Mosque (Figure 3B).
   • Mosques with only outer courtyards, such as the El Adouani and Baba Waldjim-
      ma Funerary Mosque (Figure 4).
  From Table 1 it is therefore clear that the outer courtyard existed mainly in the South
of Algeria.




Figure 1. A) The Great Mosque of Algiers; B) The Great Mosque of Tlemcen (source: Ahmed
Koumas; Chéhrazad Nafa [7])




                                                                                                     CONSERVATION SCIENCE IN CULTURAL HERITAGE




Figure 2. A) The Great Mosque of Constantine; B) Mosque of Pacha (source: Ali Boutchicha [8])


                                                                                                77
                                                                                              2: Outer courtyard
Imadeddine Khoukhi, Dalila Senhadji - The architecture of Mosques and the Covid-19 pandemic




                                                                                              Figure 3. A) The Great Mosque Bounoura, Ghardaia (source: [9] ); B) Mosque of Sidi Brahim,
                                                                                              Tlemcen (source: Ahmed Koumas; Chéhrazad Nafa).




                                                                                              Figure 4. A) The Funeral Mosque of Bâba Waldjimma, Ghardaia (source: Houda Ben Younes);
                                                                                              B) Mosque El Adouni, El Oued (Abd Elaziz Chahbi [10] )



                                                                                                 5. The studied area

                                                                                                  The existence of an inner courtyard and an outer courtyard was highlighted in the
                                                                                              previous paragraph. To try to better understand this component – the outer courtyard –
                                                                                              and the role it played in managing the COVID-19 pandemic, we worked on the mosques
                                                                                              built and financed by religious associations in El Oued and its surroundings (Figure 5).
                                                                                              We asked the following questions:

                                                                                                 - Do all mosques have an outer courtyard?
                                                                                                 - What is the area of the outer courtyard? Is this area proportional to that of the
                                                                                                     mosque?


                                                                                 78
   - What are the similarities and differences between these outer courtyards in
       terms of location?
   -   What role did this outer courtyard play during and after the pandemic?




                                                                                                     CONSERVATION SCIENCE IN CULTURAL HERITAGE

Figure 5. El Oued and the surrounding areas, and municipalities. (Source: Salima Rayene Kadri
and Salah Chaouche [11] ).



   5.1. Statistical data

     The study was carried out through two major research tools and two samples;
first, we adopted samples from 314 mosques in 29 municipalities where we exam-
ined their area and proportion. It should be mentioned that the inventory, which was
established on December 31, 2019, included 633 mosques13 but we could obtain
data for only 314 mosques.
     Second, we conducted a field survey on a hundred mosques in 17 municipalities,
where we examined the location of the courtyard, its organization and its development
in the era of the pandemic (Table 2).


                                                                                                79
                                                                                              Table 2. Sample studies according to the municipalities (source: authors)

                                                                                                                                                                         Common
                                                                                                                                            Inventory
                                                                                                                                Inventory               Field-visited   sample in-
                                                                                                N°          Municipalities                   sample                                  *   **
                                                                                                                                                          sample        inventory
                                                                                                                                                                         and field

                                                                                                01      EL OUED                    99          69           25             18
                                                                                                02      KOUININE                   17          04           02             01
                                                                                                03      REGUIBA                    41          22           00             00
                                                                                                04      HAMRAIA                    04          02           00             00
                                                                                                05      GUEMAR                     74          37           13             08
                                                                                                06      TAGHZOUT                   12          07           00             00
                                                                                                07      OURMES                     11          05           00             00
Imadeddine Khoukhi, Dalila Senhadji - The architecture of Mosques and the Covid-19 pandemic




                                                                                                08      DEBILA                     22          15           03             03
                                                                                                09      HASSANI ABDKRIM            29          19           07             04
                                                                                                                                                                                         E
                                                                                                10      HASSI KHELIFA              35          24           10             07            L
                                                                                                11      TRIFAOUI                   11          06           00             00
                                                                                                12      MAGRAN                     21          10           00             00            O
                                                                                                13      SIDI AOUN                  14          08           00             00        E   U
                                                                                                                                                                                     L   E
                                                                                                14      ROBBAH                     20          05           08             01
                                                                                                                                                                                         D
                                                                                                15      NAKHLA                     14          03           03             00
                                                                                                                                                                                     O
                                                                                                16      EL OGLA                    09          02           02             00
                                                                                                                                                                                     U
                                                                                                17      BAYADAH                    34          21           06             04        E
                                                                                                18      TALEB LAARBI               07          01           03             01        D
                                                                                                19      BENI GUECHA                02          01           00             00
                                                                                                20      DOUAR EL MAA               07          00           01             00
                                                                                                21      MIH OUNESSA                25          11           06             02
                                                                                                22      OUED ALENDA                11          02           04             00
                                                                                                23      MEGHAIR                    24          12           03             02
                                                                                                24      SIDI KHELIL                04          03           01             01            M

                                                                                                25      STILL                      04          02           00             00            E
                                                                                                                                                                                         G
                                                                                                26      OUM THIOUR                 09          01           00             00
                                                                                                                                                                                         H
                                                                                                27      DJEMAA                     32          09           03             01
                                                                                                                                                                                         A
                                                                                                28      SIDI AMRANE                27          08           00             00            I
                                                                                                29      MRARA                      04          02           00             00            R
                                                                                                30      TENDELA                    10          03           00             00
                                                                                                        Total                     633        314           100             53

                                                                                                 * Administrative division of February 04, 1984.
                                                                                                 ** The new administrative division of December 11, 2019.


                                                                            80
     5.2. Areas of outer courtyard

   We chose to categorize the areas of the outer courtyards of the 314 sample
mosques on the basis of variables extending from 0 m², 500 m², 1000 m² or more.
Table 3 shows that:
     •   4.14 % of mosques have no outer courtyards.
     •   24.20% of mosques have outer courtyard areas of less than 500 m².
     •   28.66 % of the mosques have outer courtyard areas of 500 m²-1000 m².
     •   42.99 % of mosques have outer courtyard areas of more than 1000 m² with an
         average area of 2165.74 m².

Table 3. The outer courtyard area (source: authors)

 The outer courtyard area in m²   Number of           Percentage       Average area in m²
                                  mosques
 0                                         13             4.14 %                    0
 Less than 500 m 2
                                           76            24.20 %               264.79
 From 500 - 1000 m2                        90            28.66 %               748.63
 More than 1000 m    2
                                        135              42.99 %             2165.74



     5.3. Proportion of outer courtyards

    The comparison of the outer courtyard area with that of built mosques indicates
that the outer space is clearly larger (Table 4).




                                                                                                 CONSERVATION SCIENCE IN CULTURAL HERITAGE
Table 4. Proportion of area between outer courtyard and covered mosque (source: authors)




     * Minimum, ** Maximum, *** Average.
                                                                                            81
                                                                                               The results in Table 4 show that:
                                                                                                 • For 110 mosques, representing 35.03%, the outer courtyard area is smaller
                                                                                                     than the covered area.
                                                                                                 • For 204 mosques representing 64.97%, the outer courtyard area is larger than
                                                                                                     the covered area. With an overall average of 2.41 times, this ratio is derived
                                                                                                     from the addition of the outer courtyard areas, and then divided by the covered
                                                                                                     area of the entire sample.
                                                                                                 •   The outer courtyard area is larger than the covered area 47.34 times, in a
                                                                                                     mosque called El Rayane, in the municipality of Hassani Abdelkrim14, where the
                                                                                                     covered area is 100 m² and the outer courtyard is 4734 m².
                                                                                                 •   The largest outer courtyard has an area of 7460 m² in Abd El Madjid Haba
                                                                                                     Mosque in the municipality of El Meghair15; this mosque has a large, covered
                                                                                                     area of 7000 m² as well.
Imadeddine Khoukhi, Dalila Senhadji - The architecture of Mosques and the Covid-19 pandemic




                                                                                                 •   The average area of the outer courtyards of the entire sample is 1209.79 m².


                                                                                                 5.4. The outer courtyards in the construction process

                                                                                                  Our investigations in the field revealed that mosques were built in a covered “sin-
                                                                                              gle-block” design16, with an open outdoor space enclosed by a wall. The process of
                                                                                              building mosques begins with obtaining a piece of land. To protect the property, the
                                                                                              land must first be fenced; this explains why today the majority of mosques are fenced.
                                                                                              Second, a provisional prayer room is built. After the mosque is built, the provisional
                                                                                              prayer room is then used for Quranic classes if it is separate from the mosque, and
                                                                                              used for prayer if attached to the mosque. The construction of the first provisional
                                                                                              prayer room paves the way for the process of building a mosque and basically for the
                                                                                              call to collect the funds to accomplish it. However, until now, religious associations
                                                                                              continue to construct new mosques in a traditional way in the region of Oran [1]. The
                                                                                              process of fencing in the land and building a prayer room naturally creates a space
                                                                                              between them which is used later as the outer courtyard.
                                                                                                   An analysis of 100 mosques (Table 2), and based on the criterion of having court-
                                                                                              yards or not, revealed that three types of mosques exist and are listed as follows:

                                                                                                  • Mosques with no courtyard
                                                                                                  They are single-block mosques that occupy almost all the area of land. They have
                                                                                              no outer or inner courtyard. These mosques are usually located in small densely pop-
                                                                                              ulated areas.

                                                                                                  • Mosques with an outer and inner courtyard
                                                                                                  The design of a mosque with an inner courtyard could probably be considered new
                                                                                              in El Oued. Only two mosques – namely, the Drissi Mohamed mosque17 in Hassani
                                                                                              Abdelkrim and the Khadîdja Oum El Mouminine mosque18 in El Oued, have inner
                                                                                              courtyards. The design of these two mosques is similar.

                                                                                                  • Mosques with outer courtyards only
                                                                                                  There are two possible patterns for these mosques according to the urban planning
                                                                                              of each municipality and the shape of the area. In pattern A (Table 5) the Kibla wall is
                                                                                              parallel to the border and the fence wall, thus creating a regular, or almost regular,


                                                                                82
outer courtyard. In pattern B (Table 5) the mosque is rotated to face the Kibla, thus cre-
ating irregular forms in the outer courtyards.
  Both patterns allow the mosque to have four possible outer courtyard locations (Table 5).
Depending on the layout, the largest part of this outer courtyard is dedicated to prayer.
The important point to emphasize here is that the external prayer space can occupy
one to four locations around the mosque. The analysis of these locations is illustrated
in the table below (Table 5).


Table 5. Location of the prayer space in the outer courtyard (source: authors)

                                                               The main mosque
                        Patterns
                                                            Front   Back   Right   Left   Result
                        Pattern A                            1       2      3       4
                                                             ●                             15
                                                                     ●                     06
                                                                            ●              09
                                                                                    ●      08
                                                             ●       ●                     02
                                                             ●              ●              02
                                                                     ●      ●              01
                                                                     ●              ●      01
                                                             ●       ●      ●       ●      02




                                                                                                        CONSERVATION SCIENCE IN CULTURAL HERITAGE
                                                                                           04
                        Pattern B
                                                             ●                             21
                                                                     ●                     07
                                                                            ●              03
                                                                                    ●      01
                                                             ●       ●                     02
                                                             ●              ●              02
                                                                     ●      ●              05
                                                             ●                      ●      02
                                                             ●       ●      ●       ●      02
                                                                                           05

    ● Presence of prayer space in outer courtyard.


                                                                                                   83
                                                                                                 5.5. The result

                                                                                                 The results show that:
                                                                                                 • 50 mosques appear in pattern A and the same for B.
                                                                                                 • 15 mosques have external prayer spaces in front of the mosque in pattern A
                                                                                                     and 21 mosques in pattern B.
                                                                                                 • 4 mosques do not have external prayer spaces as in pattern A and 5 as in
                                                                                                     pattern B.
                                                                                                 • The prayer space in front of the mosque is most common in both patterns, with
                                                                                                     a total of 36 mosques out of 91.
                                                                                                 • To the right of the mosque in pattern A and behind the mosque in pattern B is
                                                                                                     the second choice of prayer space.
Imadeddine Khoukhi, Dalila Senhadji - The architecture of Mosques and the Covid-19 pandemic




                                                                                                 5.6. The outer courtyard layout

                                                                                                  These findings clearly show that the creation of such outer courtyards and the ex-
                                                                                              ternal prayer spaces in the mosques is a deliberate choice and where three different
                                                                                              layouts for the outer courtyard prayer space have been identified: an unorganised
                                                                                              space, an organised space and a roofed space.


                                                                                                 5.6.1. Unorganised outer courtyard and prayer space

                                                                                                  These are outer courtyards that have never been improved. The mosques are locat-
                                                                                              ed in rural areas officially classified as neighbourhood mosques. The mosque occupies
                                                                                              a part of the fenced ground, leaving a large area as a courtyard for prayer.




                                                                                              Figure 6. El Rahma Mosque (source: authors).   Figure 7. Ali Ben Abi Taleb Mosque (source:
                                                                                                                                             [12] ).

                                                                                                  The example of El Rahma Mosque in Taleb Laarbi municipality19 (Figure 6) has a
                                                                                              total area of 875 m² and an outer courtyard that is 2.12 times the size of the covered
                                                                                              mosque. The second example of the Ali Ben Abi Taleb Mosque shows the worshippers


                                                                              84
(Figure 7) performing the Tarawih20 prayer on May 8, 2021, on the sand. The built area
of this mosque is 375 m² out of a total of 2400 m2 or an outer courtyard that is 5.14
times the covered area of the mosque.


   5.6.2. The outer courtyard and the organised prayer space

    In this case, part of the outer courtyard is bounded for prayer by a low screen wall
or is surrounded by a mobile brick delimitation which can be modified when necessary.
One example is the Abi Horaira Mosque21 (Figure 8), whose covered area is 700 m2
and outer courtyard is 1050 m². Another example is the Mosque of Oued El Alenda El
Chamali (Figure 9).




Figure 8. Abi Horaira Mosque (source: authors). Figure 9. Oued El alenda El Chamali Mosque
                                                (source: authors).




                                                                                                       CONSERVATION SCIENCE IN CULTURAL HERITAGE
   5.6.3. The outer courtyard and the roofed prayer space

    The striking feature of this layout compared to the previous ones is the presence of
a form of roof supported by light metal pillars. The spaces reserved for prayer are gen-
erally delimited. For example, the El Bassair Mosque in the municipality of Debila22 has
a built area of 800 m² and an outer courtyard area of 2328 m² (Figures 10A and B).


                                      A                                               B




Figure 10. A) Outer prayer space of El Bassair Mosque (source: authors); B) closer outer prayer
space of El Bassair Mosque (source: authors).


                                                                                                  85
                                                                                                  However, it is important to note here that these layouts are not included in the plans
                                                                                              or studies intended for the construction of mosques. Our investigations have shown
                                                                                              that these are the result of the voluntary work of the religious associations and those
                                                                                              who are responsible for the construction of the mosques, which is seen as a way of
                                                                                              expressing their needs and know-how.
                                                                                                  In short, this classification remains temporary until any sort of improvement is made
                                                                                              and can be seen in both mosques listed below using the Time Lapse option in Google
                                                                                              Earth23.
                                                                                                  The Imam El Termedi Mosque in the municipality of El Oued (Figure 11) is taken
                                                                                              as a first example regarding changes. It has undergone four steps. First of all, the
                                                                                              outer courtyard was not organised in any specific way (Figure 11A). Secondly, the
                                                                                              open space (outer courtyard) was improved by marking the area for prayers with a
                                                                                              low wall (Figure 11B). Thirdly, it was destroyed and cleared (Figure 11C). Finally, it
                                                                                              was rebuilt and delimited again with a low wall (Figure 11D), but this time the Mihrab
                                                                                              was enlarged”24 .
Imadeddine Khoukhi, Dalila Senhadji - The architecture of Mosques and the Covid-19 pandemic




                                                                                                                           A                                         B




                                                                                                  May 2007                                       January 2015



                                                                                                                       C                                                 D




                                                                                                  May 2015                                     September 2021


                                                                                              Figure 11. A) Unorganised prayer space in Imam El Termedi Mosque; B) organised prayer space in
                                                                                              Imam El Termedi Mosque; C) unorganised prayer space in Imam El Termedi Mosque; D) organised
                                                                                              prayer space in Imam El Termedi Mosque (source: Google earth)


                                                                              86
   The second example taken is that of the Oued El Alenda El Chamali Mosque in the
municipality of Oued El Alenda (Figures 12A and B). Its outer courtyard went from
being a courtyard without borders to one with an organised prayer space.


                                         A                                              B




     May 2007                                          January 2015


Figure 12. A) Unorganised courtyard in Oued El Alenda El Chamali Mosque; B) organised prayer
space in Oued El Alenda El Chamali Mosque. (source: Google earth).


   It is clear that a logical arrangement goes from an unorganised to an organised and
then probably to a roofed prayer space.




                                                                                                    CONSERVATION SCIENCE IN CULTURAL HERITAGE
   5.7. The Mihrab in the outer prayer space

    Inside these organised and covered prayer spaces, is the Mihrab, which indi-
cates the location of Imam and Kibla, recalling the fact that in the mosque of the
Prophet in Medina, the Kibla was indicated by a large block of stone. In early
mosques, the Mihrab was indicated by a strip of paint or a block of stone embed-
ded in the Kibla wall. An example of the existence of an external Mihrab is in the
Great Mosque of El Nouri in Mosul, Iraq25 where there used to be three Mihrabs
inside the prayer hall and one Mihrab outside in the courtyard [13] built of stone
and decorated in marble. This last has survived and is now kept at the palace of the
Museum in Baghdad.
    In our case study, we found the symbolic presence of the Mihrab in these external
prayer spaces most often in the form of a hemicycle and sometimes a rectangle
(Figure 13A).
    Some Mihrabs in the external prayer space are provided with electricity which facil-
itates the setting up of sound equipment for prayer (Figure 13B). These Mihrabs be-
come independent from those inside the covered mosques, thus introducing a second
outer mosque, which is attached to the main mosque.


                                                                                               87
                                                                                                 A                                               B




                                                                                                 C                                               D
Imadeddine Khoukhi, Dalila Senhadji - The architecture of Mosques and the Covid-19 pandemic




                                                                                              Figure 13. A) Abi Horaira Mosque; B) El Bassair Mosque; C) El Atik Mosque; D) Othman Ben Afan
                                                                                              Mosque (source: authors).


                                                                                                 5.8. The sandy spaces used for prayer and COVID-19

                                                                                                  Although there are differences between the various courtyards described above,
                                                                                              sand is a common feature in the areas used for prayer (Figures 13C and D). According to
                                                                                              local sources 26, in the past, the ground of the prayer rooms was always covered entirely
                                                                                              by the sand of the dunes. One of the main characteristics of this type of sand is its fine
                                                                                              grains [14], which was thought to help reduce the temperature inside the mosque. This
                                                                                              is scientifically proven because of the thermal behaviour of El Oued sand – its thermal
                                                                                              capacity 27 is Cp= 920 J/kg [15]. This data is mainly used in building contexts to evaluate
                                                                                              the behaviour of construction materials. In summer, materials with high thermal capacity
                                                                                              keep the building cold for a long time. In winter, they keep the heat in the buildings longer.
                                                                                              The use of this type of sand has a medium capacity and it is less expensive compared
                                                                                              with materials such as tiles or marble which have a thermal capacity of 1000 J/kg. °C [15]
                                                                                              or with the capacity of a carpet or textile that varies from 1300 to 1800 J/kg. °C [16].
                                                                                                  Unfortunately, the introduction of air conditioning has contributed to the disappear-
                                                                                              ance of this ancestral culture. Using sand is currently limited to the outer spaces28. Older
                                                                                              worshippers are accustomed to this tradition, and they clearly prefer saying prayers on
                                                                                              the sand. They argue this through the physical aspects of the sand that facilitate kneeling
                                                                                              and contribute to peoples’ well-being to comfortably perform their prayers. Difficulties
                                                                                              due to a variety of health problems and illnesses, such as arthritis and vertebrae disor-
                                                                                              ders are attenuated by the sand, so it has commonly been used for health purposes.


                                                                              88
     As far as COVID-19 is concerned, a study of beach sand [17] showed that it can
exceed 38°C when the outside temperature is only 24°C and that when the ambient
temperature is 32°C, the heat from the sand destroys the CODIV-19 proteins; the coro-
navirus disintegrates more quickly when the temperature rises [18]. In the light of this
finding, there is still no published study on the survival of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus
on the sand of the Sahara and in El Oued in particular.
     It is necessary to emphasize that exploiting the outer courtyards may turn out to be
one of the key solutions to managing the COVID-19 situation. Likewise, the experience
in the region has also demonstrated that the outer spaces contributed to solving a major
urban technical problem of electricity supply. New unit transformer substations had to
be installed in some of these outer courtyards in dozens of mosques because of the
lack of suitable areas.


   6. The outer courtyard and COVID-19

    The WHO recommended gathering in places of worship outdoors when possible.
This has become one of the six factors for assessing the risks of mass gatherings
during the COVID-19 pandemic [19]. This factor has been ignored in mosques in the
study area, despite having outer spaces. According to the Religious Affairs and the
WAKF Directorate29, the partial reopening of 88 local mosques30 depended only on the
area of the main prayer hall31 This has been proved by the area data analysis; 04
mosques32 were reopened, but had no outer courtyards and 14 mosques of less than
500 m² courtyards were also reopened. It should be mentioned that the data available
concerns only 66 mosques out of 88.
    When investigating the neglect and devaluation of the outer spaces of the mosques
we came up with a new classification of mosques under the current legislation. If this
outer courtyard were taken into account, the capacity of mosques would increase. This




                                                                                                      CONSERVATION SCIENCE IN CULTURAL HERITAGE
new classification would contribute to managing the flow and number of worshippers. In
other words, the more the open mosques and areas were made available, the lower the
density of the spaces would naturally be. A study on the spread of the COVID-19 virus in
Algeria [20] has demonstrated the relationship between population density and the spread
of the virus. The more people there are in public places, the faster the virus spreads.
    In order to practically implement the suggested classification of mosques, we used
a sample of 314 mosques to be categorised, basically depending on the number of
worshippers in the built and the outdoor spaces. However, the information for the areas
of the mosques is given in square meters and not in the number of worshippers attend-
ing the mosques. An attempt was made to convert the areas of the mosques given in
square meters to the number of worshippers the mosques can receive. It required us
to set a simple calculation method. First of all, out of the 314 mosques, we were obliged
to choose only five33. Secondly, the area occupied by the structure of each mosque,
the stairs, the hallways and other secondary parts were subtracted from the general
built area to obtain the net area of the space used for prayer. If the ratio of 3 worship-
pers in 2 m² as stated by law34 is applied, the result is that the built area in m² is approx-
imately35 equal to the number of worshippers even if the mosque has two floors.
  As for the outer courtyards and taking into account all the above-mentioned types
of layouts, the area of the outer courtyard can also be equal to the number of worship-
pers using the same calculation method. This hypothesis reveals the results present-
ed in Table 6.


                                                                                                 89
                                                                                              Table 6. Proposed classification of mosques (source: authors).

                                                                                               Mosque                                                                 Outer courtyard
                                                                                                                                  Outer courtyard   Covered mosque
                                                                                                type                                                                 and covered area
                                                                                                                         In more than x (worshippers)
                                                                                                local     district   unfinished   500     1000      500     1000     500       1000
                                                                                                 140        23          40                              ●
                                                                                                 29         05          15                                   ●
                                                                                                 153        37          17          ●
                                                                                                 91         27          30                  ●
                                                                                                 195        54          50                                             ●
                                                                                                 110        17          41          ●                   ●                       ●
Imadeddine Khoukhi, Dalila Senhadji - The architecture of Mosques and the Covid-19 pandemic




                                                                                                 161        36          40                                                      ●

                                                                                                 ● Presence of elements (worshippers)


                                                                                                  According to the obtained data, adding the number of worshippers in both covered
                                                                                              and uncovered spaces increases the number of mosques that actually have a capaci-
                                                                                              ty of more than 500, 1000 or probably even more worshippers.
                                                                                                  Therefore, this is a key solution to managing the density of flow of worshippers
                                                                                              during COVID-19, or to put it more simply; the area for a single worshipper was 0.66 m²
                                                                                              before the pandemic as stated by law; this area has naturally increased during the
                                                                                              COVID pandemic to become 1.66 m2 for each worshipper [21]. In El Oued, there are
                                                                                              about 990,000 36 people. The male age group over 15, represents 35.17% [22] and they
                                                                                              were permitted to go to mosques during the COVID crisis by the national authorities.
                                                                                              Thus, we counted the portion of area each worshipper can have in both covered and
                                                                                              uncovered spaces in the 314 mosques.
                                                                                                  • 0.60 m² in covered spaces.
                                                                                                  • 1.09 m² in outer courtyards.
                                                                                                  • 1.69 m² is the total average area in covered and uncovered spaces for each worship-
                                                                                              per out of the male age group. Naturally, this average increases if the sample is larger.


                                                                                                 7. Conclusion

                                                                                                   It was not our intention to investigate the architecture of mosques since the dawn
                                                                                              of Islam; prominent studies, such as those by Rachid Bourouiba [23], Lucien Golvin
                                                                                              [24] and Jean Sauvaget [25] are still the bases of future studies. The problem of the
                                                                                              architectural components of mosques built by religious associations persists, even
                                                                                              though previous studies have tackled the very same issue. The gaps in current legis-
                                                                                              lation on building mosques have grown, especially after the pandemic. The COVID-19
                                                                                              pandemic and its effects have revealed an ignored component (i.e. the outer court-
                                                                                              yard) in the mosques in the El Oued region. This ignored component should be inte-
                                                                                              grated into the official code and rulebooks for constructing mosques as a regional or
                                                                                              even national preventive measure against pandemics.
                                                                                                   In conclusion, our research has demonstrated the existence of a courtyard outside
                                                                                              the main mosque; the findings have revealed that the areas of the outer courtyard are


                                                                             90
larger and have more capacity than those of covered mosques. The outer courtyards
devoted to prayer were deliberately founded in response to social needs and were used
for prayer before and during the Covid-19 pandemic regardless of the way they were
organised. Therefore, the outer courtyards helped increase the mosques’ capacity which
should be considered as part of the parameters used to classify mosques in future.
    The covered mosque with an outer prayer space, an independent outer Mihrab and
a sandy ground, all form a cultural, traditional, climatic and therapeutic model of mosque
architecture which could be adopted as an adequate preventive spatial measure against
COVID-19.


   Notes

     1
       Executive decree of 2013 no. 13- 377 of Nov 09 th, 2013 on the principal law of the
mosque. https://www.joradp.dz/FTP/JO-FRANCAIS/2013/F2013058.pdf . [Accessed:
30/06/2020]
     2
       Charitable endowments.
     3
       Wilaya means district, Algeria is divided into 58 wilayas.
     4
       Located in the South East of Algeria. The wilaya has existed since 1984; it had
thirty municipalities, which were then reduced to twenty-two following the creation of
the wilaya of El M’Ghir in 2019 (now they are two separate wilayas).
     5
       Summer is extremely hot and dry and winter is chilly and dry. During the year, tem-
peratures generally range from 5°C to 40°C.
     6
       The mosque is located in the protected area of Lacheche in the municipality of
El Oued.
     7
       A sahn is an architectural element: a courtyard. A courtyard is an outdoor area of
flat ground that is partly or completely surrounded by the walls of a building, so a sahn
is an inner courtyard inside the building. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/




                                                                                                    CONSERVATION SCIENCE IN CULTURAL HERITAGE
english/courtyard?q=COURTYARD . [Accessed: 29/01/2022]
     8
       The decree of 2013, executive decree no. 13- 377 of Nov. 9th, 2013 on the princi-
pal law of the mosque.
     9
       Executive Decree No. 20-225 of 8 August 2020 on adapting measures to prevent
and combat the spread of the Coronavirus COVID-19. https://www.joradp.dz/FTP/
JO-francais/2020/F2020046.pdf?znjo=46. [Accessed: 19/03/2021]
     10
        Executive Decree No. 20-360 of 1 December 2020 adapting measures to prevent
and combat the spread of the Coronavirus COVID-19.
     https://www.joradp.dz/FTP/JO-francais/2020/F2020071.pdf?znjo=71. [Accessed:
29/03/2021]
     11
        Closed for 363 days or 11 months and 26 days.
     12
        The ablution closets remained closed despite the opening of the mosques. They
were re-opened on Nov 22nd 2021, a closure period of 464 days or 1 year, 3 months
and 7 days.
     13
        403 local mosque types, 115 neighbourhood mosques, 98 unfinished, 17 old and
abandoned mosques.
     14
        Located at the east of the capital of El Oued.
     15
        Former municipality in El Oued, which became the capital of the wilaya of El Mghair.
     16
        In a single closed building.
     17
        Completely finished and opened on November 18, 2020.
     18
        Not completely finished, the building permit was dated 21/08/2017.


                                                                                               91
                                                                                                    19
                                                                                                      A municipality located in the north-east of El Oued on the Algerian-Tunisian border.
                                                                                                    20
                                                                                                      Performed daily at night after Isha’s prayer, during the fasting month of Ramadan.
                                                                                                   21
                                                                                                      It is located in the municipality of El Oued.
                                                                                                   22
                                                                                                      It is located 28 km north east of El Oued.
                                                                                                   23
                                                                                                      The clearest photos available have been selected. The dates mentioned do not
                                                                                              represent the real dates of modification.
                                                                                                   24
                                                                                                      El mihrab is a kind of apse that shows the direction of the Kibla.
                                                                                                   25
                                                                                                      Built in 1010 A.D by Noureddine Mahmoud Zanki.
                                                                                                   26
                                                                                                      The head of the Religious and Wakf Directorate of El Oued, is a native inhabitant.
                                                                                                   27
                                                                                                      The thermal capacity of a material corresponds to the energy required to increase
                                                                                              its temperature by one degree. The unit of thermal capacity is Joule per kelvin (J/K) and
                                                                                              denoted by the letter “C”.
                                                                                                   28
                                                                                                      The sand layer should usually be changed twice a year when it becomes dusty.
                                                                                                   29
                                                                                                      An interview with the architect of the Religious and Wakf Affairs Directorate of
                                                                                              El Oued in December 2020.
Imadeddine Khoukhi, Dalila Senhadji - The architecture of Mosques and the Covid-19 pandemic




                                                                                                   30
                                                                                                      A list published on Aug 13th 2020 on the official Facebook page of the Religious
                                                                                              Affairs Directorate and Wakf of El Oued. https://www.facebook.com/Dar.eloued39/
                                                                                              posts/pfbid02dsJrj1E5KFD5bDzVLyjZZzibrsAMxAmRJqd5Wicr5Lbs6eJuviW9275Zb-
                                                                                              zfrroWJl. [Accessed: 19/08/2021]
                                                                                                   31
                                                                                                      Main refers to the covered prayer room.
                                                                                                   32
                                                                                                      Moad Ben Djebel, Khaled Ben el Walid and Sidi Abdellah Mosques located in
                                                                                              El Oued municipality and Ahmed Ben Slimane mosque in Taghzout municipality.
                                                                                                   33
                                                                                                      These are digitized formats.
                                                                                                   34
                                                                                                      Decree no. 76-36 of 20 Feb.1976 on the protection against the risks of fire and
                                                                                              panic in public buildings. Section of religious institution, article 2 (source: Civil Protec-
                                                                                              tion Directorate).
                                                                                                   35
                                                                                                      The average number of worshippers is +4.47% more than the built area in m².
                                                                                                   36
                                                                                                      Because the lack of an up-to-date official census since 2008.


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                                                                                                 Biographical Notes
Imadeddine Khoukhi, Dalila Senhadji - The architecture of Mosques and the Covid-19 pandemic




                                                                                                 Imadeddine Khoukhi is an architect and PhD student at the University of Saad
                                                                                              Dahleb - Blida 1; his doctoral research focuses on the architectural typology of neigh-
                                                                                              bourhood mosques that are mostly built and financed by religious associations.

                                                                                                  Dalila Senhadji is an associate professor of architecture at the Department of Ar-
                                                                                              chitecture at the University of Science and Technology (USTO) of Oran, and a Quali-
                                                                                              fied Architect of Monuments and Protected Historic sites. Her research focuses on the
                                                                                              architectural heritage of worship and its implications during the Arab, Spanish, Ottoman
                                                                                              and French periods. She also works on 19th century architectural heritage, rehabilita-
                                                                                              tion and restoration techniques. She has worked as an intern in the Heritage Unit of the
                                                                                              Arab States at UNESCO in Paris and Bahrain and is an associate member of the Inter-
                                                                                              national Committee of Historic Cities and Villages (CIVVIH ICOMOS). She has been a
                                                                                              visiting professor at Paris 1, Sorbonne University since 2018. She was also a visiting
                                                                                              professor at EHESS Paris in 2019


                                                                                                 Summary

                                                                                                This article attempts to provide some answers to the unexpected effects of the glob-
                                                                                              al Covid-19 pandemic relating to the architecture of mosques. For this, we observed
                                                                                              mosques in El Oued in the south of Algeria; the climatic and social features of the re-
                                                                                              gion involve the use of outer courtyards for prayer and are taken as a motivating case
                                                                                              study. Our investigation in relation to the spread of COVID-19 is the fact that the topic
                                                                                              has not been tackled before. COVID-19 has had a great impact at all levels, including
                                                                                              the closure of mosques. As the pandemic developed, decisions about the gradual and
                                                                                              controlled opening of mosques were made based only on the capacity factor of the
                                                                                              covered spaces of mosques. These decisions ignored the uncovered outer spaces
                                                                                              found in mosques in El Oued and some other regions in Algeria. They were, of course,
                                                                                              a response to the health protocol requirements related to measures to prevent and
                                                                                              protect against COVID-19. We then asked ourselves the following questions: How could
                                                                                              the knowledge and spatial arrangement of mosques guide us towards better manage-
                                                                                              ment and decision-making during a health crisis like COVID-19? And what would the
                                                                                              impact of this pandemic on the future architecture of mosques be? Our article is an
                                                                                              attempt to find some answers to these questions.


                                                                              94
 Riassunto

  Questo articolo tenta di fornire alcune risposte agli effetti inaspettati della pandemia
globale di Covid-19 relativamente all’architettura delle moschee. Sono state prese come
caso di studio le moschee di El Oued, nel sud dell’Algeria visto che le caratteristiche
climatiche e sociali della regione permettono l’uso di cortili esterni per la preghiera. Que-
sto studio è il primo in relazione alla diffusione di COVID-19. Il COVID-19 ha avuto un
grande impatto a tutti i livelli, compresa la chiusura delle moschee. Con lo sviluppo della
pandemia, sono state prese decisioni sull’apertura graduale e controllata delle moschee,
basate solo sul fattore di capacità degli spazi coperti.
  Queste decisioni hanno ignorato gli spazi esterni scoperti presenti nelle moschee di El
Oued e in alcune altre regioni dell’Algeria. Tali decisioni erano, ovviamente, una risposta
ai requisiti del protocollo sanitario relativo alle misure di prevenzione e protezione dal
COVID-19. Ci siamo quindi posti le seguenti domande: in che modo la conoscenza e la
disposizione spaziale delle moschee possono guidarci verso una migliore gestione e un
migliore processo decisionale durante una crisi sanitaria come il COVID-19? E quale
sarebbe l’impatto di questa pandemia sulla futura architettura delle moschee? Il nostro
articolo è un tentativo di trovare alcune risposte a queste domande.




                                                                                                     CONSERVATION SCIENCE IN CULTURAL HERITAGE




                                                                                                95
