INTRODUCTION

TURATH 2021 presents P A K S I, the acronym for Prelude to Architectural Knowledge of Spiritual Inheritance for the year's heritage studies. P A K S I aptly define the 21st Architectural Heritage Studies findings of the three masjids by the Gombak River of SelangorKuala Lumpur region of Malaysia. Heritage Studies is a core course in Bachelor of Science in Architectural Studies-Honours (LAM Part 1) that focuses on measured drawings on the architectural heritage with Islamic merit. International Islamic University Malaysia's add to the core course, the sense of research and its ethical values in writing reports; in deciphering observation of construction, material and make; and in the making of video shoots or photography, to frame the Masjid's existence in the context of its community. Briefly, IIUM heritage studies focused on the importance of the subject matter, the Masjid as an as-built physical entity in their respective community or context. The re-learning of the tie to the Islamic faith to its distinct history and the impact of masjid architecture physical form

TURATH is a publication that combines the three teams-Lantera's, Karya's, and Rekayasa's group works on the heritage of the three masjids.The research, conducted within the two-semester group work among students, and the staff supervising team runs parallel to other programme courses. Only seven days of tight SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) fieldwork amidst the pandemic COVID19 was allowed. Disciplined daily scheduling and information gathering must be observed under the four tasks, i.e., technical measuring, information research, photo & videography, and cataloguing. Fortunately, the location of these three masjids was nearby to one another and IIUM Campus, thus enabling the heritage studies team to accommodate the strict logistics arrangement of the fieldwork within the 'bubble' concept. The summation of the fieldwork into documentation includes a series of analyses, including verification of the findings. These processes are in the detailed report for each Masjid as contributing to the body of knowledge. This book summarises the findings of the studies of the three heritage masjids- Masjid Lama Setapak, Masjid Lama Batu 6 Gombak and Masjid Sungai Chinchin, of its architecture in one-TURATH.

TURATH, this edition, provides a brief insight into the simplicity of the masjids' initial emergence as part of Muslims' daily living in a close-knit community of Sumatran immigrants in the Tanah Melayu (Malay Peninsula). It gave an overview of the masjid architecture as part of Nusantara (Malay Archipelago) and how its genus loci impacted the Masjid. The research provides a glimpse of how closely entwined the economic, political and social agenda and the need for a spiritual endeavour inexplicitly led to the birth of Kuala Lumpur, the capital of modern Malaysia. This research may not be conclusive, but intent to create impetus for further research in enriching the Islamic architectural heritage of the different ummah beyond the Muslim world.

About The Course

The AAR 3302 Heritage Studies course is a core subject that introduces students to the understanding and practices of researching and documenting (which include measuring, surveying, and re-drawing) heritage building of Muslim Worlds. The research may not be limited into the building only but on the whole community and environment as well. In general, the program is intended for the graduating student of the Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Architectural Studies to be conducted specifically in the third semester of their graduating year.

Objective

This course lets the students to be exposed with the discovery of the spread of Islam and the architecture that influenced. The students need to produce measured drawings of the group’s chosen building and the documentation report emphasizing its Islamic traits. Hence, this research will highlight the significance of the style and elements of architecture as well as the culture and social lifestyle of the building and its surrounding.

WORKING ON-SITE

Tasks at the chosen site were conducted from 20th March 2021 until 26th March 2021. Students were grouped into subteams to ease the whole task that needed to be done. The sub-teams consisted of the Multimedia team, Report team, Technical team and Catalogue team. While in-studio tasks were conducted simultaneously based on the schedule. The students take turns to be on site and in the studio to minimize the movement of the student due to the COVID-19 concerns at that time. In the remaining weeks, the students were all working in the studio.