IRCICA Director General Prof. Kılıç gave a keynote address at the Fourth International Conference on Mosque Architecture, 5 November 2025

Abdullatif Alfozan Award for Mosque Architecture and Istanbul Technical University (ITU) have jointly organized the Fourth International Conference on Mosque Architecture, at ITU campus on 4-6 November 2025. The conference program was comprised of plenaries for keynote addresses and parallel working sessions for paper presentations. IRCICA Director General Prof. Dr. Mahmud Erol Kılıç gave the keynote address titled “The Spirituality of Mosque in Muslim Tradition.” In this study, Prof. Kılıç explored the timeless spirit of the mosque that inspires its architecture, analyzed its symbolic and functional expressions in historical and contemporary mosque architecture, and suggested conceptual principles for sustainable expressiveness of a future mosque close to the hearts of Muslims. The opening was addressed by Mr. Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, Minister of Tourism and Culture of Türkiye; Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal, Rector of ITU; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Emrullah Tuncel, Mufti of Istanbul; Prof. Dr. Mashary Al Naim, Secretary General of Abdullatif Al Fozan Award for Mosque Architecture; Prof. Dr. Mehmet Küçükmehmetoğlu, Dean of ITU Faculty of Architecture, Chairman of 4th ICMA. Architectural authorities and experts from various countries made presentations on developments relating to mosque architecture, covering practical experiences, educational policies, recommendations for the future mosque architecture. Shortlisted mosques of the 5th Cycle of the Award (2023-2026) were announced.