Architectural Representation of Islamic Modernism in Indonesia Case Study: Architecture of Achmad Noeman

Abstract

Islamic modernism appeared as a reformation movement based on two main ideas: purifying norms by rejecting deviation from religious practices, and adopting new ways of thinking to adapt to the modern world. In Indonesia the movement had an important role in the development of modern Islamic organizations and Islamic intellectuals. This movement had a special representative in the architecture of Achmad Noeman. Noeman is a modernist Muslim, and also a modernist architect; his architecture refl ected modernism in Islam and in architecture. His designs infl uenced later Indonesian architects to interpret Islam rationally, critically, and creatively in endorsing Islamic building design. Noeman’s work received some criticisms, such as the neglect of the local context, but this corollates with criticism about modernism at large. The architecture of Achmad Noeman became the best example for the representation of Indonesian Islamic modernism. Through his architecture and designs, we can explore narratives about social movement within the paradigm of Islamic civilization.