A mosque has two functions: religious, and social. The social one speaks to the public. It is contextual: place and time bound, standing in a stark contrast with the pure and transcendental mosque core. But this contrast is more complementary than conflicting.

Two contrasting “grids” were used: one is derived from the city itself, parallel to the urban fabric of Ras Al-Khaimah, setting the stage to the second grid of the Haram, directed towards the Qibla. The Haram cubic form, eternal, absolute and timeless is independent of its surroundings.

The main entrance plaza is the spatial “joint” in which change of directions happen. It is where these two worlds are brought together. The singular minaret serves as the vertical axis to mark the change of orientation.