2026-06-27 –, Room 208 (Seats 40)
Heritage preservation in South Asia usually follows European models crafted by organizations like UNESCO and ICOMOS. These approaches focus on ‘monumentality’ as they treat sacred buildings as fixed, untouchable objects, cares more about their looks and materials than their meaning to people. But in Bangladesh, this way of thinking doesn’t really fit. Official policies insist on keeping mosques exactly as they were, but for the people who use them every day, these are living spaces. They pray there, gather there, and they keep the mosques going by adapting and maintaining them as needed.
This paper pushes for a different way of thinking about heritage—one that puts communities and their religious practices at the center. Looking at how mosques are cared for in Bangladesh, the study shows that things like repairs, extensions, or other changes—often labeled by officials as "encroachments" or "inauthentic"—are actually acts of care. It argues that there should be a balance between the two ideas.
With the conference’s theme of “Closed Borders and Global Connections” in mind, the paper argues that today’s preservation rules end up shutting out the very people these monuments matter to. They draw borders between the mosque as a building and the community that gives it life. However, if we recognize mosque communities as active stewards, not problems to manage, it opens up a new, more global way of thinking about heritage—one rooted in South Asian and Islamic traditions. In the end, this paperintends to spark debate about what we really mean by “preserving” history, and makes the case for valuing lived, ongoing practice over frozen, untouched forms.
A K M Khademul Haque, PhD is Professor of Islamic History and Culture at the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh, where he has taught for over twenty-five years. He specializes in the Islamic art and architecture of Bengal, with particular focus on mosque architecture, terracotta ornamentation, and indigenous architectural forms. His research engages critically with archaeological theory, material culture, and heritage preservation in South Asia. Dr. Haque has held numerous international fellowships, including the CAA–Getty International Travel Grant, the British Council Fellowship at the University of Birmingham, and the Shaikh Hamad bin Khalifa Fellowship in Doha. He has served as an Expert Delegate for the Government of Bangladesh at OIC workshops on cultural heritage. His publications include contributions to The Modernist World (Routledge), the Journal of Bengal Art, and an upcoming chapter in Twentieth Century Art in India (Thames & Hudson). He has attended the WHA conference in the past twice, having been awarded the International Scholar Travel Grant to attend the event at Bilbao, 2022.