It is not an overstating to say that one of the key aspects of unique architecture in Yemen is reflected in the mosques, masjid, and shrines, which not only articulating the diversity of the environments in which they were built, but also the multiplicity of sects in Yemen (Zaidi, Shafi’i, and Ismaili - if the latter can be considered an independent sect). These religious sects coexisted for a long time, and the country did not witness any serious religious rivalries on a sectarian basis, despite some political exploitations in the wars of the Yemeni mini-states as a result of it.
The limits of the patterns did not stop at the secretions of the purely local environments, but rather went beyond them to absorb the architectural arts coming from the Maghreb, the Mashrak, and the North, which melted within these settings, and began to express them with a great deal of privacy, and the talk here is of the Ottoman, Indian, Moroccan, and Egyptian architectural styles, which were embodied in the mosques of Sana’a and Aden. Al-Hawtah, Al-Mukalla, Taiz and Tihama.
Throughout history, the Yemeni mini-states have left some of their physical traces in the form of religious buildings (schools and mosques), which are embodied in the landmarks of the apostolic state and Tahiriyya states in Taiz, Rada'a and Jubun, the Al-Yafariyya in Shibam, the Ayyubid state in Taiz and Sanaa, the Sulayhid state in Jeblah and Sanaa, and the Mamluks in Tihama, that's afore the influences of the countries that occupied Yemen extend or their cultural and architectural influences intertwine with the fabric of the local surroundings and melt into them.
All the way through religious history, the role of the mosque was not limited to performing the rituals and spiritual obligations believed by the main sects, but rather it performed its educational role through well-known religious schools that played vital roles in introducing these beliefs. History still preserves the role of the Ash'ari Mosque in Zabid, which was considered an Islamic university like other mosques and schools that have existed throughout history, in addition to the cabins and ribats that were established for foreign students from all over Yemen and the Islamic world. In addition to Zabid, there is the historic Jableh School, the Jabba School in Maafer, the Tarim School in Hadramaut, the Sanaa School (the Great Mosque), the Dhahyan School in Sa'ada, the Shamsiya School in Dhammar, and others.
Thus, writing about mosques and historical religious monuments in Yemen is surrounded by many challenges, the most important of which is collecting historical material about them, especially those that have remained far from being discussed and defined. Through this approach, we try in “Khuyut” to present another image of it that illuminates some neglected aspects. This comes in an effort to place the reader at the heart of the spiritual and cultural diversity that Yemen has witnessed throughout its Islamic history. We are also hoping that it will be a base on which more scripts will be accumulated and become a diverse research material in the future on everything related to the history of mosques in Yemen.
