Reply #22: "should the word Mosque be capitalized?" [View All]

[Mairead]

The rule in English is that nouns are capitalized only when part of something's name. So in 'Blue Mosque' both words are capitalised because the building's name is 'Blue Mosque'. But 'the mosque two streets over' doesn't get capitalised because 'mosque' in that case only tells us its nature (it's a mosque), not its name.

However, sometimes one can capitalise and then claim to have elided the rest of the name. 'The construction of Istanbul's Blue Mosque was begun in 1609 CE. The Mosque {'Blue' being understood) is one of Istanbul's most famous landmarks today.'

Hope that helps.