It’s very difficult to claim that there’s an accepted definition of Islamic planning or Islamic architecture. Islam is a theology, in addition to its being a style of life which covers all social, political, economic, educational, cultural, hygienic, & behavioral aspects.
On the other hand, architecture has always been a reflection of the cultural & natural environment of the society.
this same phenomenon applies to architecture at any place in the Islamic world.
For a great number of people, the concept of the Islamic architecture denotes tangible characteristics of some architectural features like (Almashrabia, the arch, the dome, or any other architectural pattern that distinguishes this typical style of architecture.
the most beautiful patterns which represnt these features can be seen in the official buildings like those of the Mamluk’s period in Egypt, the Ommayad’s in Syria, the Abbaside’s in Iraq & the Spanish or Persian architecture.
But where is Islam in all this? It’s a difficult question to answer. Extravagance in the architecture of mosques was a natural expression of the luxurious style of life in fashion at those periods. But it didn’t express the original essence of Islam. the Prophet’s tradition prohibits using colors in mosques, in order to attribute purity & holiness to the architecture of the mosque. the tradition forbids also using (Al-Mehrab) cause of its similarity to the alter used by other sects.
But the residential buildings at those times spontaniously reflected the cultural & climatic environment of the Islamic community, & the abstract values of the Muslim family.
Islamic architecture was always an expression of the latest & advanced technological achivements at the science of construction prevolent at its time.
from another angle, the urban structure of the Islamic cities was almost always a reflection of culture, of social behaviour, & of human relations which emerged from the teachings of Islam. the structure of the city was planned to cover the desires of the ruler, not the desires of the society as its stated in Islam. therefore it is very difficult to find a general rule upon which we can define Islamic architecture, because there are certain variable and stable factors which affect Islamic architecture. the stable factor in all places & in all times are the teaching of Islam.
attributing general rules to any region ass fixed features of Islamic architecture will not be reasonable. yet it is possible to find out some of the Islamic cultural features which can be reflexed or Islamic architecture at the different regions of the Islamic world. these characteristics are: purity, simplicity, privacy, coherence, & spontanious denotation of the needs & vacations.
from the evacational point of view, Islamic architecture in its broad sense, must respond to the needs. these must in turn conform with the teachings of Islam. every Muslim designer or planner must conceive these teachings.
argument may extend, & opinions may vary on the revival of the cultural values of Islamic architecture in contemporary architecture. yet revival of these values don’t necessarily mean an imitation or simplification of the design of these buildings as some people might imagine but we must begin a new active era of construction, & design. then the newly constructed buildings will be the tangible substance of our argument. there would be a chance for specialists & non-specialists to criticize & refine these features.
we ask any one who represents religion to join our discussion because Islamic values in old or contemporary architecture must have had their reflections on the daily applied teachings of Islam at home, or at office. in other words we want to know the ideal pattern of buildings or streets of the contemporary Islamic city from the religions point of view.