Islamic Urban Studies

The term 'Islamic cities' has been used to refer to cities of the Islamic world, centring on the Middle East. Academic scholarship has tended to link the cities of the Islamic world with Islam as a religion and culture, in an attempt to understand them as a whole in a unified and homogenous way. Examining studies (books, articles, maps, bibliographies) of cities which existed in the Middle East and Central Asia in the period from the rise of Islam to the beginning of the 20th century, this book seeks to examine and compare Islamic cities in their diversity of climate, landscape, population and historical background. Coordinating research undertaken since the nineteenth century, and comparing the historiography of the Maghrib, Mashriq, Turkey, Iran and Central Asia, Islamic Urbanism provides a fresh perspective on issues that have exercised academic concern in urban studies and highlights avenues for future research.

The term 'Islamic cities' has been used to refer to cities of the Islamic world, centring on the Middle East. Academic scholarship has tended to link the cities of the Islamic world with Islam as a religion and culture, in an attempt to understand them as a whole in a unified and homogenous way. Examining studies (books, articles, maps, bibliographies) of cities which existed in the Middle East and Central Asia in the period from the rise of Islam to the beginning of the 20th century, this book seeks to examine and compare Islamic cities in their diversity of climate, landscape, population and historical background. Coordinating research undertaken since the nineteenth century, and comparing the historiography of the Maghrib, Mashriq, Turkey, Iran and Central Asia, Islamic Urbanism provides a fresh perspective on issues that have exercised academic concern in urban studies and highlights avenues for future research.

Since the dawn of the oil era, cities in Saudi Arabia have witnessed rapid growth and profound societal changes. As a response to foreign architectural solutions and the increasing popularity of Western lifestyles, a distinct style of architecture and urban planning has emerged. Characterised by an emphasis on privacy, expressed through high enclosures, gates, blinds, and tinted windows, ‘New Islamic Urbanism’ constitutes for some an important element of piety. For others, it enables alternative ways of life, indulgence in banned social practices, and the formation of both publics and counterpublics. Tracing the emergence of ‘New Islamic Urbanism’, this book sheds light on the changing conceptions of public and private space, in the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, in the Saudi city of Jeddah. It challenges the widespread assumption that the public sphere is exclusively male in Muslim contexts such as Saudi Arabia, where women’s public visibility is limited by the veil and strict rules of gender segregation. Showing that the rigid segregation regime for which the country is known serves to constrain the movements of men and women alike, Stefan Maneval provides a nuanced account of the negotiation of public and private spaces in Saudi Arabia.

Introducing a new concept of urban space, Cities and Metaphors encourages a theoretical realignment of how the city is experienced, thought and discussed. In the context of ‘Islamic city’ studies, relying on reasoning and rational thinking has reduced descriptive, vivid features of the urban space into a generic scientific framework. Phenomenological characteristics have consequently been ignored rather than integrated into theoretical components. The book argues that this results from a lack of appropriate conceptual vocabulary in our global body of scholarly literature. It challenges existing theories, introduces and applies the concept of Hezar-tu (‘a thousand insides’) to rethink the spaces in historic cores of Fez, Isfahan and Tunis. This tool constructs a staging post towards a different articulation of urban space based on spatial, physical, virtual, symbolic and social edges and thresholds; nodes of sociospatial relationships; zones of containment; state of intermediacy; and, thus, a logic of ambiguity rather than determinacy. Presenting alternative narrations of paths through sequential discovery of spaces, this book brings the sensual features of urban space into the focus. The book finally shows that concepts derived from local contexts enable us to tailor our methods and theoretical structures to the idiosyncrasies of each city while retaining the global commonalities of all. Hence, in broader terms, it contributes to a growing awareness that urban studies should be more inclusive by bringing the diverse global contexts of cities into the body of our urban knowledge.

First Published in 2017. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an Informa company.

Wide range of case studies across the Islamic world Provides a new interdisciplinary perspective on the Islamic city Well illustrated with maps and photographs The mix of contributors is good, from well established and highly respected academics to younger, upcoming talents The issue of urbanism in the Islamic world is an enduringly popular area of study and investigation

This book sheds light on a particular facet of the link between politics and Islam through the analysis of the relationship between Islamism and the built environment. The relationship between Islam and politics has always been controversial, yet it has possibly never been as controversial as it is at the time of writing. This new edited volume sets out to explore the interactions between Islamisms and the built environment through issues such as: spatial negotiations between nation and Islam in the definition of national identity; everyday spaces and the making of Islamic milieus; the role of Islam in the making (and/or remaking) of state ideology via architecture and urban planning; the influence of globalization and transnational links on the spatial manifestations of Islam(ism); and transnational architectural exchanges through global Islam. It expands on these issues through case studies analysing the role of the built environment and the urban realm as major media in the making of Islamist politics. The case studies incorporate manifestations in Muslim-dominated countries, including those where Islam has been at the heart of state ideology (Pakistan and Brunei), those with influential grassroots Islamist networks (pre-revolutionary Iran and Indonesia), those that identify with Islam through global exchanges (United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan and Turkey) and countries where Islam is an increasingly significant reference utilized by political actors (Algeria and Lebanon). This book will appeal to students and scholars of architecture, urban studies and cultural studies, as well as those interested in the social and political aspects of the built environment.

In the southern German city of Stuttgart lives a pious Muslim population that has merged with the local population to create a meaningful shared existence. In this ethnographic account, the author introduces and examines the lives of ordinary residents, neighborhoods, and mosque communities to analyze moments and spaces where Muslims and non-Muslims engage with each other and accommodate their respective needs. These accounts show that even in the face of resentment and discrimination, this pious population has indeed become an integral part of the urban community.

This open access book explores key issues and presents recent case studies in areas of importance for the transition to a circular model of development in emerging African countries that will minimize resource consumption and waste production. The topics covered include the development of sustainable housing models, energy and environmental issues in building design and technical systems, recycling for a sustainable future, models for humanitarian emergencies, and low-cost and web-based digital tools with applications in architecture and archaeology. The aim is to contribute to a necessary paradigm shift with respect to urban planning and usage of territories, moving from a linear urban metabolism based on the “take, make, dispose” approach to a circular metabolism. Such a change requires a focus on the relationship between the architectural, urban, and physical aspects of new developments, climate, and energy demand, as well as the identification and integration of strategies and infrastructures to achieve a high level of efficiency and self-sufficiency. The book will appeal to all with an interest in sustainable development in the African context.