ARCHITECTURE IN THE ISLAMIC CIVILIZATION: MUSLIM BUILDING OR ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE

Abstract

The main problem of the theory in the arena of islamic architecture is affected by some of its Western thoughts, and stereotyping the islamic architecture according to Western thoughts; this leads to the breakdown of the foundations in the islamic architecture. It is a myth that islamic architecture is subjected to the influence from foreign architectures. This paper will highlight the dialectical concept of islamic architecture or muslim buildings and the areas of recognition in islamic architecture. It will also widen the knowledge in the characteristics of each point in time according to the stages of islamic architecture from the prophetic age moving through the architecture outside the city of Medina, the Caliphs, the Umayyad, Abbasid, and architectural models by spatial and time periods, taking Iraq as the example to explain how the Islam influents on architecture and vice versa.