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.