Islamic Urbanism

Abstract

The term ‘Islamic urbanism’ has emerged in the twentieth century originally among architectural and urban historians as an umbrella term that refers to the form and culture of urbanized communities in which the majority of the population adheres to the faith of Islam. Today, it is often used to refer to the spatial manifestations of the process of urbanization in much of the Muslim World. In this fashion, some may view Islamic urbanism as different from the earlier Orientalist conceptualization of the ‘Islamic city’, while others may consider it as a more-nuanced extension of the same notion. Islamic urbanism is a relevant category within urban geography because the concept of the ‘Islamic city’ was fundamental in theorizing urbanization and urbanism in the Middle East, the Arab World, and possibly the rest of the Muslim World.