A Problematic Construct: ‘Islamic Architecture’

Abstract

This paper interrogates the origins and provenance of the term ‘Islamic Architecture,’ making the argument that it is misleading. The term reflects nineteenth- century Orientalist discourse and diminishes the remarkable diversity of architectural traditions found in the predominantly Muslim countries of Asia and North Africa. The paper will survey the early terminology used to discuss the architecture of European colonies in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and then discuss the reasons for rejecting the term ‘Islamic architecture.’ A major point will be to note how local traditions of architecture tend to trump the importance of religious function, so that the continuities between the architecture before and after the introduction of Islam are stronger than the similarities that emerged subsequent to conversion to Islam.