Chapter III
Development of Islamic Architectural Arts Teaching in Universities to keep face with Future Innovations

A/ Stages of the Architectural Educational Curriculum

A/1- The elaboration of a unified curriculum for the teaching of Islamic architectural arts aims at unifying educational policies in the Islamic world with a view to elaborating the groundwork for an architecture of the future. The latter shall be characterised by Islamic authenticity and shall safeguard the unity of the architectural identity in a world where cultural dialogue is required to enrich human and civilisational values by means of art and creativity.

If prospective architecture is the target, then the study of authentic Islamic architecture should be the basis. On the other hand, while authentic architecture is constant and its conception cannot be misrepresented, prospective architecture is dynamic and prone to diversity, following the diversity of artists in the far-flung Islamic world.

A/2- To better understand the world of authentic Islamic architecture, it is necessary to study history and archaeology. Indeed, it is essential to look into the ages of Islamic history. Particular importance, however, should be given to the civilisational side of this history. History deals with eras, dynasties and the dominant political and economic relations; the history of civilisation deals with the cultural, scientific and technical progress in addition to the stages of the discovery of thought, of nature and of substance. Researchers in this field have not got at their disposal cumulative documents and artefacts resting in museums, whereby they can document their research papers and study directly the civilisational progress achieved by Muslims throughout history. The study of civilisational history requires a thorough comparative study of the different civilisations that preceded Islam, or those that came after it. It also requires that the role and impact of each civilisation on the other be explained. The study of civilisations and arts that flourished prior to the advent of Islam and their influence on Islamic civilisation may be one of the most important comparative research themes.

A/3- The historical and archaeological study is a means of getting acquainted with Islamic architectural features throughout history. It seeks to set the aesthetic, architectural and constructional bases for a prospective architecture. Undoubtedly, these bases should not be confined to mere field research. It is essential to study the intellectual heritage that has dealt directly or indirectly with aesthetic thought. “This thought shall indubitably be present in all the stages of prospective art, so as to help us lay the foundation for an architecture and an art that are closer to our cultural identity and our creative characteristics”.

A/4- The next stage is that of application during which modern art and contemporary architecture as desired by our Islamic societies are achieved in line with founding theories and authentic roots, and without imitation or hybridisation.

A/5- Finally,“the educational curriculum is based on the fulfilment of two primary elements. The first is concerned with the history of Islamic architecture and arts. The second is concerned with the setting up of Islamic aesthetics and laying the theoretical foundations for Islamic arts. It is necessary to continue historiographical and theorising research so as to consolidate the sciences of artistic history and artistic theorisation. What has been carried out so far is not sufficient”. We are, however, still pursuing the explanation of the hallmarks of Islamic civilisation through objective research, and we are still attempting to safeguard our heritage and gathering the fragments of our cultural identity which has greatly suffered because of cultural invasions and the collapse of our civilisation.

B/ Architecture, a Science and an Art

B/1- Faculties of architecture in the Arab countries are still new; engineering faculties preceded them in teaching architectural arts. Afterwards, architecture became an independent subject taught separately from civil and constructional engineering. It has even had, at certain times, independent faculties. Whether architecture has been independent from or subsidiary to civil engineering or to Fine Arts, its educational programs have not focused on Islamic architecture.

It is clear that architecture is both a science and an art. The fact that its teaching was related to civil engineering meant that it was considered a “science” before it came to be considered a creative “art”. On the other hand, its relation to Fine Arts meant that it was considered an art before it was considered a science. Some Western schools distinguish between the art of architecture which focuses on artistic aspects and the architectural engineering which focuses on scientific and mathematical aspects.

As for Arab countries, architecture remained an art and a “science” at the same time, where the exact and applied sciences are taught in addition to architectural design. But this specialisation did not prepare the graduate to practice architecture independently from the civil engineer; the latter was able to devise the design of any edifice independently from the architect (who started  to bear this title though).

B/2- Because the subjects of teaching in the architecture faculty are primarily scientific, their rules and codes are universal and common. They apply to all types of architecture, including Islamic architecture. However, the teaching of such artistic subjects as the history of architecture, the style of architecture and the history of civilisations did not focus on Islamic architectural arts. On the contrary, these arts were  part of the general university curricula; worse, they are still ignored in the study of architectural styles, the aesthetics of architecture, the techniques of architecture, sociology and semiology.

B/3- Some call for the foundation of an Islamic architecture department in the faculties of architecture. But it seems that the best approach is the following:

1. Faculties of architecture should teach all the subjects that pertain to this specialisation at the historical and stylistic levels, with a particular emphasis on Islamic architectural arts in special courses.

2. Set up postgraduate programs in Islamic architectural arts.

3. The study of Islamic architectural arts should comprise, at the bachelor level or at the level of postgraduate studies, theoretical subjects pertaining to the art of Islamic architecture. The latter are:

1. Theories of Islamic architecture and its characteristics and styles as well as Islamic schools in the art of architecture.

2. History of Islamic architecture and of the most prominent Muslim architects.

3. Philosophy of Islamic architecture and its aesthetic aspects as defined by contemporary researchers.

4. Islamic thought and aesthetic philosophy as defined by Muslim scholars.

5. Islamic sociology.

6. The history of Islamic civilisation.

7. Islamic archaeology and the findings of archaeological excavations in the Islamic world.

The scientific and applied subjects are the following:

1.  Field study of Islamic regions and buildings.

2. Effective participation in archaeological excavation, restoration and survey.

3. The study of constructional materials used in Islamic architecture and their dynamic and preventive role.

4. The elaboration of internal architectural and ornamental designs drawn up from Islamic architectural heritage, which are adequate to the modern conditions of civilisational, social and technical progress and in tune with future mutations.

5. Training for the analysis of modern and traditional Islamic architecture and its criticism within joint research circles.

B/4- The creation of Islamic architectural arts department, or even the emphasis on these arts within the scope of world architectural arts, requires two things. First specialised teachers should be trained. Second, the university library should be enriched with Islamic architectural reference books, compilations and atlases. It should be admitted that the teaching of Islamic architecture is in shortage of competent specialists in the history of Islamic architecture, aesthetic philosophy and archaeology. Besides, specialists with a master’s degree in Islamic architecture should be encouraged to prepare a doctorate in their field of specialisation, in order to prepare them for university teaching.

B/5- The university libraries' lack of reference books about Islamic architecture is a problem that has to be overcome. It is true that a number of orientalists have made a considerable contribution to ⁽¹⁶⁾ Islamic architectural history, and that some of their books have been translated into Arabic and Persian. Yet, most of these books did not link these architectural achievements to Islamic identity. Actually, the orientalists do not have the necessary deep knowledge of Islamic thought and Islamic aesthetics. It is up to Muslim Arab researchers to make up for this shortage, and this attempt is still at its beginning.

C/ Archaeology and Research in the Architectural Heritage

C/1- The archaeology that was oriented towards research in the field of Islamic architectural heritage was a pioneer in the furthering of Islamic architectural art study as well as the in the analysis of its characteristics. This study is conducted either through relics buried in the earth, or monuments, and buildings that are still fulfilling their function like the big mosques in Al Quds, Damascus, Cairo, Qairouan and Fes, or through those that have been restored and have become scientific and tourist sites bearing witness to the architectural heritage of Islam such as the Mosque of Cordoba, the Shah Mosque in Asphahan and the Abbassid Palace in Baghdad.

C/2- Researchers benefited from the engravings and the inscriptions on the walls of Islamic edifices in determining their history, their architect and the Sultan that had ordered their construction. They profited likewise from the knowledge of the edifice conditions through the study of minute deeds and of the endowments.

C/3- The archaeological missions carrying out works of excavation on the Islamic architectural heritage have recently enlivened. At the beginning, these missions were foreign, but now they have become national or joint. The results of these excavations have become substantial and have increased our knowledge of Islamic architectural heritage. A good example is the excavation works of the relics of Madinat Alzahra Palace in Cordoba which remind us of stupendous architectural achievements constituting the most important Islamic architectural edifices in Europe and the Islamic world, and which have been ignored before restoration works.  

C/4- Drawing attention to Islamic architectural heritage should not imply the expansion of museums as it is the case with the State Museum in Berlin which contains important Islamic artefacts, namely the façade of the Umayad Winter Palace Al Mshatta. Rather, the objective is to revive  historical memory and to consolidate our knowledge of the architectural heritage with a view to achieving continuity with tradition in modern architecture after a long-time rupture with authentic artistic origins.

As for archaeology, it conducts a field research on the buried and visible monuments of Islamic architecture so as to determine their age, their era, their style of architecture and the functions that they used to fulfil. Archaeological and architectural excavation is governed by universal rules. The latter determine the mode of excavation related to the study of stratigraphy by digging numbered squares and conducting the research. The archaeologist is assisted by an archaeological engineer, a linguist and a botanist; the laboratory study of the organic substances by means of coal /14/ helps determining the age. Indeed, coal /14/ is a radioactive organic substance that loses its radiation within a period of 5600 years, so the study of the loss rate of this radiation determines the age of such organic substances as plants, bones, clay and wood which were basic materials in ancient architecture.

C/5- Archaeological study requires a high technical culture as well as knowledge of the ages of the discovered pieces be they, mineral, wooden, of glass or of pottery. It also needs   knowledge of the history of Arab calligraphy and other calligraphies. The scientist has just to cast an eye on a piece of pottery or of ceramic to know the exact form of the jar, and hence to determine its age and other kinds of information pertaining to it. Still, symbols and signs are the most important evidence of the identity of archaeological pieces.

We have to pay tribute to the efforts of archaeology departments in universities. Recent as they are, they prepare a generation of excavating archaeologists able to fill the gap in the field of archaeological excavation. However, faculties of architecture should incorporate courses on how to assist archaeologists in archaeological excavation so as to prepare a number of architects to join excavation groups.

C/6- The task of archaeology is to achieve historical and real, scientific knowledge. It also aims at paving the way for protection, maintenance and restoration works so that they can be conducted according to the requirements and results of archaeological excavation. It is necessary to abide by the existing reality while restoring, for any addition may distort architectural truth and history as well. It is also obligatory to use the same substances in restoration and to respect architectural form and the construction style that was used.

D/ The Search for the Islamic Aesthetics in the field of Architecture and Art

D/1- Researches on Islamic aesthetics in architecture and art were conducted by Olig Grabar⁽¹⁷⁾ and Alexander Papadopoulo⁽¹⁸⁾. But these studies were subjective in that they endorsed a determined Islamic position or doctrine, and relied on doubtful Islamic sources to justify a biased analysis of art and Islamic architecture.

D/2- Some Arab scholars have studied issues of Islamic thought and excelled in shedding light on the intellectual bases of Islam, far from issues of jurisprudence and doctrines. But few are the Muslim and Arab researchers who have studied matters of Islamic aesthetics. What we are seeking is to set up an Islamic aesthetic philosophy relying firstly on Islamic thought and secondly on Islamic philosophy and Muslim scholars. Our interest has begun by the introduction of the aesthetic philosophy of Abu Hayan At-Tawhidi(19) taken from what has remained of his books after most of them have been burnt. We introduced it in the style of aesthetic terminology. Readers have now got a typical source about the conception of Islamic art taken from the philosophy of one of the most prominent names in the field in the Arabo-Islamic world. There is still room for the study of the conception of Islamic art in Al Jahid, Ikhwan Assafa, Ibn Khaldun, Al Farabi, and other scholars.

D/3- Islamic aesthetic theory differs from others, and particularly from Western aesthetic thought since its foundation by philosophers like Plato, Kant and Hegel until its development into an independent science at the hands of Baumgarten. It is necessary therefore to highlight Islamic aesthetics independently from or in comparison with Western aesthetics. This means that Islamic architectural arts study does not rule out the study of world architectural arts. We cannot explain our arts unless we compare them to other arts, namely Indian, Mexican, Classicist, Christian with its various schools, and Renaissance arts in Europe.

D/4- The study of Islamic art must start from its roots in pre-Islamic arts: Egyptian, Persian, Mesopotamian, Yemeni and Phoenician. Some historians went as far as to separate the first Islamic civilisation from pre-Islamic Arab civilisations such as the Mesopotamian, the Amori, the Phoenician, the Yemeni and the Nabatean. Actually, these civilisations were at the origin of those where Islam was embraced, namely Iraq, Syria, Yemen and the Arabian Peninsula. The Persian and the Byzantine civilisations present an example, for they served as a hinge between  ancient civilisations and Islamic civilisation. Persian civilisation was deeply influenced, both in its art and architecture, by the culture of Mesopotamia and was even an extension of it. Then, this civilisation merged, on one part, with Arab Bedouins who formed the Hattar and Hira civilisations during the times of the Munzirids Arabs, and, on the other part, with the Arabs of Tadmur during the era of the Khayran family headed by Zenubia. Arab features in art and architecture started, consequently, to take shape despite Greek and Roman political and cultural hegemony. The monuments of Hattar, Tadmur and the description of Khawarnak and Sadir palaces in Hira are live testimonies of the local features which are distinct from Classicist architecture.

D/5- In all the Sassanid, Classicist and Byzantine eras, the citizen architect, who used to be a teacher, was forced to relinquish his identity to the alien ruling power. Historians had also referred to the role Syrian architects played in the construction of giant long-standing monuments. Some of these long-standing monuments still exist in Rome itself such as the Caracalla Baths, the Trajan column, the Ceptimus Severus Victory Arch, and the Debruja bridge on the Danube River. The name of the Damascus architect, Apolledor stands out as one of the most genius architects that the Roman world had ever had.

D/6- Historians also pointed out to the Syrian architects who constructed the Aja Sofia Church following Syrian architectural concepts adopted in the Byzantine era and inherited by Muslim Turks. The architect Sinan, “ the De Vinci of the Muslims”, embodied the great architectural genius that was manifested in more than one hundred Islamic long-standing monuments. Perhaps, the Salimyya Mosque in Ederna was the most outstanding of these long-standing monuments. It is in this way that Muslim Arabs derived important architectural elements from their pre-Islamic heritage. These elements have enriched Islamic architecture and linked it with its ancient roots. The appearance of the quadrangular and spiral minaret which had its roots in the Mesopotamian ziqqurats is an example and proof of the long-term link with pre-Islamic original roots.

E/ Islamic Architectural Theories

E/1- The study of Islamic architectural theories should be the most important subject of specialisation in university. The features of this architecture could only be understood after the study of the theories that formed the basis of these features and the analysis of their doctrinal symbols. Along with pure mathematics that analyses the structure of architectural features, such as the arch, the dome, the mihrab (niche), the minaret and the Porche, there is a symbolic semiotic mathematics which is directly linked to Islamic religion. Both these types of mathematics help us understand the reasons for the emergence of Islamic architectural features. This shall, in turn, enable us to determine the identity of Islamic art and architecture. It shall also help us explain the lofty meanings which the architect drew from the tenets of Islam.

E/2- The goal of teaching Islamic architecture, history, philosophy and theory is to train  future Muslim architects who have been taught various world architectures and arts but their own, which was among the most outstanding aspects of their civilisation. The immediate aim is to enable Arab and non Arab Muslim students to understand Islamic architecture and analyse it scientifically and aesthetically. This is the stage of the development of appreciation and understanding. As for the stage of creativity within Islamic architecture, it is long and goes beyond the stage of studies. It is difficult to train a Muslim architect who is not aware or does not have a sense of belonging to his Islamic identity or Islamic thought and heritage. Belonging only comes by means of knowledge. Academic study is, therefore, a means of reinforcing belonging and preparing for the stage of creativity in accordance with Islamic architectural principles.

E/3- The creation of an original prospective architecture is the correct means of stressing the civilisational feature of Islamic religion. Unfortunately, some political trends and deviant  practices seek to negate its civilisational values and do their best to distort the image of Islam in the world. It is imperious to save Islamic civilisation from the yoke of ignorance, intellectual stagnancy, and diverted politicisation by means of a cultural renaissance that starts by restoring to the Islamic city its identity. Islamic architecture is the symbol and the dispenser of civilisation, and the characteristic of social and economic development in a balanced Islamic society.

F/ Islamic Architectural Design

F/1- Islamic architectural design is the most important subject in the experimental and practical field. Weekly design exercises and courses should be increased. They should, moreover, be accompanied by a detailed explanation which would help students correct their mistakes and rectify their attachment to the aesthetic and theoretical foundations bearing on Islamic architectural arts. The study of designs comprises fundamental elements that constitute the core of a correct design. The most important of these elements are:

1- Abiding by Islamic aesthetic thought drawn from the Sharia and the thoughts of ancient and modern philosophers and researchers, and by the blessed Surat : “Which then is the best? – he that Layeth his foundation on piety to Allah and Good pleasure? – or he that layeth his foundation on an undetermined sand-cliff ready to crumble to pieces ? And it doth crumble to pieces with him, into the fire of Hell. And Allah guideth not people that do wrong” (Tawba : 109).

2- Abiding by the function of the design, be it civil or religious. Islamic architecture was marked out by its functionality.

3- Meeting general conditions such as safety, security and stability, and observing special conditions of Islamic architecture such as Islamic customs and traditions as well as the climatic and social environments.

4- Studying the economic aspect of the design so that it suits the economic situation as well as the project budget.

5- Observing sanitary aspects, benefiting from traditional ventilation systems such as “badgir”; guaranteeing thermal insulation; providing electrical energy and taking advantage from solar energy and traditional non-conductor materials; using cement only when necessary because, unlike clay and wood,  it is a conductor of exterior heat and cold.

6- Applying modern techniques in such a way that the original character of architecture is preserved, and maintenance and work operations remain cost-effective and simple.

7- Achieving harmony with the architectural environment, i.e. buildings, open spaces, gardens, normal streets or streets with bridges.

8- Studying interior architecture within the limits of traditional aesthetics. Focus should be given to creativity and innovation. Using new materials that help achieve modern interior architecture in a way that suits modern life and conforms to traditional ventilation systems.

9- Returning to the principle of introversion in Islamic architecture as far as possible, and developing internal courtyards, halls and doorsteps which help protect the internal climate.

G/ Discovery of Innovative Talents

All the theoretical and practical subjects will undoubtedly help the student in carrying out his or her architectural design in accordance with environmental, social, economic and intellectual data. The primary task of the university is to prepare the student to carry out his or her designs in accordance with academic regulations. Yet, a far more important task is the discovery of innovative talents, in the sense that it is the most effective means of opening new horizons for prospective architecture. The latter is not a replica or an imitation of the architecture of the past. Nor is heritage a model for imitation and repetition. Heritage preserves identity. And if after having probed its depths, we find that we could belong to this identity, creative freedom will be the correct way towards the revival of the architectural heritage and its enrichment with unlimited individual inventions. Gone is the era of architectural doctrines. Personalism is the feature of modern art and architecture. It is necessary, therefore, to prepare the architect of the future to practice an architectural style that is changing both in its methods and its designs, and unchanging as to its belonging and identity. Innovative pluralism is a far-fetched objective toward which university curricula should aim. Creativity, however, should not entail separation from roots and origins. Otherwise, it will certainly fade into non-exsitence is the case with modern architecture which broke the link with its roots and with architectural thoughts, and has got lost in the darkness of creative wilderness. Nowadays, it is seeking in vain to return to its roots.

H/ Dictionaries and Islamic Architectural Terminology

H/1- Art and architecture are the language of signs and symbols, the language through which history, civilisation and national identity are analysed and the genuine creative level is determined. In order for this language to be read by its own people, it is important to unify its terminology. Unfortunately, and with relation to the Arabic language, the language of Islamic civilisation and Islamic religion, we are still staggering in the use of contradictory terms. This does not help us unify the reading of  architectural art and devise architectural designs.

H/2- Architectural terms are being coined by masons in all Islamic countries. But we are unable to choose common terms which help establish a clear and mutual dialogue between architects in teaching circles. Some orientalists attempted to gather, harmonise, compare and explain the meaning of some of these terms ⁽²⁰⁾. Other attempts focused on the translation of French and English architectural terms into Arabic ⁽²¹⁾.

H/3- The goal of these attempts was to unify academic terms. But the gap still persists between local dialectal terms themselves. There is no dialogue between  architects in the Arab world. Although the common feature between these terms is  standard Arabic, their common comparative study has not been conducted yet. University research centres and language academies should have undertaken this essential task.

I/ The Profession and Islamic Architectural Arts

The goal of studying and specialising in Islamic architectural arts is to exercise the profession of design and application in accordance with the foundations, theories and techniques which constitute the features and the traditions of Islamic architecture. It is to be admitted that specialisation in architecture is a new discipline in Islamic university studies. As for specialisation in Islamic architecture, it is still absent from architectural studies in the university. Until recently, specialisation has been in the hands of the mason. He might have been uneducated and made use only of primitive means and the available construction materials in architecture. This mason, truth be told, achieved wonderful constructions that attest to his genius and skill. Even the educated architect has not been able to hold candle to him so far. In applied and training arts institutes, teaching still depends on those teachers. In modern times, the construction of such giant long-standing monuments as Mohamed V Mausoleum in Rabat and the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca proves that the mason has attained the peak of his success.

Restoration of monuments still depends on those masons whose number is unfortunately on the decrease. Worse, the authorities make no effort to encourage the new generation to carry out their works. It is those masons who successfully undertook the restoration of Islamic buildings in all Islamic countries from Asphahan to Baghdad, and from Damascus to Cairo, in Tunisia, in Morocco and even in Cordoba.

I/1- The weakness of academic training, in general, and of the teaching of Islamic architectural arts, in particular, lies in the lack of practical  training. Importance is given only to theory, and specialisation is incomplete and requires a long experience. Moreover, it is difficult to train an architect specialised in Islamic architecture through theoretical studies alone.

I/2- The qualification of architects was carried out inside workshops. The training of an architect would start by the easiest steps such as preparing clay and cutting stones, and would end by design and construction. This training used to be supervised by skilled architects who would direct and train the apprentice to conduct all construction works. Thanks to these architects’ practical experience and skills, ornamentation and construction industry continued to flourish. It is noteworthy that specialised architects who had exercised the profession of construction, or part of it, are the most successful in designing and carrying out their projects in conformity with the traditional architectural character and in line with Islamic architectural features.

I/3- The objective of academic teaching is not only to train specialists in Islamic architectural design but also to train all people to appreciate Islamic architecture and understand its secrets. This way, the protection of the heritage and the continuation of its tradition in modern Islamic architecture of Muslims are guaranteed. This will in turn secure a market for the architects’ works.

I/4- It is deplorable that the movement of Islamic city inhabitants from ancient cities to modern ones since the fifties of this century has resulted in the neglect of the ancient city and even in its contempt, and has thus contributed to the trend of turning away from using motifs of Islamic architecture in modern buildings. An important goal of teaching, therefore, is to raise citizens’ awareness about the features of  Islamic architecture so that they would change their attitude towards it and become prouder of their heritage and more prepared to build modern and original architecture. Undoubtedly, the training of the inventive architect specialised in Islamic architecture should go hand in hand with the preparation of the contented beneficiary who appreciates this architecture. This satisfaction should not be achieved by merely stirring feelings of nationalism and heritage. It is necessary to generalise Islamic architectural culture in schools, make known its masterpieces, features and characteristics via different mass media and organise meetings, conferences and fairs to underline the importance of this architecture to a widest possible popular audience.