ABSTRACT
The Islamic city first became a serious subject of research around the first quarter of this century. Since then various studies have been undertaken and articles written. By the late 1960s distinct approaches and methodologies of study were identified, which could be summarized as the existence of an Islamic city pattern, the precise study oflocal conditions, and the examination of a specific building type such as the mosque. 1
The general trend by Western scholars was during the early years of this century, to accept Islam as a basis for the interpretation of the morphological pattern. This basis, however, was narrow and dependent largely on a descriptive analysis of urban form/ organization and architectural design. Some scholars within the last fifteen to twenty years have tended to play down the importance oflslam in the interpretation of the city. 2
This study demonstrates that the earlier reliance on Islam as a basis for analysis was essentially sound. However, the results of their work are somewhat distorted, largely because of their emphasis and methodology. They generally followed a descriptive approach to the physical manifestation of the city without equal emphasis and analysis of the processes ofbuilding and urbanization.
