ABSTRACT
The relationship between the Islamic world and modernity in architecture is a topic of debate in which, with varying degrees of success, architects, designers, and historians of art and architecture have been involved for more than two decades. For some time now the Aga Khan Award for Islamic Architecture, and more recently, the Aga Khan Program at M.I.T., have been a source of inspiration and have provided a venue for this debate. In my opinion, however, the premises underlying the debate have not been expressed completely: the debate does not take into account the profound crisis that has affected the entire design process over the past twenty years.
