From Modesty to Immodesty: A Quranic Reading of Change in the Islamic Iranian City

Abstract

To comprehend traditional Islamic urbanism, and draw lessons for contemporary practice, a deep conceptual understanding of the philosophical and religious parameters that influenced the development of Islamic cities is essential. Nowadays, traditional Islamic urbanism is appreciated and promoted in academic circles and architectural schools, while in many cases its lessons are ignored in practice. A mitigating factor is that traditional urbanism is considered merely in terms of the physical aspects of the city, whereas a city in fact contains and makes human lives. These two dimensions of the city reciprocally affect and inform each other and are both necessary to give a better understanding of Islamic urbanism, its historical traditions and its future. Urban paradigms can be studied and understood according to their principles and physical structures under two categories. One relates to specific historic periods and their cultural norms and associated technical and ecological conditions. The other is timeless and invariable across various eras. One of the significant timeless concepts, with its roots in Islamic philosophy and value systems, differentiating the character of today’s cities from traditional settlements, is modesty in traditional urban fabrics. This essay aims to identify the intellectual basis of this theme in Islamic beliefs, to investigate its roots in the Quran as the core of the Islamic tradition, and to venture some of its possible urban and architectural implications. The essay will suggest urban design principles and implications for those wishing to maintain traditional Islamic philosophical, religious and ethical precepts in contemporary urban design.