Tikrit Journal of Engineering Sciences (Apr 2013)
Dualism of Spirit-Material in Arabic Islamic Architecture
Abstract
Most of the current studies of Arabic Islamic architecture indicates different theoretical bases, whether in its definition or analyses, between different thinkers and researchers, dependable on the cultural, thoughtful and ideological bases of related references; thus, we can find Arabic Islamic architecture, both in urban planning and architectural point of view, in the light of deferent visions of: western thinkers, as an artistic forms and compositions, Arab national pioneers, analyzing its components on Arab society values, declined from its establishment of Arab desert and its impact on its rural culture; and radical Muslims thinkers restricting it on certain historical period, trying to reform it according to blocked theoretical rules, giving up its capability to development, sustainability and renewal.19The reason of all these problems is the ambiguity of the comprehensive emphasizes of one the most effective bases of Arabic Islamic architecture, which is the balance between the poles of spirit-material dualism; so that, some thinkers stood on one pole of this dualism, trying to study it through this defect point of view; meanwhile others stand on the other pole; without conscious or preconscious of the other pole, consequently the result of this hard shortage in identifying the bases of Arabic Islamic architecture in most of these studies.This research concludes an example of Arabic Islamic cities, Samarra City, which passed on different ages, lasting from Abbasid age to modern age, reflecting different spiritual and materialistic changes according to change in political, economic, social and cultural regimes; all these indicated by the vital ruins, obviously translating these changes, where it appoints the importance of the balance between both poles of this dualism, to illustrate vision of Arabic Islamic City, through these ages.
