Western archaeologists have explored sites in the
Arabian Peninsula and the Persian Gulf since the
late 1800s, excavations in Mecca and Medina are
forbidden because these are holy cities.
Muslims were involved with European and
American archaeological activities from the begin-
ning—as authorities who negotiated with them
over excavation and ownership rights and as
laborers. Moreover, Muslims began to acquire the
necessary education and training to participate in
joint excavations with Westerners and to conduct
their own projects, starting in Egypt, tUrkey,
and Iraq. Muslim archaeologists also participated
in the founding and administration of national
archaeological societies and museums that now
exist in nearly all Muslim countries. In coop-
eration with international organizations, these
institutions provide new knowledge about the
past, help protect valued monuments and artifacts
from destruction as their respective countries
undergo rapid modernization, and often encour-
age tourism to locations of historical importance.
In addition, governments in recently independent
countries benefit from such institutions in their
efforts to forge national identities that link them
to their ancient and Islamic heritages.
See also architectUre; orientalism.
Further reading: Timothy Insoll, The Archaeology of
Islam (Oxford, U.K.: Blackwell Publishers, 1999); Don-
ald Malcolm Reid, Whose Pharaohs? Archaeology, Muse-
ums, and Egyptian National Identity from Napoleon to
World War I (Cairo: American University in Cairo Press,
2002); Stephen Vernoit, “The Rise of Islamic Archaeol-
ogy.” Muqarnas 14 (1997): 1–10.
architecture
Architecture is an area of human activity that
involves the design, creation, modification, and
use of the built environment. The study of Islamic
architecture follows the historical development of
the study of Islamic art and is generally included
with it by scholars.
As is the case with art, the history of the field
gave rise to notions that made use of religious and
racial characteristics to capture architectural ten-
dencies. Among these is the idea of the cultivated
garden as the paradise of former desert nomads
and the image of the reward of every good Muslim
or of the courtyard house as the type best suited
to Islamicate societies intent on secluding their
Women. These notions often closed the door on
further questioning and investigation and allowed
earlier scholars to concentrate on classifying and
describing buildings and other structures. In con-
trast, the courtyard house is currently understood
as a shared Mediterranean type that responded to
environmental factors ranging from climatic con-
ditions to societal mores. And scholars are begin-
ning to explore the agricultural and economic
functions of gardens as well as their organization,
cultivation, and imagery. These specialized studies
go along with new research in the areas of urban-
ism, the rise of markets and settlements, and the
patterns that are currently creating Islamicate
architecture in areas that were not historically
populated by Muslims, such as is found in Europe
and North America.
As is the case with Islamic art, some histori-
ans of Islamic architecture question the linkagesIbn Tulun Mosque (ninth century) in Cairo, Egypt (Juan
E. Campo)K 60 architecture