Islamic Cities/Muslim Cities

January 27, 2008

It has been interesting this term to see what kind of pedagogical mileage I can get out of maps and overhead images from Google Earth. Above is an image from the outskirts of Cairo, a typical example of the spread of unregulated housing onto agricultural lands. Across the bottom right a multi-lane freeway cuts across the image. Running vertically through the image is a canal.

In all likelihood 100% of the people who live in this area are Muslims. So can we call this an example of an Islamic city? Superficially the city looks something like traditional Cairo with its narrow streets and lack of a strong grid system or radiating streets. But more important is what is lacking. In looking at similar photos of traditional Cairo one notices lots of white squares marking important mosques. Traditional Cairo was spatially organized by these mosques, but in the above photo there is no hint of any mosques. There will be mosques here, of course, but they are present in makeshift storefronts and without any monumental presence. Traditional Cairo had space devoted to the ruling class (at the citadel for centuries).. and also there were elite estates and homes that stood out from less well to do homes. In this city there is simply an undifferentiated mass of apartment buildings.. with no hints of civic pride or control.

So we could conclude that although we see a Muslim city in the picture, it can hardly be thought of as an "Islamic city." By that latter term we should mean a city that has developed organically from traditional Islamic values and social practices. This edge city is the product of modern economic forces that long ago overwhelmed the city building that we find in traditional Cairo. This is not to say that there will not be examples of the longue durée of Islamic patterns.. but those details will now be in the margins.

It is striking that in modern Islam various popular groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood or Hezbollah have incorporated social concerns into their religious message. The above image partly explains the success of these groups: they are confronting a social situation that traditional Islam did not encounter. The pared-down message of Islamic fundamentalism also finds a ready home in places that have little in the way of shrines or sacred structures. Perhaps in this case it is the place that gives rise to the beliefs.