Overview

New Islamic Urbanism traces the changing relationship between public and private space in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, over the past seventy years, from the dawn of the oil era to the present, paying particular attention to the role architecture plays in defining public and private spaces. Combining Michael Warner’s concepts of publics and counterpublics with theories of space and sociological approaches to architecture, Stefan Maneval explores the concept of New Islamic Urbanism in Saudi Arabia, arguing that this architectural trend, which is characterized by an emphasis on privacy protection through high enclosures, gates, blinds, and tinted windows, constitutes for some an important element of piety. At the same time, it enables different conceptions of privacy, banned social practices, as well as the formation of publics and counterpublics. Based on rich ethnographic data collected by the author, New Islamic Urbanism challenges normative assumptions on gender segregation in Muslim societies and provides a nuanced account of the meaning of publicness and privacy in Muslim contexts in general. It will be of particular interest to an academic readership in Middle East and Islamic studies, as well as in architecture, urban planning and anthropology.  

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9781787356443

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Reviews

'New Islamic Urbanism offers a lively picture of how society in Jeddah negotiated and understood the private and public spheres through architecture over the last century. Unlike other works within the discourse of the Islamic city, this book considers various social groups, including immigrants, foreign labourers, political dissidents, religious minorities, and members of the gay community. This social inclusion presents a clearer picture of how public and private spaces in Jeddah can be understood.' International Journal of Islamic Architecture 'A welcome addition to the growing literature on the politics of the relationship between Islam and the built environment. With its accessible style, this rich book will be of interest to an interdisciplinary audience including both scholars and students.' International Journal of Middle East Studies

Author Information

Stefan Maneval holds a PhD in Islamic Studies from Freie Universität Berlin. He is co-editor of Muslim Matter (2016), a photo book documenting the diversity of everyday Muslim life and material culture, and author of several articles on Saudi Arabia. Living in Berlin, he holds a research position at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg. His current research project focusses on contemporary theology from Lebanon.

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