Representing Iranian-Islamic Identity in Iranian Contemporary Cities Structure

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A B S T R A C T Urban identity could be considered as the result of interaction between social identity system and urbanism system. The term “Islamic City” is defined only by considering the physics of the city and reducing the concept of city to physical elements. Current researches are carried out without considering the relationships between elements and parts of Islamic city. The main objective in this research, is to focus on the principles governing Islamic city which have their roots in Iranian identity and govern aspects of urban life, such as social, political, economic and physical space of the city. Studying concepts of center, periphery and communications as the main elements of urban identity and matching each of the physical elements in aforementioned arenas could help with understanding the Islamic city structure and its organization and relations governing it. The significance of religious, social, and economic elements in Islamic city match the Contemporary urbanism identity in Iran and the concept of center-periphery theory.

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Representing Iranian-Islamic Identity in Iranian Contemporary Cities Structure * Dr.MARYAM KAMYAR1, M. Sc. ZAHRA JAFARI SPOUREZI2 1 Department of Architecture &Art studies, Iranian Institute for Encyclopedia Research (IIER), Tehran, Iran 2Department of Urban planning, Faculty of Art and Architecture, Tarbiat Modarres University, Tehran, Iran 1E mail: mpkamyar@gmail.com , 2E mail: Zahra.Jafari@gmail.com A B S T R A C T Urban identity could be considered as the result of interaction between social identity system and urbanism system. The term “Islamic City” is defined only by considering the physics of the city and reducing the concept of city to physical elements. Current researches are carried out without considering the relationships between elements and parts of Islamic city. The main objective in this research, is to focus on the principles governing Islamic city which have their roots in Iranian identity and govern aspects of urban life, such as social, political, economic and physical space of the city. Studying concepts of center, periphery and communications as the main elements of urban identity and matching each of the physical elements in aforementioned arenas could help with understanding the Islamic city structure and its organization and relations governing it. The significance of religious, social, and economic elements in Islamic city match the Contemporary urbanism identity in Iran and the concept of center-periphery theory. CONTEMPORARY URBAN AFFAIRS (2019), 3(2), 55-62. https://doi.org/10.25034/ijcua.2018.4701 www.ijcua.com Copyright © 2018 Contemporary Urban Affairs. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Urban identity is one of the complex concepts in urbanism. It is a multidimensional phenomenonwhich presents various fundamentals and meanings from various aspects. In a general view, urban identity could be considered as a result of organized interaction of social, cultural, economic, religious systems and urbanism system; an approach which has focused on identity along with alterity and as a result, emphasizes the unit of analysis of itself and others in the field of identity. However, when urban identity is mentioned, the relationship between identity and complex concepts such as culture and nationality, a complex concept is emerged which confronts urban identity with various theoretical approaches. This meaning is of a considerable significance in Iranian urbanism, for any source of Iranian-Islamic urban identity has impacted the urban identity structure in each era and in a certain way and formed the urban cultural identity. The Iranian-Islamic urban identity has always been evolving and Maalaa has categorized it in a triangle of identity sources of Iranian, Islamic andurbanism system. The focus on urbanism system in studying urban identity in Iran indicates that it has been based on dividing city into three certain concepts since the ancient times; Center, surroundings and communication. The surrounding part in Iranian-Islamic city which includes the main element of neighborhood with its specific structure, not only does not have privileges in various parts of the city, but also along with including ethnic diversity, it includes the poor and the rich. And concepts of north, south, up and down were not common as they are considered today. Also, each of the neighborhoods, due to being located in directions which had the best and nearest paths with the villages of the same tribe, in addition to preserving and improving their collective identity, would affect the family relationship which are considered important by Islam. Physical system of the establishment of the outer shell of cities is affected and representation of the social and cultural system of the society. The rich Islamic culture was mixed with the Iranian social ideology after entering Iran and it was presented in new physical elements by explaining the current concept and defined the new overview of Iranian-Islamic human towards city and urban communities. Studying and restoring the smart system governing the traditional structure of Iranian-Islamic cities is a proper solution in understanding the principles of success in these cities in the expression of Iranian-Islamic urban identity. Due to immortality and comprehensiveness and universality of Islam, Islamic principles are constant principles which are interpreted in certain ways in various locations and times considering the intellectual and objective resources, while its results is emerged as a unity in diversity in the Islamic geography in Iranian culture. 2. Statement of the Problem Iran includes cities with a great cultural-historical significance and full of unique fields with physical and social representations that provide a context for Iranian-Islamic identity. These field are generally ignored by the researchers or the researches have lacked a comprehensive view of their Iranian identity values. However, by reviving, studying and analyzing an identity based approach, these values and concepts could be preserved and improved. The term “Islamic city” was first coined in the nineteenth century by the orientalists, and later expanded by them. (Naqizade (b), 2010; Falahat, 2011) The approach orientalists have undertaken in regards to Islamic cities in Iran is a one-sided view ad related to the Islamic approach as the only basis for the analysis. However, based on methodology, this type of analysis is generally a descriptive analysis of the physical representation of the city without analyzing the construction process and the principles governing them. (Hakim, 2002; cited by Danesh, 2010) The majority of these studies tried to compare what is called Islamic cities in isolation from the Iranian social and cultural context through a comparative method with a negative attitude. Such descriptions are based on presupposed criteria which have their roots in social culture and their western approach; this leads to presupposing principles as the criteria of ideal city and roll-calling these criteria in their studied cities. (Falahat, 2011). 3. Research Question Considering the improper copying in historical analyses of Islamic urbanism in Iran, studying Iranian-Islamic identity in studying Islamic cities is neglected. In order to reach research data, the content is arranged in the main question so that the question is led the main answer through this. How has the role of Iranian-Islamic identity represented in the culture of Islamic urbanism in Iranian geography period? 4. The Theoretical Framework of Understanding Iranian-Islamic City In analyzing the Iranian urban elements, elements are divided into categories such as space, time, economics, power, culture, sign and expression. (Fakuhi, 2010) After the entrance of Islam into Iran, an interpretation of individual and society is provided and its instances are implemented in urban space with the current physique. The Islamic-Iranian culture led to dynamicity of the civil society and people in the society with the mottos such as equality, brotherhood and horizontal and vertical movements, so that there was a close relationship between the concept of city and Islamic-Iranian culture, initially. (Ziyari, 2003) that is, after the entrance of Islam, the concept of city in Iran reaches a certain organization which is based on the physical format of the city in the Sassanid with a new representation. The Sassanid urbanism system has found a regular shape based on urban crowd control. The mechanism for Sassanid cities is designed in order to fulfill the hidden objectives of government policies in Sassanid cities and in accordance with social stratification institution of Sassanid era which is completely in line with Sassanid urban crowd control.

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