Dr Rabah Saoud 

Assistant Professor Department of Architecture, Ajman University

Title of presentation :Modernism, Identity and Architecture in North African Cities  

Traditionally the Muslim city exhibited strong social and cultural values and practices which were greatly influenced by Islamic beliefs.  The last two centuries brought rapid and overwhelming changes in the form, function and symbolism of the city.  Initiated by colonialism and later expanded considerably by modernisation programmes of independent Islamic states, these changes have created conflicting urban features transformed in contradictory tendencies in the Muslim urban society, often expressed by the growing conflicts between modernity and tradition and raised issues of identity and cultural continuity.  These were further hampered by the widening gap between modern built environments and the traditional medina, leading to confusion, division, and struggle, which sometimes transformed in bloody conflicts as in North Africa.  The present paper will examine these changes based on their socio-cultural significance.  It will argue how rapid modernisation has resulted in the fragmentation of the urban form and the destruction of the social and cultural substance of the Muslim city greatly affecting local societies