REVIEW

Privacy, modesty, hospitality, and the design of Muslim homes: A literature review

  • Zulkeplee Othman ,
  • Rosemary Aird ,
  • Laurie Buys
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  • School of Design, Queensland University of Technology, Faculty of Creative Industries, Brisbane, Australia

Received date: 04 Jul 2014

Accepted date: 23 Dec 2014

Published date: 01 Apr 2015

Copyright

2014 This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Abstract

Traditional Islamic teachings and traditions involve guidelines that have direct applications in the domestic sphere. The principles of privacy, modesty, and hospitality are central to these guidelines; each principle has a significant effect on the design of Muslim homes, as well as on the organization of space and domestic behaviors within each home. This paper reviews literature on the privacy, modesty, and hospitality within Muslim homes. Nineteen publications from 1986 to 2013 were selected and analyzed for content related to the meaning of privacy, modesty, and hospitality in Islam and the design of Muslim homes. Despite the commonly shared guidelines for observing privacy, modesty, and hospitality within each home, Muslims living in different countries are influenced by cultural factors that operate within their country of residence. These factors help to shape the architectural styles and use of space within Muslim homes in different ways. Awareness of the multifactorial nature of the influences on the Muslim perception of home and the use of space is necessary for architects, building designers, engineers, and builders to be properly equipped to meet the needs of clients.

Cite this article

Zulkeplee Othman , Rosemary Aird , Laurie Buys . Privacy, modesty, hospitality, and the design of Muslim homes: A literature review[J]. Frontiers of Architectural Research, 2015 , 4(1) : 12 -23 . DOI: 10.1016/j.foar.2014.12.001

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