UoB Organizes the Second Annual Forum for Islamic Art and Architecture.. Dr. Haifa Al Khalifa Calls for the Sustainability of Islamic Architecture and Its Integration with the Muslim Human Entity

Sakhir – University of Bahrain (Ali Al-Sabbagh)
16 January 2022
The Head of the Department of Architecture and Interior Design at the College of Engineering at the University of Bahrain (UoB), Dr. Sheikha Haifa bint Ebrahim Al Khalifa, stressed the importance of Islamic architecture in the frameworks of modern architecture and interior design, and the different cultural meanings and values it represents, stressing the need to work on the sustainability of the Islamic architectural identity, and its integration with building the Muslim person and his entity.
The Department of Architecture and Interior Design at the College of Engineering at UoB recently organized the second Annual Forum for Islamic Art and Architecture over a period of three days, in celebration of the International Day of Islamic Art, which falls on the 18th of November of each year.
Moreover, Dr. Haifa Al Khalifa indicated that the Forum was held this year under the slogan “Different Interpretations of Urban Meaning and Identity”, with the participation of various specialists from Arab universities.
On its first day, the Forum hosted a number of professors specialized in Islamic architecture from several Arab universities, who participated in presenting a series of scientific lectures in the field of Islamic architecture, including Prof. Ahmed Rashid, from the Republic of Egypt, Prof. Ali Abu Ghanima, from the Kingdom of Jordan, and Prof. Dr. Khaled Tadmary, from the Republic of Lebanon, Dr. Imad Ota Bashi, from King Saud University in the Saudi Arabia, and Engineer Maryam Al-Nuaimi, from the Kingdom of Bahrain.
On its second day, the forum hosted the international speaker, Lord Richard MacLeod, from the United Kingdom, to talk about the British Islamic architectural identity in design, and Professor Dr. Khaled Hawass, from Egypt, who reviewed in his scientific paper the stages of development of Islamic architecture through the ages.
It is worth noting that the Forum attracted a number of interior designers, academics and experts, to talk about the importance of Islamic designs and decoration in interior design.
Also, the Forum concluded its third day with a lecture presented by the Head of the Department of Architecture and Interior Design at the College of Engineering on the different architectural styles of contemporary mosques in the Arabian Gulf, while Dr. Wafaa Al-Madani and Leila Karijica gave a lecture on the societal and spatial differences of mosques in Bahrain and in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In addition, a PhD student at HafenCity University in Germany, Hokiat Salimova, participated in a lecture on Islamic urban patterns in Soviet architecture, while Assistant Professor Madi Faleh presented a scientific paper on urban designs for the city of Tunis.
The forum included several virtual exhibitions of students’ work, including students’ projects in the Islamic Patterns course, and students’ work in Islamic architecture courses at the department level.

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