Stealing from the Saracens: How Islamic Architecture Shaped Europe by Diana Darke

Review by Mark Stanfield

The short:

A commanding, expertly-researched text that seeks to recover and set the record straight for the true Arab and Islamic nature of part of Europe’s architectural legacy.   

The long:

Diana Darke wrote this book, after many years spent living in the Middle East, and as a result of her education in architecture, and even earlier in the Arabic language and culture. Within the text are numerous photographs of buildings and artwork that solidly illustrate the several main points. This book challenges what European and US historians and other figures have proposed as architectural, religious, and even commercial origins. Through the introduction of the term “Gothic” architecture, a misnomer in today’s world, Darke explores ancient civilization and how its early influence on neighboring and distant cultures became instead a practice and business of appropriation. The idea that Gothic architecture should instead be considered Islamic is not a new concept either, as Sir Christopher Wren drew the same evidence-based conclusions in the 17th and 18th centuries.

To read or not to read:

Read immediately! Rarely does a book both change your life and how you look at life in general. It does so without great controversy, but rather through careful consideration of historical accounts, site visits, and a detailed analysis of architectural features in the MENA and European regions.  It tells a very different story than what all of us have come to understand through world history and appreciation of architecture.