Journal of Researches in Islamic Architecture

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Identifying ideal user is a basic function of theoretical debates of urban design.  Here, the situation of the concept of” Ideal user” is enquired in three main categories of social theories used in urban design discourses (i.e. socialistic theories, ecologistic ones and performance-based theories) and it is shown that none of them is of enough relevance to Islamic model of socio-spatial relations and there is critical conflicts for their simbiosis. The negation of middle-scaled groups of cultural society (i.e. the family and neighbourhood) in socialistic theories as well as the anti-idealistic and individualistic assumptions in the ecologistic theories make them unreliable for Islamic aims. The performance based theory in its turn bases its debate on non-honest relation from ethical pont of view and has not proper basics for Islamic view. So a new theory based on Quran and Ahadith is proposed for socio-urban interactions that can be summarized as: In Islamic view the out-of-home environment is a place for relations of the kind of the limited home-like ones that emerges from duties and rights that Islam puts on members of Islamic society. So it can be said that urban space is an expansion of the home inner space. And in this model the society is not seen as a unit composed of individualized persons whose individuality emerges by exiting home; but the community emerges from expansion of family nodes and sharing of borders of fields arranged around such centers and so the urban space is formed - in its turn-  upon nucleous made in developing homes. It is not made from summing up personal spaces and not by connection of them by in-between spaces. Here the definition of urban space as none-residential space or third place in which people look for none-residential relations is cicked out. In other words, in searching for Ideal User for Islamic theory of town design we do not look for “Islamic Fleneur” but we search for a human for whom Islam has made duties to become an ideal person and the responsibility of the urban space is aiding him to depart from existing condition to ideal one.

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Problem expression: The manifestation of modern thinking in urban life and, consequently, the spread of the culture of individualism and civic indifference in recent years, has faced problems for urban dwellers such as isolationism and reduced social interactions. Therefore, people's need for places for social interactions and psychological needs has become one of the necessities of urban life. Thus, recognizing human beings and how they relate to others as a social being, as well as examining potential camps and capacities for social action in order to achieve this, is very important and is one of the factors that many planners and city managers consider. For this purpose, in recent years, the issue of social interactions has been of great importance due to its impact on factors such as social cohesion and solidarity, responsibility and sense of belonging of residents, supervision and social security. To this end, many efforts have been made to create a suitable environment for the creation or increase of social interactions. In this regard, the focus of the planners has been on spaces such as local parks, social hangouts, neighborhood centers which in most cases have not been able to meet expectations. Meanwhile, mosques have been neglected due to their potential capacity to accept diverse functions and have long played a significant role in social interactions among residents. These inaccuracies have persisted to the point that mosques that have been the center of social interaction and interaction are currently content with only their religious role.
The Objective of research: In this research, an attempt has been made to examine the status of mosques and the effect it has on social interactions between residents.
Research Method: In order to achieve the objectives of the research, the present research approach is case-oriented. For this purpose, The Shahshahan neighborhood of Isfahan has been studied in order to achieve the goals of the research due to a large number of mosques. The present study is observational in terms of nature, descriptive-analytical, and data collection tools in this research. The statistical population of this study was selected according to Cochran's formula of 95 people, and the Spearman correlation coefficient was used to analyze the information.
Findings of the research: In order to evaluate the social interactions of the residents of Shahshahan neighborhood of Isfahan, four indicators of neighborhood members' knowledge, social contacts, social trust, and intimacy, and social relations, which are extracted from the theoretical literature of the research, have been used. According to the information obtained, the amount of social interactions in the Shahshahan neighborhood can be evaluated as average. Also, in order to investigate the role and position of mosques on the level of social interactions in the Shahshahan neighborhood of Isfahan, first, the level of presence of neighborhood members in mosques has been studied. According to the information gathered, about half of the members of the Shahshahan neighborhood have a small presence in mosques. Also, according to the observations made, many mosques in the the Shahshahan neighborhood are inactive, and most of the mosques that are active in the neighborhood have only been content with their religious role. Then, in order to measure the role of mosques on the social interactions of the residents of the neighborhood, criteria were developed for this purpose, and the role of the mosques of the neighborhood on the interactions and interactions between the members of the neighborhood was examined. The results show that mosques have a relatively significant impact on the social interactions of the residents of the Shahshahan neighborhood, and more than half of the statistical samples have stated that mosques are effective in their social interactions with their neighbors and all their neighborhoods. Finally, in order to investigate the role and position of mosques on the level of social interactions of residents of the Shahshahan neighborhood of Isfahan, Spearman correlation coefficient has been used to investigate the intensity and relationship between indicators. The findings show that there is a relatively high correlation between the presence of neighborhood residents in mosques and the impact that mosques have on social interactions between residents. Also, by accordance with different levels of social interactions, mosques can promote social interactions among residents to the highest level due to their ability to accept multiple maps as well as their capacity to accept and attend different sections of society. The results also show that more than half of the population of statistical sample of their social interactions in mosques as much as the conversation with members of the neighborhood and about 25% of the statistical sample expressed their level of social interactions in mosques at the highest level of social interaction (collective action). Have done. This means that the level of social interactions in mosques is at a high level, and these spaces also can strengthen social interactions among the residents of the neighborhood. Therefore, a deep understanding of the functions and functions of this sacred space, as well as a detailed and analytical look at the unique features of mosques and their use in today's cities can be useful in promoting social interactions between residents and increasing environmental quality.

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