The second section concentrates on the current issues of...

The second section concentrates on the current issues of urban design and its implications on urbanism in the future Islamic State, particularly recent theories of globalization and culture. The third section tries to address the context of urbanism in the future Islamic cities based on Islamic doctrine, and depict a picture of 'Islamic globalization' in the Islamic State of Al-Mahdi (a.s).

However, it is important to note that this study attempts at analyzing concepts and establishing a broad image of the planning regulations for the state of Imam Al-Mahdi (as). Further studies and extensive researches are essential. 1. Islam and Urbanism The perfect Islamic state, associated with the appearance of Al-Mahdi (a.s) would not be built from scratch. Current urban fabrics of existent cities are the basis for its construction.

This realistic vision requires a pragmatic analysis of the current urban forms. Although future Islamic State of Al-Mahdi (a.s) would conjoin all the cities in the globe together, this study focuses on the specific features of traditional Islamic cities, as they are considered idols and references for many of the researchers in this field.

Before analyzing issues of urbanism in Islamic cities, it is useful to define the term 'urbanism' and its related components, which would emphasize its significance in building our cities. Urbanism, Meaning and Objectives Urbanism is defined as "the study of cities; their economic, political, social and cultural environment, and the imprint of all these forces on the built environment" (Encyclopedia). Urbanism is about creating human communities and living together. It is about 'quality of life'.

It is dynamic, diverse, moving, consistent, aesthetic, and systematic. Urbanism is beyond limits, the urban designer is an artist, ecologist, archaeologist, socialist, scientist, historian, and philosopher. The word 'urban' refers to the city life, in contrary to rural. Urbanism is a system established to overcome problems of urban rural areas, and pursue a clear understanding of contemporary living.

In the beginning of 20th century, the awareness of urbanism increased in many parts of the world, basis for planning established, and town planning laws and building laws for urban areas were adopted.