The theft from Muslims (Al-Sarasn)

Diana Dark is a cultural expert in the history of architecture and its art, driven by her interest in early human civilization and the world's first buildings to study the Arabic language at Oxford University, and to trace the influence of Eastern religious architectural landmarks, especially in historic Syria, over decades starting from the 1970s. This resulted in this book. It is an expression of interest in Middle Eastern architecture that took a whole life, during which she explored many architectural models, accumulated many observations, made many comparisons, and reached important conclusions that fairly represent Arab architecture, Islamic / Christian, and place it in its proper historical context. She intended it as "a necessary and important correction" after the contemporary European mindset's preoccupation with its interior and its strong hostility towards migrants fleeing their countries, as she points out in the introduction to the book (p. 19). Thus, Dark advocates for historical truth over nationalist considerations, making her a honest artistic historian. Based on this integrity, she never aims "to tarnish the reputation of European architecture and its many brilliant achievements," but to "clarify that no one can claim 'ownership' of architecture, just as no one can claim 'ownership' of science," as she states (p. 529).