information:extraction, stylistic:tone
Arabian

References on Islamic architecture generally agree that pre-Islamic architecture in the Arabian Peninsula had only limited influence on the development of Islamic architecture, at least by comparison with the influences of existing architectural traditions in the conquered territories beyond the peninsula. In western scholarship, a traditional assumption was that the Arabs of the early 7th century, at the time of Muhammad, were nomadic pastoralists who did not have strong architectural traditions. Thanks to more recent studies and archeological investigations, this view has since been revised and is now considered obsolete. According to scholar Beatrice Saint Laurent, early academic investigations into the history of Islamic monumental architecture led to the "flawed view that saw the roots of an Early Islamic monumental architecture and art solely in the traditions of the conquered regions". Scholars now agree that a rich architectural tradition also preceded the appearance of Islam in Arabia and the first Islamic monuments.

The major architectural contribution that took place in Arabia during the early Islamic period was the development of a distinctive Muslim mosque. The hypostyle mosque constructed by Muhammad in Medina served as a model for early mosque design throughout the Islamic world. Umayyad religious architecture was the earliest expression of Islamic art on a grand scale and the Umayyad Mosque of Damascus reproduced the hypostyle model at a monumental scale. Moreover, the Umayyads did not come from a cultural void and were aware of their own Arabian cultural history. Some scholars suggest they sought to continue the pre-Islamic Arabian architectural tradition of building tall palaces to symbolize the ruler's power.