The city of Jerusalem was characterized from other historical and religious cities as being sacred to the three monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. This is not found in ancient or current cities as the majority of religious cities are specific to one religion.
In fact, the religious status of Jerusalem has overshadowed other aspects: while the city's architectural characteristic had key developments, and has many buildings of heritage, most efforts were concentrated on studying religious monuments, therefore most studies were on buildings of worship like synagogues, churches, mosques, schools and institutions directly or indirectly related to its religious status.
Perhaps this explains the lack of studies in secular and social aspects. To date, for example, and despite its importance and stature, there is no comprehensive study on the ancient Wall of Jerusalem, nor was there a serious study to examine the residential buildings, which harbored the inhabitants of Jerusalem through the ages, and this applies to some extent to the city's markets, and many of its non-religious private facilities.
To bridge the gabp, and out of a desire to increase some modest knowledge of the buildings of Jerusalem, the Dar al-Itam al-Islamiyya was chosen to be the subject of this book.[1]
[1] Note that the archive of the Welfare Association in the Program of Reconstruction of the Old City contains detailed information about the history and evolution and description of this architectural complex, in addition to a big collection of pictures and diagrams that cover all aspects of the complex. Therefore, this book contains a simple section of this archive, which is a summary that achieves its set goal. Those who wish to obtain more information should contact the office of the Welfare Association's office of Reconstruction of the Old City.