Buildings in Islamic architecture are distinguished by dazzling features in general, especially religious buildings such as mosques, schools, and shrines. The literature could not find a clear identification of reaching the dazzling concept. Moreover, researchers in the Islamic architecture discipline did not focus on determining sufficient knowledge of the design methods of applying the dazzling approach in Islamic architecture, and they did not clarify a specific detailed vocabulary of Islamic dazzling concepts. However, the problem of the study was identified by observing the literature and buildings. Therefore, the formulated question encompasses “the unclear knowledge of applying designing procedure of dazzling characteristics in Islamic Architecture buildings.” The study raised an important question: “What is the design methodology of dazzling features in religious buildings within Islamic Architecture.” The study aims to identify the practical design elements, principles, and rules of the dazzling characteristics in religious buildings in Islamic architecture to draw out a guideline that designers can apply in contemporary Islamic Architecture. The theoretical framework of the dazzling concept was constructed to achieve this aim, with variables and sub-variables highlighted to identify the design methodology that can actualize dazzling concept in Islamic architecture by reviewing previous studies. The abstracted variables used in designing the checklist were applied to analyze the cases formally. Selecting cases from religious buildings from Islamic style depends on specific criteria. However, the results analyzed statically showed that dazzling concept in Islamic architecture applied in five major levels (structure, form, architectural elements, interior space, and ornamentation) with seven main principles (richness, exaggeration, uniqueness, complexity, proportion, and ambiguity). Richness is the most affected factor in applying clear dazzling concept, while exaggeration and uniqueness are second-rated factors that can impact the value. Dazzling concept is an essential characteristic that designers should apply in contemporary Islamic architecture.

The reconstruction of Mosul after 2017 has produced a residential landscape in which design intent systematically fails to survive construction. While existing scholarship examines the materiality and symbolism of post-conflict façades, it neglects the process conditions under which aesthetic specifications are overridden. This study examines the relationship between form and materiality in contemporary Mosul residential architecture through a mixed-methods design: formal visual analysis of twelve recently completed façades and a structured survey of forty-five practising architects. Visual analysis reveals a sophisticated design language of controlled complexity (orthogonal massing articulated through contrasting materials) that is rarely realised in built form. Survey data show that architects are excluded from construction supervision in seventy-six per cent of projects, with client intervention affecting seventy per cent. Architectural oversight emerges as the primary determinant of aesthetic integrity: projects most consistently achieve material–form coherence where architects retain supervisory authority, whereas exclusion produces four distinct pathologies: material substitution, execution degradation, language override, and ornamental hollowing. The study advances the concept of an aesthetics of interruption, understood as the systematic degradation of designed form–material relationships through the fragmentation of professional authority. It demonstrates that aesthetic degradation in post-conflict reconstruction stems not from design incapacity but from broken process structures. Preserving architectural quality requires contractual frameworks mandating designer supervision and material-substitution protocols that protect design intent.

Post-conflict reconstruction research has examined façade materiality and symbolism, yet the process conditions under which aesthetic specifications are systematically overridden during construction remain neglected. This study investigates why designed architectural aesthetics fail to survive implementation in post-2017 Mosul, Iraq. A mixed-methods design combined formal visual analysis of 12 recently completed residential façades with a structured survey of 45 practicing architects. Survey data reveal that designers are excluded from construction supervision in 76% of projects and that clients intervene in material and color selection in 70% of cases. Visual analysis identifies a sophisticated design language—orthogonal massing articulated through contrasting materials—that is rarely realized in built form. Where designers retain supervisory authority, projects most consistently achieve material–form coherence. The study advances the concept of an aesthetics of interruption (the systematic degradation of designed form–material relationships through the fragmentation of professional authority during construction). Exclusion produces four distinct pathologies: material substitution, execution degradation, language override, and ornamental hollowing. The findings demonstrate that aesthetic degradation in post-conflict reconstruction stems not from design incapacity but from broken process structures. Safeguarding architectural quality requires contractual frameworks mandating designer supervision and material-substitution protocols that protect design intent.