Advisor: Prof. Rizq Sha'ban

Abstract:
This study aims to investigate the privacy in housing design as an individual need for Arabic and Muslim families which has an important influence in defining houses shapes and characters, and demonstrate the development of Islamic legislations to prove the importance given by Islamic legislation to this need and the negligence of current imposed legislation of it.

The importance of privacy in residential areas and individual houses in general was discussed in chapter (2) after an overview of the aims and objectives of the research was given in chapter (1).

In chapter (2) privacy in residence was discussed in general, its importance in the organization of Arabic Islamic houses was demonstrated relating that to the importance given to this need by Islamic legislations with its constant and religious sources, which revealed the individual commitment and respect to these legislations and directions.

Chapter (3) privacy was discussed with respect to Islamic legislation in particular after presenting the sources and characteristics of these legislations in general, and then an overview of the most important principles and laws concerning the process of providing privacy in all levels of the city beginning with the streets, going through residential areas until reaching houses itself, was given to prove tile effect of privacy in the urban planning of the city and its urban components and their relation with each other such as dividing it to sectors characterized by providing privacy in most of its designing steps, and the hierarchy in designing street of the city from general streets to semi general to semi private to private or cul-de-sac ones.

Chapter (4) presents the current building legislations in Arab countries with its foreign sources and characteristics and discussed its effects on privacy, which is followed by a comparison between these legislations and Islamic legislations with respect to privacy.

In order to prove the side effects of current building legislation concerning privacy, a case study of a new residential housing scheme 'in Jordan was chosen in chapter (5).

An analytical overview to the project of Abu-Nuseir residential area, including its physical characteristics, and land uses and the main alms of the project defined by the housing corporation of Jordan and the designer of tile project was given in the beginning of chapter (5).

After that certain residential sectors of the project were selected, that have different characteristics sties, and an interview of house to house with 75 random samples was held to prove the hypothesis of this research concerning tile effects of current legislation on privacy, according to the results of tile interview questions which revealed the importance of privacy in tile life of individuals and how they tried to provide it *in their own way by asking the owner of each sample to answer four questions about the changes they made on their houses after occupancy and the reasons behind these changes. The answers of the questions revealed the importance of privacy in most of the daily life of the respondents and the physical methods they used to provide it where the modem urban and building legislations field to do that.

Finally, general conclusions and recommendations were set depending on the analytical process of the case study results and the results of each separate chapters which include the most important result that the study aimed to, which concerns the importance of privacy as an individual need in the life of the Arabic Muslim society and its importance in Islamic building legislations comparing with modem legislation which failed by its rules and building systems to provide it at any possible level.