Arches are a major characteristic feature in Islamic architecture. It has played a great role in it, as columns and arches carrying ceilings have become the dominant construction methodology in the architecture of the Islamic world. Although the Islamic Architecture is rich with its elements and motifs that integrate in its function, construction and aesthetics, yet, dealing with these elements and motifs in contemporary architecture to refer to Islamic architecture is done superficially with a lot of repetition and little innovation. This leads to losing the vitality, value and the effect of these elements on the users. This paper analyses the idea of woven arches, one of the most important innovations of Islamic Architecture and its development as an outstanding art in the Islamic architecture. It aims to explore the usage and the integration between the functional needs and the constructional system and the aesthetics of the space and functional transformation of woven arches to be used in contemporary mosque architecture through the analysis of selected case studies. The research starts with the analysis of the woven arches as an idea in its different forms whether in the vertical plane or in the 3d space. Then it moves to studying it in the Cordoba mosque in Andalusia, and its role in the formation of the interior space from the functional, structural and aesthetical points of view. Then it passes through its influence on the Romanesque, the Gothic and the Baroque Architectures till Modern Architecture. The research ends with the analysis of the Islamic Center in Rome project 1993and another contemporary Mosque in Malaysia 2009, and discusses the success of the architects in implementing the idea of woven arches in a contemporary and innovative way
