NEWS & PRESS
Independant Minds News
09/03/09
Posted by Jerome Taylor
Monday, 9 March 2009 at 12:31 pm
Following on from my previous post on Islamic graffiti, here are a few examples of the works of Rafia Hussain Kamal. She's a young, London based artist who specialises in a contemporary take on Islamic calligraphy.
Because Muslims believe Allah spoke in Arabic to Muhammad who then wrote the words down in the Arabic script, calligraphy in Islam is considered one of the highest forms of art.
Calligraphy also avoids the controversies surrounding the depiction of animals and humans. Orthodox interpretations of Islam believe painting living beings risks lurching towards idolatry worship, something which is strictly forbidden in the Qur'an. The most extreme example of this mindset was the Taliban's destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan.
But the barbarism of the Taliban's approach to art shouldn't negate from the fact that Islam has produced centuries of breathtaking calligraphy.
These examples here are just a few modern takes on a very ancient art.