In our post-9/11 world, a greater understanding across cultures is more important than ever before, yet the purpose of this program is not simply to provide political or historical context. ... Read allIn our post-9/11 world, a greater understanding across cultures is more important than ever before, yet the purpose of this program is not simply to provide political or historical context. Rather it is to explore and celebrate the great richness of Islamic art and architecture t... Read allIn our post-9/11 world, a greater understanding across cultures is more important than ever before, yet the purpose of this program is not simply to provide political or historical context. Rather it is to explore and celebrate the great richness of Islamic art and architecture throughout the world to peer into extraordinary palaces and mosques, decorated with exquisi... Read all
Photos
Storyline
One of the main elements of Islamic art and architecture is the words written down on either monuments, mosques or a paper. In Islam, it is believed that God sent the Prophet Muhammad the religious revelation in form of words that were soon collected and written down. The documentary states that the gift that God has sent to the Muslims is his Word as it is believed in Islam. This is true as in the times of Prophet Muhammad, people memorized these words and recited Quran. Some people also used to write down it on the pieces of animal skin or palm leaves. Soon, as Muslims discovered paper, the art of calligraphy rose to the next level and more texts from Quran were written down. However, Quran was not accessible to the wide rage people till the Western colonization which had a tremendous impact on Muslim community. Western colonization brought print technology which made the Quran text accessible to wide range of people and it led to the overall standardization of Quran. So, it can be seen that words were always the tremendous part of the Islam community for all times and periods. The Word is so important that almost every mosque or architecture from the times of glory of Islamic empires have Words of God written and scribed in it. Sometimes the words merge into the architecture of the building becoming a unity with its design. Appreciation of the Word is a fundamental part of the Islamic culture which is the reason why inscribed words can be seen in all the mosques from around the world.
Another important element of the Islamic art is the space. As Muslims conquered a vast amount of territories during their conquests, there are mosques build in the various parts of the world which will certainly differ in form. However, even different in form, these mosques are same on the inside with their "minarets" which is places from where Imams call for prayers, and high colognes with wide spaces. There are different mosques build in Spain, West Africa, India and Turkey which differ in their form, but as the movie states this are not important, because any person that came from the different place will be able to recognize those spaces as mosques. The difference on the outside and the same appearance on the inner side is what may characterize the whole Muslim community and Islam as a religion in general. As Fred Donner states in his lecture on "How Islam Began," Islam was not intended to be for only one group of individuals as for instance Arab tribes. Islam was intended to be taught to the whole world, which means that Islam is for everyone, not depending on their race, ethnicity or language. As he continues further, Muslims in fact were called "Muqmins" in the beginning which simply meant "believers." They did not call themselves "Muslims" but simply referred to themselves as those who believe in one God. This trait of Islam as of the religions which accepts everyone is explicitly expressed in its spatial art. These mosques are very different from each other as one is built out of precious stones, another built from marble and one even built from clay as the one in the city of Djenna, which makes them unconnected between each other in terms of appearance. But this is not important as the documentary states that every Muslim from any part of the world will be able to recognize it from the inside as a mosque. This trait of Islamic art reflects the basic principle of the religion itself as of a religion that welcomes everyone.
Ornament and color are examples of other prominent parts of Islamic art. The mosques and palaces of Islamic period are known for their vivid colors and beautiful geometrical ornaments. The pictures used are mainly botanical elements as well as geometrical figures. There were no depictions of God, Prophet or other Saints used in the mosques as Muslims were avoiding "shirk". "Shirk" is a heavy sin in Islam, which is the one if a person, associates other with God. So in Islam idolatry and worshipping anything other than God was strictly prohibited. So Muslims did not use any faces in their mosques to avoid committing "shirk". Even without this kind of art, mosques still have graceful ornaments of flowers and other botanical elements which is an important part of Islamic art as it represents the beauty of the God's creation in Islamic religion.
Water is the last listed element of the Islamic art in the documentary. It was the important part of the Islamic culture as Islam requires people to wash before their prayers. So before each prayer, all Muslims gather at the water reservoir near the mosque, wash themselves and only then proceed to their prayers. This is the reason why water has turned into the vital part of the Islamic architecture and art, as it is presented in the form of fountains, pools and "qanats" which is a system of accessing water from the earth in the places where water is hardly reachable. Muslims learned new ways of accessing water in the places where it was scarce and turned this into form of an art. This fact of water being accessible at every place not depending on the climate hardships and differences, reflect how Islamic culture and religion is flexible and adaptive to any environment. In the period of colonialism, European colonizers stated that Islam as a religion was unsystematic and outdated for modern reality to justify their reforms and actions. However, it was not the issue of Islam as a religion itself, but of its interpretation as there are many interpretations of Quran. Islamic scholars argued that the religion is correct; people only need to change their understanding of it. The Islamic art from the different parts of the world proves this point as Islam was able to adapt to different parts of the world from Spain in Europe to Djenne in West Africa. The diversity of Islamic art proposes that Islam is a flexible religion which is made for all people around the world, which supports the argument of Islamic scholars about the correct understanding of Islam.
The documentary states that "Islamic art is a reflection of the people and the context in which it was produced." The "Islamic Art Mirror" gives information about the Islamic art and at the same time introduces the audience to the key concepts of religion and the history of the religion as art and the religion are closely intervened, which makes it impossible to not to talk about one in the context of another. This documentary provides a thoughtful examination to the art and culture of Islamic period along with introducing the audience to the concepts of the religion itself.
- serikzhankudarova
- Apr 11, 2021
Details
- Runtime1 hour 30 minutes
- Color