The Significance of Islamic Calligraphy in the Muslim Culture Essay

Abstract Although it could be considered an insignificant part of society, Islamic calligraphy is crucial to its culture because of its role in religion and architecture, and its help in creating unity among Muslims. Calligraphy's function in religion is mainly due to the Muslim forbiddance of the "representation of living beings" (Schimmel, Islamic 11) in art. In architecture calligraphy is used to decorate the interior and exterior of buildings to help remind citizens of the purpose of the architecture: to glorify God. Lastly, calligraphy helps to unite Muslims because everyone must learn the Arabic language to participate in prayers and recitations. Introduction Islamic calligraphy is considered to have developed into an art during the time of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the fourth caliph and the son-in-law of Muhammad (Schimmel, Islamic 3). Not only a religious leader, Ali ibn Abi Talib was a great calligrapher and artist. The use and importance of Islamic calligraphy grew rapidly after his extensive development of the art. Muslims are cautioned against producing illustrations of living beings, therefore much of Islamic art is calligraphic. Although it is not seriously considered a real art form by many western societies, Islamic calligraphy is essential to its own culture because of its crucial role in religion, architecture, and creating unity among Muslims. Background Islamic calligraphy is unique in several distinct traditions. The letters of the alphabet can be written in different forms, making the writings difficult to read (Piotrosky 27). It is considered a noble art form, and has its own rhythm and harmony (Khan 7). It is written from right to left and lacks capitalization and punctuation marks (11). Each o... ...ans. Rosanna Giammanco Frongia. New York: Abbeville Press Publishers, 2001. Khatibi, Abdelkebir, and Mohammed Sijelmassi. The Splendor of Islamic Calligraphy. Paris: Thames and Hudson, 1994. Nasr, Seyyed Hossein. Islamic Art and Spirituality. New York: State University of New York Press, 1987. Parry, James. "Calligraphy as a Contemporary Art Form." Arts & the Islamic World 31 (1997): 54-55. ---. "First International Calligraphy Festival in Tehran." Arts & the Islamic World 31 (1997): 50-53. Piotrovsky, Mikhail B. Earthly Beauty, Heavenly Art: Art of Islam. Ed. John Vrieze. Amsterdam: De Nieuwe Kerk, 1999. Rosenthal, F. Four Essays on Art and Literature in Islam. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1971. Schimmel, Annemarie. Calligraphy and Islamic Culture. New York: New York University Press, 1984. ---. Islamic Calligraphy. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1970.