Islamic Art

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Islamic Art
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Islam and Muslims

• Islam means submission to the will of God.
• Muslims are those who submit to the will of God
• Believe in same God as Jews and Christians but
  believe that Jews and Christians have
  misunderstandings about God

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Key Beliefs

• There is one God (Arabic Allah means God) and
  His prophet is Muhammad.
• This is called the profession of faith. It is
  recited every day and is the way someone becomes
  a Muslim.
• Avoid worshipping anything else
• Live a life of purity and obedience to Allah

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Father Abraham

• Abraham and Hagar, his wife Sarahs concubine,
  had a son Ishmael
• In the Bible, after Sarah and Abraham had Isaac,
  Sarah pressured Abraham to send away Hagar and
  Ishmael
• Muslims believe that Ishmael not Isaac was the
  one chosen by God. Jews and Christians believe it
  was Isaac.
• Jews, Christians, and Muslims share a common
  patriarch in Abraham

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John Singer Sargents Bedouins
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Kaaba
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                                                                                  Prophet and founder of Islam
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The Prophet Muhammad (570-632)

• Orphan in Mecca looked after by uncle
• Street smarts and business smarts (becomes
  financial advisor to older woman Khadija when
  hes 25) they had a daughter - Fatima
• Interested in religion liked to go and meditate
  in the desert and mountains
• Began having visions in a cave at age 40 visited
  by Angel Gabriel, who told him about God
• Would have many visions which would become the
  Quran

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Islamic Art

• Calligraphy beautiful writing writing
  Arabic words of Quran goal to make the words as
  pleasing to the eye as possible
• Arabesques intertwining lines, vine-like, to
  make floral, geometric patterns eyes follow to
  consider the omnipotence and infinite qualities
  of God
• Art is abstract so that Muslims could avoid
  idolatry (making images of people or animals that
  can be worshipped)

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Islamic Art continued

• No images of Allah
• Images of the Prophet Muhammad must have his face
  covered
• No images of people or animals in holy buildings
  (avoiding idolatry)
• Images in books for narrative purpose allowed
  (still no images of Allah and rules for depiction
  of the Prophet)

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Kufic

• Type of calligraphy that developed in Kufa,
  Arabia
• Earliest type of calligraphy in which the
  Quran/Koran was written (7th 9th centuries
  C.E.)
• When calligraphy was employed in the service of
  Islam for writing Koran, it entirely got changed
  and gradually placed in the path of
  perfectionart and elegance.

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Prayer Five Times a Day

• A MUEZZIN (Islamic crier) climbs a minaret of a
  local mosque five times per day to call out the
  times to pray
• Early in the morning when dawn has become bright
  but before sunrise
• Noon or early afternoon
• Late afternoon
• Directly after sunset
• Night between darkness and dawn usually about two
  hours after the sunset prayers

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Other Islamic Rules

• SHARIA the entirety of Islamic law some
  Islamic societies actually have this as their
  main laws deals with marriages, relations with
  non-Muslims, punishment of criminals
• A Muslim should marry another Muslim
• No stealing, telling the truth
• Avoiding the four deadly sins
• No fornication/adultery (no sexual activity
  outside before or outside of marriage thoughts
  also count)
• No eating pork
• No gambling
• No drinking alcohol/using drugs

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Jihad

• Holy war to protect the UMMA or community of
  Islam
• Designed to defend Islam and allow its social
  practice NOT to force individual conversions,
  which is forbidden by doctrine
• Only an absolute pacifist Muslim would not
  believe in self-defense of some kind
• Some Muslims believe jihad is a symbol for
  spiritual struggle not actually physical conflict

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Last Judgment and Afterlife

• Belief in heaven and hell for eternity like
  Christians
• Believing in one God and that His Prophet is
  Muhammad and then living a holy life are the ways
  to secure a path to heaven
• Chances to be forgiven and repent like
  Christianity
• Last Judgment appear before God and read about
  all your actions in life and God decides whether
  you make it into heaven or go to hell
• Heaven verdant, flowing with water, nice
  weather, peaceful (for men 40 virgins for their
  enjoyment)
• Hell hot, burning fires, no water, torment by
  Satan and demons

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Islamic Holy Literature

• Quran visions of the Prophet Muhammad
• Hadith sayings of the Prophet things which the
  Prophet did and said, which were believed to be
  divinely inspired
• Quran and Hadith establish orthodox teaching and
  practice in Islam

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Islamic Religious Leaders

• Imam trained Muslim teacher and preacher in
  Shia Islam, a supernaturally endowed supreme
  teacher and leader of Islam who is a hereditary
  successor to the Prophet
• Ayatollah in Shiite Islam, a legal and
  religious teacher regarded as possessing great
  learning and righteousness

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Islamic Holidays

• Islamic calendar different from Western calendar
• Muharram (1st day of Muharram) Islamic New
  Year, begins in the first day of Muharram began
  in the year that Muhammad left Mecca for Medina
  (the Hegira)
• Mawlid al-Nabi (12th day of Nabi I) birth of
  the Prophet
• Ramadan
• Eid al-Fitr (last day of Ramadan) breaking the
  fast, big celebration
• Eid al-Adha (10 Dhul-Hijjah) when Abraham was
  going to sacrifice a Ishmael also last day of
  the Hajj people sacrifice a ram and give meat
  to poor

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Kissing the black stone
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Mihrab Decorative niche in the center of the
qibla wall in a mosque it helps direct believers
toward Mecca.
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After Muhammad

• The Prophet Muhammad did not designate a
  successor by the time of his death in 632.
• A committee selected his good friend, a devout
  Muslim named Abu-Bakr.
• He took the title CALIPH, which is from the
  Arabic khalifa meaning successor or
  representative. Abu-Bakr was Khalifa Rasul
  Allah or successor to the messenger of God.
• Caliph would be the leader of the UMMA, the
  Islamic community.

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The Four Righteous Caliphs

• Abu-Bakr (632-634)
• Friend and father-in-law of Muhammad continued
  expansionist policy
• Umar/Omar (634-644)
• Appointed by Abu-Bakr on his deathbed
• Father-in-law of Muhammad
• Assassinated
• Uthman (644-656)
• Appointed by committee
• Married to one of the Prophets daughters
• Compiled the first official Quran (burned all the
  others)
• Assassinated
• Ali (656-661)
• Succeeded Uthman after his assassination
• Son-in-law of Prophet
• Assassinated

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What does it mean to be Shiite?

• Origins of word Shiat Ali Followers of Ali
  sometimes you will see it or hear it as Shia and
  other times Shiite they are the same
• National Public Radio (NPR) Partisans of Ali

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What does this map show you about the
distribution of Sunni and Shia Muslims?
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What countries have the largest Shiite
concentrations?
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What does it mean to be Sunni?

• It means you follow the practices or habits of
  the Prophet.
• It means that you do not believe that the
  rightful leaders of Islam have to be related to
  the Prophet.
• It means that you believe that any qualified
  leader, who has a close relationship with God and
  detailed knowledge of Quran, who is selected by
  the elders (respected, well-known for piety) is
  an appropriate leader.

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Key Figures for Shia Muslims

• Ali cousin of the Prophet Muhammad his
  son-in-law father of the Prophets only
  grand-sons Fourth Caliph
• Hasan and Husayn Alis sons both killed in
  battles
• Husayn killed in a battle in which his army
  numbered only 72 versus the 1,000 man army of
  Yazid I, the son of Muawiya and second Umayyad
  caliph.
• Husayn was beheaded and his head laid before
  Yazid back in Damascus, Syria.

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Arabia Palestine Syria Persia Egypt Anatolia/Turke
y North Africa Spain Balkan Peninsula (Europe)
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Islamic Rule

• For the most part, tolerant rulers
• Allowed local rulers to oversee territories but
  appointed governors over them
• Stationed soldiers in garrison towns living
  separately so they wouldnt be influenced by the
  ways of the locals (fornication, gambling,
  drinking)
• People allowed to practice original religions but
  paid JIZYA (special tax) or could convert

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Dome of the Rock Exterior Wall
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Taj Mahal
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Symmetry in the Taj Mahal
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Taj Mahal Crypt
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TAJ MAHAL QUEEN MUMTAZ MAHAL'S CASKET
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WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN TWO TAJ MAHALS
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C
F
C
B
C
D
A
E
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Minbar Pulpit in a mosque from which an imam
can read Quran passages and give a message
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Great Mosque of Cordoba
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Great Mosque in Cordoba, Spain

• Largest mosque in the Western world (including
  US)
• Umayyad dynasty was conquered by the Abbasid
  dynasty for control of the Islamic world
• Cordoba had become a significant Islamic trading
  post in the late 7th century.
• A survivor of the massacre of the Umayyads made
  it across N. Africa and into Spain and
  established his power in Cordoba.
• Cordoba became a cosmopolitan center of trade,
  learning, and the arts (Spanish Jews and
  Christians could practice their religions and
  also spoke Arabic as the everyday language)

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This niche is also called a ______
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What is this black stone found in?
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What is this man making?