Religion of Islam & its Arts

At the heart of Islam is the same monotheism which marks Judaism, and it is no surprise to discover that, as Pal writes, there are important parallels between Islam and Judaism with respect to their views on art. Pal writes that "As a religion Islam did not develop an artistic or iconographic tradition as Christianity or Buddhism did, but rather remained closer to Judaism in its emphasis upon the abstract" (Pal, 1973, p. 9).

There has been some misunderstanding with respect to the Islamic attitude toward imagery in art. Richardson writes that "Decorations in mosques such as the Islamic Center are confined to calligraphy and geometric designs. Islam forbids any art that depicts the human figure including that of Prophet Muhammad. Any art that risks establishing idols or ascribing substitutes for God (a sin called shirk) is intolerable to all schools of Islam" (Richardson, 1981, p. 35).

Pal, on the other hand, claims a slightly more tolerant view on the part of Islam toward imagery in art. Pal writes first that Islam, because of Judaic influence, displayed a predominance of geometric shapes, then goes on to say that "Much has been written about the antipathy of Islam towards imagery of any sort. In actuality the Koran [the holy book of Islam] condemns only idolatry . . . This austerity no doubt derives from Islam's Jewish heritage, which taught that to produce a repres

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conic symbols have had in such religions as Christianity and Hinduism. Indeed, calligraphy enjoys such an exalted position in Islamic culture that (one Islamic leader wrote, with respect to the pen, or qalam): '0 qalam! Sharpen the tongue of explanation/ For the glorification of the Lord . . . who created the qalam/ And traced the decree of creation with the qalam'" (Pal, 1973, p. 10). Thus we see that from the reverence paid the written word in Islam there flows an artistic tradition which includes not only calligraphy which expresses the dictates of the holy writing of the religion but also influences the more technical aspects of Islamic art. In the latter regard, Pal writes "Through calligraphy the qalam exerted a profound influence upon the strokes of the painter's brush and made Islamic art one of the most linear and abstract of all the traditional arts" (Pal, 1973, p. 10). While the sources consulted for this study do not overstate the case, by any means, it is nevertheless made clear that there are connections between the imagery in Islamic art and the iconography which serves as an important part of Islam itself. For example, as Pal writes, "In the case of certain images . . . such as the tree of life (sidra), o
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