Islamic Art

KEY IDEAS

• Most important building for Muslim worship is the mosque.

• Islamic people pray towards the city of Mecca, the most holiest site in Islam (identified by a niche in the wall of a mosque, called a mihrab)

• The mirhrab is a niche in the quibla wall (MN-QW: alphabetical!)

• Artworks include calligraphy with arabesques (interweaving and floral motifs and geometric patterns) and tessellations

• Calligraphy is the most prized art form (Persian Manuscripts, Qur'an)

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BRIEF HISTORY OF ISLAM

• Founder of Islam is the prophet Muhammad and began preaching in 613 CE.

• Muhammad exclaimed that there is only one God (Allah) and that he is the chosen messenger to the people.

• Indigenous Arabs were generally polytheists

• There are 5 Pillars of Islam

1. Proclaim that there is only one God and that his prophet is Muhammad

2. Muslims should pray 5 times per day toward Mecca

3. Provide for the poor

4. Must fast during the month of Ramadan

5. Make a pilgrimage to Mecca

• Expanded to North Africa, the Middle East, parts of Spain, India, and Central Asia by the 7th century.

• After the Mongol sack of Baghdad in 1258, the Islamic world split into 2 huge cultural divisions: East vs. West

• 2 principal divisions: Shiite vs. Sunni (click here for a comparison chart)