Islamic Art Essays (Examples)

This is the biggest palace in Istanbul. (Retrieved from http://www.greatistanbul.com/topkapi_palace.htm)

Alhambra Palace - The Alhambra Palace is so named for the Arabic "red castle," due to the surrounding environment. It was created in 1238. (Retrieved from http://www.andalucia.com/cities/granada/alhamhistory.htm)

Masjid-i Shah - Also known as the Mosque of the 72 Martyrs, located in Mashad, Iran. It was built in 1451. (Retrieved from http://archnet.org/library/sites/one-site.jsp?site_id=10332)

Chehel Sutun - The Chele Sutun (Forty Columns) located in Qazvin, Iran was built for the Shah Tahmasb I from 1524-1576. This served as a mansion for the Persian Safavid dynasty for several centuries. (Retrieved from http://www.oananews.org/content/photo/general/chehel-sotun-palace-northwestern-iran-0)

Shahnama of Shah Tahmasp - The Persian "Book of Kings," with over 50,000 rhymes this book is considered a classic of Persian literature. It was completed in the year 1010 AD. (Retrieved from http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/shnm/hd_shnm.htm)

Court of Gayumars - The court of Gayumars was done from 1525-1535 and depicts the legendary first king…

The emphasis on handicrafts also means that Islamic art does not have a focus on the output of individual artists like estern art. Prophetic sayings like "God likes that when you do anything, you do it excellently," have "provided the impetus for Muslims' embellishment and beautification of their places of worship, homes, and even of articles in common use in everyday life. The emphasis in Islamic art is on ornamentation rather than on art for art's sake; while the names of the producers of the finest works of Islamic art may not have survived, their works have become prototypes and models on which other artists and craftsmen patterned their works, or from which they derived the impetus for related work" (Siddiqui 2009).

Islamic art is often characterized by the use of geometric patterns that "create the impression of unending repetition, which is believed by some to be an inducement to…

The result is that the minarets which are more probably rooted in the experiences, technologies and impulses of the now extinct Byzantines are part of the religious iconography of both ancient and modern Islamic culture.

That said, the eventuality by which the Byzantine identity was erased from formal existence would have a significant bearing on the emergence of a yet more self-aware Islamic architectural philosophy. Garber indicates that we may draw a separation -- though it is not entirely clear where to draw this from a chronological perspective -- between the period of transition and the period by which the Islamic leadership had begun to seek out a more pointedly Islamic ideology. In other words, the goals of repurposing eventually began to recede as Muslim architects sought new ways of targeting its proposed functions. Accordingly, Grabar tells that of some of the artifacts left behind from succeeding generations of Umayyad…

And aside from the lessons as well, the art behind the calligraphy strived to portray the symbolism in the holy book. The writings were created using various shapes and sizes of the letters and numbers and they led to the formation of pieces of art that combined the teachings of the deity with the comprehension capacity of the humans (Osborn, 2008).

The Arabic calligraphy as such played a dual role -- on the one hand, it preserved the religious values; on the other hand, it, in its essence, represented a form of art and a representation revealing the religion, but also in the same time, being different from the messages it transmitted. In this setting, the calligraphy became sufficiently able to replace imagery in the Islamic arts.

Yet, the complete elimination of imagery from the texts and works of art in the Islamic world was impossible at an exhaustive level.…

Artifact Comparison:

An Islamic Rosary versus an African racelet

One of the challenges of artifact comparison from the perspective of a cultural outsider is to locate the objects in their appropriate context, versus imposing the observer's Western or contemporary ideals upon them. This can be seen when gazing upon the pottery bead rosary necklace from the Asian ethnographic collection in the Museum of Natural History. The artifact was found in Messhad, Iran and is made of multicolored clay, dyed with pigment, and strung together with thread.[footnoteRef:1] From an outsider's perspective it might look like a Christian rosary even though that is not the case upon closer and more educated observation. [1: Pottery bead rosary necklace. Museum of Natural History. Catalog No: 70.2 / 2557. ]

According to the Museum of Natural History's website, artifacts classified as costumes may include artifacts "carried for warmth, protection, embellishment, or for symbolic purposes," of…

Islamic Art

The two objects that I found on the website required to write this article are entitled Folio from the Tashkent Qu'ran" and "The Feast of Sada," Folio from the Shanama (Book of Kings) of Shah Tahmasp. There are a number of reasons as to why the former of these objects is perceived as part of Islamic art. The most salient of these relates to the title. This work of art is actually a page of written (calligraphic) text from what is regarded as the holy scriptures of Islam, the Koran. This book provides various details about the life and travails of Muhammad, as well as a number of the fundamental precepts of this religion.

In addition to the content of the writing on this particular page, there are a number of faces regarding the actual writing itself that denote that it is Islamic art. Firstly, the page is…

The artworks prevalent during the early Middle Ages in many ways stand between these two extremes. The art of this period was one that was both religiously inclined but also celebrated the human form and human nature that was to become so prominent in the enaissance. In many ways much of early Medieval art was similar to the abstract and decorative art that we find in Islamic examples. An example that has been chosen to represent this early period of European art is the Gerona Bible Master from Bologna, Italy,

Figure 3.

(Source: http://www.artlex.com/ArtLex/m/middleages.html)

This decorative example displays intricate artwork that emphasizes and enhances the Biblical context. The text or lyrics on the page refers to hymnal and religious phrases of praise, such as "Let us rejoice" (Art: Middle Ages). Note the way that the decorative images add depth to the aesthetics of the script and the manuscript as a…

Islam Worksheet

REL/134 Version

When studying Islam, it is important to understand the essential elements of the faith, how they are practiced, and the distinctions among the three branches: Shiite Islam, Sunni Islam, and Sufism.

Tawhid -- strict monotheism of God. There is only one, unsurpassable, omniscient God that cannot be visualized or reified in any which manner (although Sunnis do believe that God has some form of body). There are no intermediaries between God and creations. Mohamed might have come the closest to that. Mohammed, God's Prophet, is the closest to perfection that any human can be. Angels are a central part to Islam thought to intercede in all matters of a human's existence. The Quran was divinely revealed to Mohammed, via the archangel Gabriel, and is God's final revelation. Mohammed as one (presumably the most perfect) of God's messengers, all of whom -- human (Shiites believe they are…

All of these examples show that there is no linear narrative of art, rather the construction of even so-called periods between different nations and periods lies in the mind of the beholding academic, not in some universal truth of what is art's history. Critics also have their own abysses, and their own sands of what seems familiar and unfamiliar. Even art periodization is subjective as art, it is not a science, and thus periods should not be taught as absolute standards and markers of art history.

Furthermore, other nations such as China have had different histories and different conceptions of what constitutes making art altogether, as well as different forms of periodization as a result. Western art's periods have been much more dynamic, and more characterized by seismic revolutions in aesthetics, as opposed to other nations. There is more blurring between what art is, and what has a practical religious…

178). For example, Sakkal reports that, "The measuring system of Ibn Muqlah is based on a circle with a diameter that equals the height of the letter Alef. It controls the correct proportions of the letters by comparing them to the circle, and by diagonal dots written with the calligraphy pen" (1993:9). In his analysis of Ibn Muqla's role in the standardization of the geometrical basis of Arabic writing, Ernst, citing an early treatise, illustrates the religious significance of the circle as being an integral part of these revisions to calligraphic script: "God (glory be to the Most High) created the world in a circular form. The master Abu Ali Muhammad ibn Ali ibn al- Husayn ibn Muqla the scribe (may God have mercy on him) realized that writing could be made circular. He transmitted that method of [round] Kufic in this fashion that is now current, so that it…

Islamic Technology

Cultural and Construction History of the Islamic Golden Age

Cultural Environment

The Islamic Golden Age is also known as the Caliphate of Islam or the Islamic Renaissance. The term refers to a system of political, cultural, and religious authority derived from the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed in the early sixth century AD. At its high point under the Abbassid Dynasty (eighth to thirteenth centuries AD), Islamic civilisation experienced a flourish of art and culture that blended Arab, Persian, Egyptian, and European elements (Kraemer). The result was an era of incredible intellectual and cultural advancements (Wiet). At the height of its power, the Caliphate controlled all of the present-day Middle East, all of northern Africa and into Spain, and as far east as the Indus Valley, making it among the largest empires of all time and one of the few states ever to extend direct rule over three…

Islam

Ibn Khaldun conceptualized history in terms of transformations of social and political power, leading to cultural changes. This was especially true for the expanding Muslim world, of which Ibn Khaldun was a part. During the Middle Islamic periods, scholarship and learning became entrenched throughout the Muslim world and would have a tremendous impact on the evolution of human consciousness and society. Art, architecture, science, medicine, math, and engineering all flourished during the Middle Islamic period. Although these were the primary external features of the Middle Islamic period, also referred to as a golden age, there were underlying political, socio-religious, and economic developments that caused and characterized changes taking place throughout the Mamluk, Mongol, and Timurid periods.

Abbasid rule had a major impact on political, socio-religious, and economic developments. The Abbasid caliphates stressed schools of learning and formal modes of education that were rooted in Islam but which also transcended…

Turtle shell rattles have been used for countless centuries. Such rattles have been recovered from ancient sites in the southwest and in the Mississippian civilizations.

The turtle rattle was also a musical instrument in ceremonial use. One of its most important functions was its significance in the False Face ceremonies. One of the most distinguishing features of the Iroquois belief system is the reliance on the mask for religious and ritual purposes. These masks are often designated as False Faces. This term refers to the first False Face and the mythical origins of protective and healing spirits. They are used in introductory and agricultural rituals. The turtle rattles play a significant part in these important rituals.

In the various curing and healing rituals, the wearer of the False Face will juggle hot coals and use ash and is apparently immune to cold (see below), and he bears a turtle-shell rattle…

In the Qur'an, music is presented as something that can bring pleasure to Muslims. Numerous prominent religious individuals in Islam have apparently claimed that music should not be present in Muslim houses. Even with that, Muslims are aware that Allah cannot possibly prohibit something that does not harm the individual or society in general. It is divisive whether or not Islam allows its followers to enjoy music, considering that the Qur'an can also be interpreted (Neusner, Chilton & Graham, 2002).

Education is not an essential part of Islam, as Muslims are certain that it adds "nothing to the authenticity of the Holy Qur'an in terms of human knowledge" (Ryce-Menuhin, 1994, p. 123). In the present day, Muslims are reluctantly engaging in providing themselves and their children with education, seeing that it is the only way for them to keep up with the advancements performed in society. The need to integrate…

Iconography:

In many ways, the iconography left behind at the Dome of the Rock for our evaluation provides only partial insight into the events that inspired it. e are left to interpret this based on the historical knowledge and immediate evidence available to us. According to Rabbat, "Muslims around the world believe it was built to commemorate a decisive event in the Prophet Muhammad's mission, namely his Night Journey from Mecca to Jerusalem, and his subsequent Ascension from the Rock to Heaven, where he received from God the doctrinal principles of the new religion."

It is this interpretation which is largely accepted by the world, marking the rock itself as the most important element of iconography in the structure. The Khirbat al-Mafjar, by contrast, offers a highly provocative mosaic in the main bath hall reserved from the prince-son of the caliph. This is considered the most important artifact left behind…

Islamic Philosophy

Abul-Waleed Muhammad Ibn Rushd: His Work and Philosophy

Abul-Waleed Muhammad Ibn Rushd (1126-1198 C.E), also known as Averroes, is regarded by many as one of the foremost Islamic philosophers and a pivotal figure in the history of Andalusian philosophy. He is also deemed an important figure in the history of Western philosophy. An important contribution to Islamic culture and philosophy was his defense of Greek philosophy in the Islamic world as well as his emphasis on the philosophy of Aristotle. Ibn Rushd is credited with the introduction of "rationalism" into Islamic philosophy.

A as Etienne Gilson has written in his Reason and Revelation in the Middle Ages, Rationalism was born in Spain in the mind of an Arabian philosopher, as a conscious reaction against the theologism of the Arabian divines, by whom he means the Ash'arite Mutakallimun. (Fakhry)

In global terms it has been asserted that not only…

pottery making art islamic civilization. Please illustrative timeline. Please include outline beginning.

Islamic pottery is an essential part of the Islamic culture

Early beginnings of Islamic pottery

Historical and geographical challenges

Pottery as a necessity, not an art

Islamic pottery transformed from an activity to an art

The periods of the Islamic pottery

Middle period

Influences of Chinese pottery

Color

Materials

Graphics

Improvements of techniques and materials

ole of calligraphy and technical discoveries

Increase of the value of pottery for the Islamic culture

The Islamic art is one of the most significant parts of the Islamic culture and of the world heritage. Islamic pottery has in this sense an important place in the structure of the Middle Eastern art.

The history and development of Islamic pottery is representative for the development of Islamic art and reflects the influences of external cultures on the evolution of art in the region.

Given…

Detroit Institute of Arts is located on Woodward Avenue, at 5200, in Detroit Michigan. The Institute is open to the public from 9am to 4 pm, on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, from 9am to 10 pm, on ridays, and from 10 am to 5 pm, on Sundays. According to the museum's website, tickets for the general admission cost 8$ / person for adults, 6$ / person for seniors, 4$ / person for youth (6-17) and 5$/person for college students. Admission is free for those under 5. ree general admission is also provided for residents of the city of Detroit, each riday, and for everyone, on the second Sunday of each month. The museum's original building, designed by the architect Philippe Cret at the beginning of the 1920s and opened to the public in 1926, has suffered transformations throughout the years, through additions and alterations, but its Italian-Renaissance is still impressive…

He traveled to Africa, Spain, and Germany and even studied in Russia, where he was exposed to Islamic art. The Dance is one painting that captures a new direction and style of Matisse's painting. Here Matisse is focusing on a single act of humanity. The style is more compact in it use of color. The interplay of human activity is one of the most significant changes we see in Matisse's work. The colors in this piece seem to work more with each other as a whole than they do in the Open indow, Collioure. The shapes could also represent the Eastern influence that we see can be traced backed to the kind of style used in rugs or other decorative pieces. This paining looks as though it is complementing life itself. It is also worth noting that the Dance is completely focused on pleasure. In the Dance, we also see…

cultural advances made Islamic world tenth fifteenth centuries? eference Book: A History World Societies, Eighth Edition, Vol1 by: McKay, Hill, Buckler, Ebrey, Beck, Crowston, & Wiesner-Hanks

The apogee of the Islamic world when considering cultural and scientific innovations took place between the tenth and fifteenth centuries A.D. Islamic art flourished during this period, as Muslims started to experience significant progress in creating artwork using ceramics, glass, and metals. Similarly, the intellectual segment experienced great developments as individuals started to write more and more manuscripts and as calligraphy progressed. In spite of the fact that philosophy was a field that Muslims were generally reluctant to address because it was believed to be accountable for inducing unorthodox thinking in individuals, many Muslims did not hesitate to express philosophical thought and were actually very successful in doing so.

A great deal of Muslims focused on philosophical thought expressed during Antiquity and adapted it…

role of Islam as a unifying force

Perhaps more than any other religion in the world, Islam has put to work its less obvious sense in order to unify the peoples sharing the same belief. Through its art, its common language and its judicial system that has the Koran teachings at its base, Islam was a unifying force among the Arabic peoples of the Arabic Peninsula, Northern Africa and the Middle East.

There is a short discussion I would like to address here and that is to identify the differences between culture and civilization. This will help us see how religion LO is included in this set of concepts. From my point-of-view, religion LO can be considered an element of civilization through its cultural component. If we exclude Marxist ideology that argue that civilization is but a certain level that culture has attained and make no distinction between the two,…

Culture, Dreams, And Artwork

Dreams and artwork are two things that seem to provide an invitation for interpretation, and cultural perspective is almost always going to influence that interpretation. At first blush, this statement may seem to fly in the face of Jungian interpretation, since the collective unconscious and the enduring interpretation of symbols might suggest that symbols would not vary across cultures. However, such an interpretation ignores the fact that Jung acknowledges the impact that individual culture has on the interpreter. While symbols may retain a broader overall meaning across cultures, the details of those symbols are certainly influenced by the surrounding culture. Moreover, some symbols may be culturally specific. In fact, this paper will discuss the veil and its relation to Islam, and how the surrounding culture can color interpretations of the veil in art and in dreams.

Because the symbols in dreams and artwork are influenced by…

LACMA Artifacts

One of the strengths of the collections at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art is collection of works from the ancient Near East. This paper examines two of those artifacts, discussing both their aesthetics properties as well as the historical, political and cultural context in which the two works were created. These works - although they provide only the barest glimpse into the complexities of cultural and religious dynamics of the region - nevertheless help us to understand the intimate and powerful way in which religion and culture are linked even today in the Middle East. (Images of the two works are appended to the end of this paper.)

The first work is two leaves taken from the Koran, the holy book of Islam made during the Abbasid caliphate during the ninth or tenth centuries. Even for a viewer who cannot read Arabic and who knows little…

Fawaz a. Gerges' America and Political Islam

Fawaz A.Gerges' book, America and Political Islam, attempts to analyse the complex relationship between the United States and Political Islam. America and Political Islam provides a thoughtful insight into how American policy-makers, and media have responded to the political challenges posed by the Middle East.

Ultimately, after his careful and meticulous analysis, Gerges argues that the American government and establishment have viewed Islam and Muslims based on inaccuracy, prejudice and ignorance, and that American foreign policy has been largely formed in the same inaccurate and prejudiced vein. Gerges carefully reviews the historical political situation, analyses the present relationship between the United States and the Islamic world, and dares to make recommendations on how this relationship can be managed, and hopefully, improved, in the future.

Gerges' main thesis is that the United States political scene, and accompanying political, cultural, security, and historical issues, explain…

The potter has complete control over the shape the pot takes by the pressure, how fast he spins the potting wheel, and the moisture and pressure he applies from inside and outside the pot. He can keep the pot short and stout by slowing the wheel decreasing the outside pressure, or by spinning it faster and pulling upward he can grow the pot taller.

The bearing has to be maintained and kept lubricated, and the potter used animal fat to lubricate it.

The bearing was made of stone, and could be replaced to keep the wheel in the best working condition.

Other ways to create pots, even after the potter's wheel, was to coil the pot and shape it entirely by hand, smoothing out the coils and shaping it with just the artist's skills of hand control. Obviously, the wheel was an invention that much improved the process. Although there…

Art of Ruling an Islamic Society

It is the purpose of this paper to compare and contrast the ideologies of three prominent Muslim scholars in regards to the art of ruling an Islamic society. The scholars in question are Al-Farabi, Ibn Khaldun and Ibn Taymiyya. Al-Farabi was born in 870 in Turkmenistan. He became a renowned scholar, making significant contributions to mathematics, physics and philosophy. His great contribution to the political sciences came in the form of the Model City, a book that has been compared to Plato's Republic in its scholarship and profundity. Since his death in 950, he has become known by Muslims worldwide as the Second Teacher (the First Teacher being Aristotle). Ibn Khaldun was born in 1332 in Tunisia. Also a renowned scholar in his day, Ibn Khaldun's most notable work is the Muqqadimah. This book not only served as a world history up to his…

Islamic movements come to dominate the political landscape of Iran and Saudi rabia in the last thirty years?

Why have democratic advances been so limited in these two countries? Is there any relationship between these two trends or are they independent of each other?

In both modern Iran and modern Saudi rabia, over the past thirty years, two fundamental forces have dominated the discourse of these nations -- that of Islamic Fundamentalism and a hatred of Western, specifically merican intrusions of 'modernity,' in cultural and political forms. In the absence of the ability to compete, technologically with the West, or culturally on a global level, these nations have turned inward, and some historians might say 'to their pasts' and attempted to create Islamic rather than secular renditions of modernity. However, because of the corresponding lack of democratic structures within these referenced traditional Islamic political modalities, and the association of the…

D., various rulers expanded the religion in what was known as the Golden Age of Islam. Muslims made huge advances in military might, the sciences, and the arts. However, the different factions of Islam haunted the religion, even in the Golden Age of its existence. Gregorian then goes to explore the territorial dispute which led to the centuries of fighting with Christian nations in what was known in the West as the Crusades. However, it was not the Christian Westerners who did the most damage to the Muslim strongholds but barbaric Mongols who eventually ended the Golden Age of Islam. The rise of the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century revived the greatness of the Muslim tradition. The modern era, with the culmination of the Industrial Revolution, later diminished the grandeur and power of the various Muslim empires in the Middle East and Asia. With this decline many empires which,…

The display of the various religious artwork effectively served to reinforce the fact that such faith was the governing power in the land, which the church itself reflected merely in its principle usage as a house of worship. The Hagia Sophia served a similar purpose, as it was built during one of the periods of devastation inflicted upon the Hagia Irene and was also viewed as a symbol of not only Christianity's reign, but also that of Emperor Justinian who commissioned the work.

One of the most important professions which could be learned at the trade guilds which was that of master builder, which included several lengthy stages of work which could eventually take youths into the chief senior architects of the day. There is a substantial amount of evidence that can be seen regarding the Byzantine influence in the position of the master builder, who was called a mechanikos.…

belief systems of Christians and Muslim, particularly in how they view angels. Both religions believe angels exist, and that they are an important part of their religious beliefs. They both believe angels can guide and support people here on Earth, and they are messengers of God or Allah. They also believe they can be vengeful and destructive, and angels play an important role in the stories of the Qur'an and the Bible. Angels are only one of the commonalities between these two religions, but they are an important link to two very diverse religions, and they show that many religions have core beliefs that link them together, whether they want to admit it or not.

Comparing Angels in Islam and Christianity

The purpose of this paper is to introduce, discuss, and analyze the topic of Islam and Christianity issues. Specifically it will compare and contrast the faith doctrine of angels…

Jewish, Christian Islamic belief? How religions compare ? Talk discussion: Judaism: Creation Patriarchs Prophets Kings the Bible Literature Early

Christianity, Islam, and Judaism are three of the most renowned religions in the world and this is reflected by the number of followers supporting each religious ideology and by their background. In spite of the fact that there have been many conflicts between individuals following these three religions, they have a lot of similarities. The concepts that they put across made it possible for numerous individuals to express interest in wanting to live in accordance with their laws and gradually made them three of the most important religions in the world. hile one might find it difficult to compare these religions due to their complex background, it is actually not very difficult to find correlations and differences between the three.

Christianity, Islam, and Judaism are all monotheistic religions and they all…

Confucianism, Catholicism and Islam between 1450 and 1750.

Three major religions, located at diverse axes of the world, Catholicism, Confucianism, and Islam, were faced with similar problems and challenges in the years between 1450 and 1750. Catholicism encountered a militant Protestant Reformation in the shape of Martin Luther King that espoused religion whilst criticizing the Pope. Confucianism, in the shape of the renowned philosopher and politician Wang Vangming, grappled with a future that threatened to challenge its traditional learning and way of life whilst Wahhabism introduced fundamentalist religion into an Islam that had gradually become more secular and detached from the Koran-simulated way of life. The following essay elaborates on their individual problems and challenges.

Catholicism.

Luther's Protestantism effectively ended the many years of sole religious monopoly that the Catholic Church had on Europe. At the same time, Catholicism was also threatened by the new Humanism that tentatively insisted, first…

Looking at one of Kulkarni's pieces, a Peasant in the City, oil on canvas done sometime in the 1960s, we see a trend in modern Indian art in which the protagonist is featured as a part of an abstract background. Literally, the piece is a snapshot of a man and a beast, at night in a large urban area. The man is downcast, downtrodden, with no discernible ethnicity or age. He is a mixture of gray, and his elongated facial features suggest that he is, or has been, weeping. The single animal by his side could be a dog, a cow, or a representation of simply an "animal." The animal's front leg is extended, ostensibly onto the fence in which the man is leaning. The houses are abstract, made up of geometric lines and some color, designed it seems to indicate that they are lit. The moon is full, but…

Indian Art

In what ways are the form and function of the Buddhist stupa and Hindu temple similar to or different from the Islamic mosque?

The Buddhist Stupa, the Hindu Temple, and the Islamic Mosque all have social, cultural, and religious functions. Their physical forms are more similar than they are different, in that each boasts tapered and often rounded edifices. However, Hindu temples are more likely to have angular features and involve the use of straight lines and parallel planes; both stupas and mosques prefer curvilinear elements and bulbous forms. Hindu temples and Muslim mosques will also have larger interior spaces devote to personal prayer.

In what ways may the Quwwat al-Islam Mosque in Delhi be considered an Islamic (ate) building and an Indic one in terms of its construction and its design?

The Quwwat al-Islam Mosque in Delhi is clearly Islamic because of the minaret, as well as…

Communication Islamic Countries

Freedom in all its forms is a highly contested topic across all areas of politics, not only in countries where freedom has been traditionally repressed, but even in the most democratic of states, such as the United States and the UK. When freedom extends to the press, the contestability of the topic gains an extra dimension. Some critics, for example, advocate freedom of the press only to such an extent as its ability to promote a peaceful existence and harmony among citizens and their government. Others, however, would see the press gaining complete freedom, regardless of its consequences for personal and collective peace. In Muslim countries such as Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates, freedom extended to the press and the media is yet further muddied by the importance of religious and state rule in these countries. In both environments, Islam remains the main ruling force in…

To wit, there has been a "large-scale migration to the big cities, Pohlit explains, and that has "inclined the balance of power in cultural matters in favor of the poor and uneducated." Hence, the intellectual upper class now operates from a "narrow retreat, now itself a pariah," Pohlit continues. And that intellectual upper class of course has all the estern classical music it can possibly listen to, but it remains unable to uphold its esternized "Turkishness" with any degree of impact at all (Pohlit).

Art Music Composers

ilhelm Peterson-Berger (1867-1942) holds the highly respected position as the most popular art music composer in Sweden's history, according to Frederick Key Smith (Smith, 2002). Peterson-Berger thought of himself as more of a "symphonist and composer of agnerian operas than as a composer of miniatures," Smith explains. Peterson-Berger was raised in a home with a lot of culture; his father was fluent in…

Learning Objectives for Adult Education

Managing and Exploiting the Impact of Classroom Diversity in Adult Arts Education

As the American population becomes increasingly diverse, so goes classroom diversity (Cooper, 2012). By the end of the current decade, a White majority will no longer exist among the 18 and under age group. This rapid progression towards a plurality has already impacted primary schools, but the trend toward increasing diversity is beginning to affect adult education classrooms as well. If educators simply ignore this trend, not only will the academic success of students be harmed, but also the professional skills of educators. The solution, according to Brookfield (1995), is not the adoption of an innocent or naive attitude towards the diverse needs and abilities of racially and ethnically diverse students, but to engage in a process of critical self-reflection. Such a process would help educators uncover their own hidden motives and intentions,…

Expansion for Christianity and Islam in the Early Middle AgesThe death of Jesus on the wooden cross and the fallen fruit from the tree for Adam is symbols of both the religions that have become instruments of salvation for their respective believers. However, it was unbearable for the non-believers and against their status quo that they had been living in for years of ignorance that the advent of such religions came to obscure. They could not take it that some messengers of Christianity and Islam came to rule their world by saying they should obey one God and not do unholy things God has forbidden. Therefore, the thesis of the paper stands as: the expansion of Christianity and Islam in the early middle ages was harsh and intolerable for the non-believers.Development of IslamAfter the death of Justinian, the great builder who took hold of yzantines, the said empire was distorted…

Artistic Overview of the Taj Mahal

Though monumental tombs had a long history in the Islamic architecture in India, they were not a part of either the Buddhist or Hindu traditions. Numerous tombs were erected in India by the Delhi sultans but the Taj Mahal at Agra was incomparable in magnificence. Jahangir's son, Shah Jahan, as a memorial to Mumtaz Mahal, his beloved wife, constructed the huge tomb, though it ultimately ended up as the ruler's tomb too. The central block's dome-on-cube shape contains antecedents of earlier Islamic tombs and other Islamic structures like the Alai Darvaza located at Delhi, but the refinements and changes in Agra tomb's design have turned the earlier immense structures into a magnificent structure of sparkling white marble. The Taj Mahal appears to be magically floating above the tree-lined reflecting pools that punctuate the garden that leads to it (Art History 280 lecture notes).

Taj…

Though the sema is performed for an audience, the main goal is not to entertain, but instead for the individual dancer to recognize his or her submission to God, to ultimately enter into a state of nirvana and to join together with the forces of nature and connect with God, and then to finally descend back to earth to the humble task of being a servant. It isn't about letting go of any kind of control, but it is designed to allow the practitioner to escape the mundane for a few moments, and to provide them with something to reflect on in prayer after the dance is complete.

The Qu'ran states, "Say, 'ho prohibited the nice things God has created for His creatures, and the good provisions?' Say,' such provisions are to be enjoyed in THIS life by those who BELIEVE. Moreover, the good provisions will be exclusively theirs on…

Aristotle's elements of honor state:

"The elements of honour are: sacrifices, memorials both in verse and without metre, rewards, sanctuaries, precedence, tombs, statutes, public maintenance, barbarian practices, such as genuflection and standing back, and gifts, which are valued by all recipients. Indeed, a gift is a surrender of property and an indication of status, which is why it is sought by the mercenary and the ambitious, providing as it does what they both seek, as the mercenary are after possessions and the ambitious are after status (Aristotle, Lawson-Tancred, p. 89)."

The wars begun after September 11, 2001, have long ceased to be about bringing to justice the perpetrators of evil and destruction, and have become the mechanisms to obtaining possessions (material wealth) for politically aligned news media, and the elevation to status for the right and the left public officials who gain support and attention for saying the right things,…

Greek sculptures, 'Veiled and Masked Dancer' and 'Hermes and the Infant Dionysos' dating back to the art periods, and their connection to the realm of spirituality.

Is art linked to spirituality in any special way? One might find a number of reasons to answer in the affirmative; there, indeed, appears to be some sort of profuse series of links among the two. Art has always occupied a central position in religion. In religious rituals and houses of worship, one can witness sacred dances, sacred symbols, hymns, sacred pictures, tunes, and chants; these art forms have also been utilized as meditation and prayer aids by all religions. The above examples of art in religion alone make the former discipline appear to be intrinsic to connecting with or expressing the divine (Art and Spirituality 1). eligious art represents a superior art form in both Western medieval Christianity and Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Buddhists…

Future of Nursing Education in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

The primary objective of this book is to provide the reader with evidence-based nursing education and practice principles. The goal of this work is to help nursing educators and nurse practitioners develop evidence-based nursing education standards and curriculum while providing nurses with effective examples of patient-centered care that is both high quality and cost effective. Patients and family members in Saudi Arabia have needs and expectations that nurses should seek to meet and fulfill. To that end, this book aims to support nurses and nurse educators.

The cultural values of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are also an important component of this work, as it is the culture of this country that supports and advances the aims of the nursing profession. This is seen in every aspect of the nursing profession -- from the earliest days of the first nursing…

Olmec

Although scientists found artifacts and art objects of the Olmecs; until this century they did not know about the existence of the Olmecs. Most of the objects which were made by this community were associated with other civilizations, such as Mayan, Toltec or Chichimecan. The Olmec lived between 1600 B.C. And 1400 B.C. In South Mexico. The name of this tribe comes from an Aztec word "ollin" which means "land of rubber."

At first they ate fish and they later start to farm, and that made it possible for them to "develop the first major civilization in Mesoamerica." (The Olmec Civilization) Thanks to the steady food supplies the Olmec population grew and some came to have other occupations. "Some became potters or weavers. Others became priests or teachers." (Ibidem) Once the population grew, so did their farming villages which developed into cities. The present-day city of San Lorenzo was…

Churches represented the primary type of Romanesque architecture. Despite regional variations, Romanesque architecture shares a multitude of common characteristics such as harmonious proportions, stone barrel vault, round arches supporting the roof, thick and heavy walls and pillars, or small windows. Also, most Romanesque churches feature round arches used for exterior and interior decoration, a nave with side aisles though there is also a number of small, more modest churches which do not have an aisle), galleries above the side aisles, separated from the nave by a triforium, a transept, an apse and an ambulatory around the apse. Also, most Romanesque churches have multiples towers, as well as sculptured decorations on portals and capitals, and painted decorations throughout the interior. One of the most important structural developments of Romanesque architecture was the stone barrel vault which was intended as an alternative to wooden roofs which were prone to fires (Butt 162).…

Bahram Gur and Azada's Representations

The significance of Bahram Gur and Azad scene depiction is on artistic bowls of the medieval time. The bowls refer to ceramics, which illustrate different stories of Persian epic. This form of ceramic in modern times associate with Islamic ceramics, and it is a medieval enameling technique of Persia. These forms of enamel characterized by painting also relate to abundant figurative decorations. Few examples indicate that these paintings originate from the city of Kashan (Richard 25-31). The city was a leading manufacturing centre during the period. Decoration of minai', a painting, which uses both over glazed and unglazed techniques, was famous with the town of Kashan.

Description of Appearance of the Bowls

All minai bowls or vessels are typical white, but at times have turquoise. The technique of decoration is inglaze technique where decorations application is over unfired base, and during firing, the pigments sink…

Museums in Paris

The Louvre Museum can be categorized as one of the world's largest and most magnificent museums. It also marks a monument and an attractive sightseeing location for tourists from all over the world. Standing near the River Seine and stretching over 60,000 meters square, this museum has its own unique history.

The museum was a transformation from the Louvre Palace, built as a fortress for King Louis XIV. He considered the Palace too small for his needs and then went on to making the Palace of Versailles. He left behind this beautifully structured monument to become the museum of beautiful art. The Louvre Museum was initiated in 1793 with initially just 537 paintings. Many of these were the confiscated church paintings and the others were donations from the prestigious and powerful people of the time. Slowly and gradually, the collection of the museum started increasing under Napoleon…

" But Pamuk's techniques force the reader to come to the conclusion that an artistic identity must fuse both past and present, have some flexibility and personal style, yet innovate with the demands of modernity terms of the way tradition is presented. This is the implied counsel of Pamuk's story. Learn from the past, as he urges readers to do by writing a historical narrative. However, do not slavishly follow or copy the past, or lock the self away from outside influences, including those influences of other religions and cultures. Pamuk suggests that a unilateral idea of estern selfishness is not sustaining, and he provides instruction for esterners how to view the concept of the self to understand Islam, but ultimately a modern artist cannot live blind like Osman, blind to the presence of other points-of-view, however beautiful Osman's art may have been. Utter self-annihilation in art and in life…

Progressivist Museums

The progressivist philosophy of culture, which posits that advancements in science, technology, social, and economic development are crucial in the development of advanced societies, and that societies advance from a state of barbarism toward a more civilized state, is evident in the modes of display of some of the most popular museums in the world. These museums, The Louvre in Paris, Pitt Rivers in Oxford, and the Smithsonian in D.C., use the progressivist ideology to promote both a cultural theory and a strident nationalism rooted in the belief that its citizens are advancing towards the promise of a better tomorrow. This paper will show how these museums do so.

As Andrew McClellan states, "the public for art is diverse and divided by interests and levels of knowledge."

Appealing to and uniting these diverse interests is what a progressivist museum must do in order to guide its public to…

Impressions

The Louvre

The Louvre, an architectural masterpiece, has dominated central Paris since the late 12th century. The original structure was gradually dwarfed as the city grew. The dark fortress of the early days was transformed into the modernized dwelling of Francois I and, later, the sumptuous palace of the Sun King, Louis XIV. My online tour of the Louvre allowed me to take a virtual, self-guided, room-by-room tour of the museum. The web site allows navigation through exhibition rooms and galleries and allows one to contemplate the facades of the museum. The first thing one sees before entering the museum is the garden, a delight during any season of the year. It is the perfect place for a relaxing stroll and it offers a range of activities for visitors.

There are more than ten sections in the museum for different kinds of art from all around the world including…

Byzantine Empire in the Eastern Mediterranean that extended from Syria, Egypt up to and across North Africa is seen to have made significant contact with the emerging Islamic world in the period from seventh and ninth Centuries. The seventh century saw the vast territories in these regions being ruled by the Byzantine Empire from Constantinople, the now Istanbul. These Southern provinces or territories were greatly influenced by the Greco-oman traditions and formed the home of Coptic, Orthodox and Syriac Christians and Jewish communities. These regions were critical to the wealth and the power of the empire. Great centers for pilgrimage saw large numbers of faithful visit the place coming from as far off as Yemen towards the East and Scandinavia towards the West. There were also major trade routes that extended all the way to India in the South that saw ferrying of silk and ivories into the region, commerce…

Medieval Cultural Exchange

Contrasting Medieval eligious Expression:

An analysis across Christian and Islamic Civilization

In Chapters 7, 8 and 9 of John McKay's A History of World Societies, the similarities and differences of medieval Christian and Islamic civilization across Europe, the Middle East and Africa are detailed as the rise and fall of political and religious actors are presented. One fascinating subject that stands out from such a tremendous amount of material and which returns the student of history to the human scale is how the two civilizations influenced each other in developing new perspectives on religious expression through art, ranging from architecture to calligraphy to even everyday objects such as religious clothing. An understanding of how these two civilizations influenced one another contributes to a more complete understanding of the broader issues of politics, religion and geopolitical competition that defined this historical epoch.

One of the most prominent areas…

Baghdad (Importance in Abbasid Period as a Muslim Cultural Center)

The Muslim world is comprised of various ethnic groups, nationalities, customs and traditions, languages and races. Muslims all over the world have a common belief in the Oneness and Supremacy of Allah, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), and the Holy Quran. On the contrary, they all have different versions and interpretations of their religion, Islam. Thus, the theological traditions they follow are dissimilar. The Muslim world possesses an extensive political, social, economic, and geographical landscape which signifies a "kaleidoscope of historical and cultural experiences." Despite of the differences, however, the contemporary Muslim world today has inherited a highly triumphant and exultant civilization. Muslims are the heirs of a successful civilization that was larger and more productive than the greatest empires in the history including Greek, oman, Byzantine, and Sassanid (Ahmad 2007).

After the demise of the prophet Muhammad (peace…

Staircase ramps which are comprised of steep and narrow steps that lead up one face of the pyramid were more in use at that time with evidence found at the Sinki, Meidum, Giza, Abu Ghurob, and Lisht pyramids respectively (Heizer).

A third ramp variation was the spiral ramp, found in use during the nineteenth dynasty and was, as its name suggests, comprised of a ramp covering all faces of the pyramids leading towards the top. Reversing ramps zigzag up one face of a pyramid at a time and would not be used in the construction of step pyramids, while lastly interior ramps that have been found within the pyramids of Sahura, Nyuserra, Neferifijata, Abusir, and Pepi II (Heizer, Shaw).

Ancient Greece

Ancient Greek architecture exists mainly in surviving temples that survive in large numbers even today and is tied into Roman and Hellenistic periods which borrowed heavily from the Greeks.…

While art is certainly a part of culture, other cultural gifts to history mark religion as a positive force. Without the music, ceremony, poetry, and holy books of Muslim, Hindu, and Christian texts, the world would be without significant Beauty. In their own ways, each of these traditions shaped the cultures that would come after them in significant theological, intellectual, and cultural ways. Burhan writes that Islamic influence in the world has included charity, justice, and unity. Wade writes that even as Christianity is often vilified as a blight to mankind, it made great contributions to science, freedom, ethics and morality, medicine, etc. In conclusion, the ancient history of Eurasia would not have been the same without religion. While religious wars are certainly an important part of history, religion's contributions in the areas of art and culture suggest the positive role religion played in the shaping of contemporary society.

eferences…

Over 90% of Qatari citizens live in Doha, the capital. (State of Qatar, 2007)

The "Big" Picture

Figure 3: Map Qatar, Middle East - From a Distance (Map of Qatar, 2007)

Figure 4: Qatar, Middle East - From a Star's Distance (Map of Qatar, 2007)

Figure 5: Qatar, Middle East - View from a Satellite (Map of Qatar, 2007)

Figure 6: Qatar, Middle East - From the Clouds (Map of Qatar, 2007)

Figure 7: Qatar, Middle East - From the Window of a Plane (Map of Qatar, 2007)

Figure 8: Qatar, Middle East - Bird's Eye View (Map of Qatar, 2007)

Figure 9: Qatar, Middle East - Mapping Where to Visit (Map of Qatar, 2007)

Aims and Objectives

Aim

To utilize the literature research method to explore and examine components relating to tourist development strategy and policy in Qatar.

To fulfill the aim of this thesis, this researcher set specific…

Glimpse into Neanderthal Culture

hen one thinks of the Humanoid genus Homo Sapiens neanderthalensis (HSN) they picture a very primitive creature, simplistic in nature with few social complexities. However, upon close examination of several Neanderthan archeological sites, one will find the Neanderthal man had all of the necessary elements for the beginning of the formation of modern society. It was once thought that these elements were only present after Neanderthan culture after contact with Home Sapiens (HSS). However, evidence now exists that suggests that Neanderthals were already well on their way to developing a formal, but rudimentary, culture well before contact with HSS. This research will examine these findings using evidence gathered from the Petralona, Larga Velhol, St. Cesaire, Shanidar, and Arago sites. This research will support the thesis that Neanderthals had the beginnings of an advanced society prior to contact with Home Sapiens and that the disappearance of the…

Hazal Emre

Looking at art and historical artifacts can tell us immense amounts of information regarding the society and culture from which these objects came from. Art can be revealing and informative in the same manner that books can tell readers about history and cultural conventions, many times providing specific details about its origin. These details can then provide viewers with an informed and comprehensive view of cultures and societies. Art is a reflection of not only the artist which creates the piece, but also a reflection of the atmosphere in which the artist lived. These reflections through art can point to specific themes and subjects that were important during the times that these artists lived. Power and Status are themes that can be considered universal in virtually all cultures regardless of their respective geographical location or historical era.

The intention of this essay is to provide the historical background…

New theories and esthetic visions brought a violent change in popular taste, bringing a fascination for the fantastic, the mythical, the exotic, taking inspiration from eastern civilizations (Japanese, Islamic), naturist ornamentation such as flowers and vegetal designs, waving lines that would induce motion and symmetry. The new art style became a commercial kind of work, since it was aimed towards the masses and the every day life. The industrial design was dictated by fashion and the public taste, that was rapidly changing as the speed of modern life brought new ideas almost constantly and commercial tools, such as films and advertising, influenced in that change.

The difference between the Arts and Crafts and the Art Nouveau movements was mainly the approach towards the creation itself. While the Art Nouveau was promoting the use of mechanical techniques to create art objects that would be used in common life, the Arts and…

artists be given free rein in the producing and displaying of works that are offensive, objectionable, or disparaging of certain people's beliefs and values? What responsibilities do artists have to their society? What responsibilities does the society have to its artists?

The job of artists is to hold up a mirror to society and comment on both the beauty and ugliness that exists in the real world. It is easy to showcase things that are beautiful. The museums of the world are full of pretty pictures which depict landscapes and lovely people in fancy dresses. However, there are also works of art in museums or galleries which are controversial, unsettling, and perhaps even downright ugly. Some works of art show things that most people do not want to see, such as material which is offensive, or objectionable, or even disparaging of the beliefs and values of others. Such works are…