The movie by Robert H. Gardner called "Islamic Art: Mirror of the Invisible World" impressed me with its deep, sophisticated and context-based understanding of art. This kind of approach allows to not only get visual pleasure from fascinating mosques and other architectural designs but to see the cross points in culture as well as the differences that can be viewed through the lens of art. "Islamic art - a reflection of the people and the in which it was produced". By these words, authors show that art is important firstly because of the fact that it reflects us, our values and culture. Since religion is a major part of most cultures, culture is hugely affected by religions as well as religions are affected by culture. So this relationship cannot be called one-way. Throughout the documentary, the roles of words, space, ornament, colors and water in Islamic art are emphasised.
At the beginning of the movie, the parallel between Islam and Christianity is drawn. The authors highlight that both religions were firstly based on oral revelation. In "The Formation of Islam" Berkey also discusses that there are many cross points between Islam and Christianity. Also, both the movie and the reading discuss the differences these religions have. In the movie, we can see that inscriptions in mosques and other Islamic buildings arguing that God is one, not three, appealing to trinity in Christianity. Interesting thing is that these inscriptions mostly made in gold cubes, which shows how important for Muslims was the rebuttal to Christianity.
Another thing that was discussed in the movie is a non-figural design that is mostly used in mosques. The reason for that is that Muslims wanted to avoid idolship and therefore drawing and sculpturing the prophet Muhammed was strongly forbidden. However, because of that, the calligraphy in Islam developed substantially. Different types of manuscripts can be found in mosques and other Islamic building. The words of God depicted in the Quran could make any building sacred for Muslims. The movie discusses different techniques that Muslims used to integrate the words of God to different buildings. The beauty of such writings, make these inscriptions piece of art, which attracts people from all over the world and from different religions. Furthermore, the writing process can be something special for caligrapher, by making him/her closer to the divine, as it was told by Mohammed Zachariya, an American master of Arabic calligraphy. Another important thing about calligraphy in mosques is that some of them are located in a place, which is far from the human eye and cannot be read. However, seemingly the words' depicted main goal is not to be read, mostly they are there for their beauty and for the sense of divinity. Furthermore, the illumination of inscriptions also takes an important role in Islamic art. Mostly it is applied to names of surahs and used to navigate the reader.
Another thing that I found interesting in the movie is how it connects the usage of flora and fauna with the concept of heaven for Muslims. The role of water in this is also enormous. It is connected to the scarcity of water in most of the part of the Islamic world, especially when it started spreading. The heaven where it was said a lot of garden, flora and fauna, or "paradise" otherwise called was a good motivation for Muslims. Also, the water was given a huge role in the Quran. Every mosque has space where people can wash up since before every prayer Muslims are required to wash up. Furthermore, not favourable conditions with water in Muslim countries motivated them to invent different ways to lighten their life.
Another important in the movie was about space. It showed how the interaction of different cultures and religions can create amazing beauty. The mosque of Cordoba in Spain, constructed by the interaction of Byzantine and Roman techniques mixed with Islamic mosque style. Another mosque discussed in the movie is Djenne. This mosque with its West African structure, at first sight, does not resemble us a mosque we used to see. However, say the authors, it is important to keep in mind about diversity, when we talk about Islamic architecture. The reason for that is the fact that because of the mixture with a different culture, as with Byzantine and Roman in the first case and West African in the second. It shows the tolerance of Islam to other cultures and its openness to interact with them.
Overall, the movie shows the beauties of transcendental to different culture the Islamic art. It helps us understand the underlying logic of Islamic art by contextualizing it to a different time and places. The sentence with which the movie ends leaves the best impression since it concludes what authors wanted to say in a perfect manner. I hope it will end my review in that way too. "A translucent glass is beautiful regardless of your religious background, mosaic sparkles regardless of what time in history you are in, monuments are awesome whoever you are, whether you walk in there to pray or walk in there with a camera as a tourist".
63 Reviews
Islamic Art: Mirror of the Invisible World
aslanakarzhaubay1 November 2020
Warning: Spoilers
One of the things that unite history from around the globe is art. No matter whether or not you are familiar with the concept and history behind it, you still can appreciate the beauty and the glory of the art just by looking at how elegantly one object is made. This movie, directed by multiple Emmy winner Robert H. Gardner, tells us a story of Islamic art and how Islamic art is closely intertwined with other religions and cultures. I think that this is one of the rare, not theological, movies which so accurately depicted Islam and its history by narrating it using its art. I also strongly believe that each person who wants to truly understand and appreciate Islam should watch this film to get a grasp of how seemingly new and distant to the West religion incorporated fines qualities of the different cultures where this religion is situated.
First of all, let me give you a short summary of what this movie is about. As I mentioned earlier, this movie is about the beauty of Islamic art. In order to explain how this art emerged, the movie narrates not only about the art itself but the story behind it. This film also takes its audience on a journey to nine different countries to show how the word, space, ornaments, and water are combined all together to produce glorious art and architecture. In order to make it easier to comprehend, the movie was divided into several parts that make the Islamic culture and art so unique, and those are word, space, ornaments, color, and water. In addition to that, the richness of Islamic art was shown on the examples of different objects starting from the little and ordinary pieces like plates or pen cases and ending with monumental mosques and palaces. This movie opens us a window through which we can observe how diverse and varied Islamic art is and how Islam culture gave a rise to many beautiful things that pushed our civilization forward. Lastly, I think that the way the movie was filmed to show objects from 360 degrees and the way that its context is supported and analyzed by the art historians makes this movie insightful and trustworthy.
So, now as you have the background of this movie is about, let me tell you what aspects of Islamic religious tradition the film highlights and explains. The first thing to focus on is Arabic inscriptions all over the perimeter of the mosque. Those inscriptions are words from the Quran, which is a central holy book for Muslims as it is considered to be the direct speech of God and the eternal source for them to regulate their lives (Islam lecture 2). As it is said in the 1st revelation "read, for your Lord is the Most Generous, the One who taught the use of the pen, taught man what he did not know". As opposed to Christianity where God gave his son as a gift to humankind, God in Islam gave Qoran as a gift, that is why writing becomes a central feature of this religion. You can see it all over the objects in Islamic culture, starting from jugs, ending with gold inscriptions in mosques. This movie highlights the Quran as making Islam different from all the other religions. The importance of writing was so high, it led to the emergence of calligraphy, which is the art of beautiful writing. Calligraphy is even considered to be a spiritual experience, because when a person transfers words of God to the paper, God speaks through the pen, making the person connected to him even more. In addition to that, Arabic inscriptions showed in the film, respond to Christian presence by opposing the main doctrine of Christianity that God is three persons, but one God, as it is described in Nicene Creed, by writing inscriptions saying that God is one, not three, and referring to monotheistic nature of Islam (lecture Orthodoxy and Empire). The movie tries to highlight those differences between religions and explains their effect on Islamic art.
Continuing the theme of inscriptions, we can now talk about the pictures and images used in Ismalic art. Calligraphy was used as the visualization of the Quran, and we can say that as opposed to Christianity, the Islamic religion was against icons and idols. Both Christians and Muslims used mosaic to decorate churches and mosques respectively, but due to fear of idolatry in Islam, no pictures of people are allowed to draw in Islam. Instead, Muslims used nonfigural designs (as ornaments, patterns) and the holy words of the Quran. For example, in Islamic art, there was an abundance of images depicting flora and fauna. Since God cannot be portrayed, Muslims felt connected to him via those images of nature, because as God once said that in order to know him, you need to know and consider his creatures. The opposition of idolatry, then, can be considered as something that gives a person freedom to interpret God in different ways by not limiting himself to one and only image of God (as in Christianity), because different Muslims felt differently at different times of the history.
The last thing that I consider to be phenomenal is geometry all over Islamic art. Geometry, indeed, played a central role in Islam. For example, how geometry is used in religious practice. For example, you need to orient mosques by looking at the stars to make calculations based on geometry to know the proper direction and time of prayer, or you need geometry to navigate as you move through the deserts. Let's say, at the early ages when there was no such thing as a compass, people relied solely on the geometry of stars to know if they were on the direction to Mecca when they were performing pilgrimage (Islam lecture 1).
Concluding everything mentioned before, I can truly say that this movie opened Islam from a completely new perspective by explaining these details that compromise Islamic art and their emergence. I would strongly recommend everyone to watch because it sheds light on the shared history between western and Islamic culture.
Islamic Art: Review the concepts of word and space
aigerimzholdas1 November 2020
Warning: Spoilers
This documentary, directed by Robert Gardner, depicts art in the Islamic world. It mainly focuses on different techniques used in Islamic Art throughout history. This documentary includes the commentary of different scholars on famous mosques. They divided the documentary into five themes such as word, space, color, ornament, and water. The documentary successfully captures the diverse Islamic world and the effect of religion on the local civilization. They explained this idea through perfectly made shots and narrative. The most fascinating detail of the documentary is that they managed to explain the diverse Islamic world and inform about core Islamic concepts that have been preserved in every region. I will focus on the concepts - words and space - to explain their role in Islamic Art and argue that the concepts successfully preserved the Islamic culture in this complex world.
According to the documentary, "words" are used widely in Islamic Art. They are on the surface of walls, jars, and plates. They look very elegant, making writing a central feature of this religion. There are two reasons why these words play a significant role in art. Firstly, because those words are the direct speech of God, they are the gift to mankind. Therefore, people tried to make the last from generation to generation by reciting them. Their attempt to capture the divine pushed them to depict the words on all the things in the surroundings, from day to day things to mosques. Secondly, writing those words everywhere gives believers the feeling as if God is everywhere. These Arabic scriptures made the religion stood out from other religions because it was a unique concept. For example, it is believed that the Quran, the words in the Quran reflect the magnificent beauty of this world, and its uniqueness cannot be matched (Lecture). As the result, Arabic scripture can appeal to a lot of people. The idea that you do not need to know Arabic, to appreciate the beautiful and very detailed work that was put into those words was mentioned in the documentary. So, it is safe to assume that those inscriptions depicted the strong faith of the people who are ready to pay huge respect to their religion by writing verses from the Quran on the buildings and making their environment profane, hence they can feel connected to God. In this way, these "words" preserved the tradition that turned into calligraphy and recitation competition that helped to memorialize the extent the Islam penetrated cultures.
Another concept that helped Islam to be preserved in this diverse world is the correct usage of space. Space is important in Islam because it allows capturing a holy place, Mosque. The way civilizations built Mosques reflects the region's materials, economic prosperity, and traditions. For example, one of the most famous mosques is Suleiman's imperial mosque completed in 1558. This mosque is a great example of effective usage of architecture. The building contains several domes that enlarge the space in the mosque. One of the scholars in the documentary says that "Ornaments in the mosque used to emphasize the structure but not overwhelm it" (29.46 min). This is a good comment that depicts both the talent of the architecture, Mimar Sinan and the way space reflects the religion through ornaments and scriptures. The Mosque in Djenna, Mali serves the same purpose as Allah's sacred home. Yet the building is drastically different from Suleiman's Imperial Mosque. The mosque in Djenna is a simple Islamic architecture that also effectively used the space and the shortage of materials. Even though the mosques preserved core Islamic details, they are still different due to the adaptation of the building to the local community. As a result, it is clear that the beauty of mosques and its meaning is worth to renew it every now and then. So, According to the documentary, Islam can successfully survive in a diverse world due to giving flexibility in the usage of space and leaving some room for cultural uniqueness.
Overall, I believe that the documentary captures Islamic art quite well. I have visited the mosques in Istanbul last year, and thus, I am sure that the documentary did a good job depicting the beauty of the art in mosques. This documentary made me look at these buildings in a new perspective - paying attention to every detail, every ornament, and cubes in the building. The main idea of the documentary is to show people how religion, Islam managed to use art as a way to appeal to people and survive hundreds of years. Moreover, these arts are the window to history and to who we were and who we are. This art made it easier for the religion to penetrate every aspect of society making the religion a very personal experience with the divine. I recommend this movie to everyone who is interested in how religions shape societies and societies express their beliefs.
Islamic Art: Mirror of the invisible world
zhanerkeshaktybek3 April 2020
The seventh century was a changing point of history. At that time once great empires of Byzantium and Persia were weakened by continuous wars and new power and culture were born in the Arabian Peninsula united by Islam religion. It was the beginning of the Islamic culture. In this movie, we can see the epic journey across several cities which are the main centers of Islamic development. This documentary film explores the breathtakingly beautiful art of the Islamic world and its history over 1400 years. It gives a chance to see Islamic culture which has an important influence on world history from a different perspective. Art does not belong to one particular culture, art is common to all. Art is a window to the past times. To see and appreciate the masterpiece done by another civilization, it is not necessary to understand it. However, by looking at their meaning we can understand their life, believes, hopes and feelings. The film explores the richness of Islamic art which was created in that civilization. The creation of masterpieces starting from small objects like box for a pen to changes of colors in monumental mosques depending on light is the great work of masters in that civilization. In the film, we can also see admirable beauty of ceramics, painting, textile, metallic tools and an extraordinary array of architecture.
The unique thing in Islamic art is that Arabic words are everywhere. They are not just words; they are sign from God, belief and the sacred world from Koran which would always make a reminder about religion. They are written beautifully and it calls calligraphy. According to Sheila Blair, these inscriptions always say about the fact that God is one, not three as in Christianity. That is one of the key differences of Islam. Calligraphy is an art of writing. Muslims always tried to write Koran as beautiful as possible. According to Mohamed Zachariya who is the well-respected calligraphers in the world, it is a magical art. He says that every detail of art such as a quality of paper and angle of reed pen's cutting is important. Calligraphic writings are very accurate, spiritual and breathtaking. That is the voice of God everywhere around. So we cannot even imagine how they did it, and it is a great piece of art. The next is the architecture of buildings. In the video we can see the Alhambra which was built in the 14th century by the last Muslim rulers of Granada in Spain, mosques are in Damascus, Syria, the mosque in Africa and Sultan Suleiman's creative endeavors including the Topkapi Palace. Let's begin with their similarities. All of them are a great example of architectural art. All mosques have designed the mihrab wall which is placed to direct prayers to Mecca. Buildings are adapted to have many people at one moment like on Friday namaz. Also, they have a specific side for the person who invites and reminds about time to pray, azan riders. Also, some of the mosques have tribune for speakers during meetings. The building could show the power and wealthiness of its creator. The designed several hallways before the main hall, geometric ornaments, and calligraphic writings show the elite life. The luxury was in that courtyards open to the sky, but still inside. According to the Ruba Kanaan the light and its play with color, even smell was important and creates a spiritual effect. Interesting fact, figurative art does not exist in Islamic culture. Even if we can see some paintings and sculptures, they are not idols. All over the Islamic world, the textile plays an important role in purpose making comfort. Textile is very useful and comfortable, we can use it to separate us from dirty, to warm up, to decorate, to sit on it, sleep on it and they are easy to roll up and keep it. The carpet weaving was initially developed in Persia and come to India in 16 century. Weaving is a geometric technique that is easier to make horizontally in one direction and circled weaves were even more complex to do. So, the prints on carpets can be ornaments and figures, also a beautiful view of fauna and flora. In Islam God says "To know me, know my creations". So, they do not paint God, we cannot see it. But we can see it through the beauty of creations. That makes the belief even more spiritual and magical. While talking about Islamic art, it is impossible to not mention colors. Colors of metalware work, buildings or in the textile are amazing. All pigments were derived from nature. It is not hard to colorize silk and cotton. Metallic tools were colorized by inlaying, for example, gold or silver to bronze. One way they used to make colors in grinding. For example, grinding of copper gives blue color and cobalt gives white color. Another part of Islamic Art is related to water supply techniques. Most of the Islamic world is placed in deserts and in dry landscape where rainfall is very low. So, they have developed complex engineering techniques to supply the city with water, for example, qanats and wheels. So coming from this reason, gardens mostly placed in enclosed places. It makes easier to take care of the garden. Garden in Islam with a variety of fruit trees and beautiful flowers is associated with paradise.
Islamic culture is rich in fascinating creations. We need to know not only about the history of wars and catastrophes; we need to know about treasure coming thought centuries. The same attitude should be modulated with Islamic culture's greatest gifts to our world which are an outpouring of creativity and intelligence. Islamic art is a combination of engineering skills and knowledge with deepest emotions that believes and loves to the beauty of their creators.
Great movie
ilyas_s17 April 2021
Warning: Spoilers
The movie Islamic Art: Mirror of the Invisible World , which is directed by Robert Gardner, is an documentary film of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). The film was originally released in 2012, on July 7. The movie Islamic Art is not very long movie that has running time only 90 minutes and have been produced in DVD. The film has various awards, and at the International Family Film Festival was voted as the best film. It is known that the Islamic art is very diverse, and this film demonstrates it in all its glory. Throughout the movie the viewer can watch the whole beauty of the Islamic art, and the culture of the Islam, that had significant role in the world civilization's growth. And there is some historical events about the Islam religion's spread around the world. The film is very interesting and can be looked in one breath, it is easy to follow narrator's speaking and different scenes of the movie. The film will awaken in you a desire to visit these places that were shown in the film, namely the beautiful architectures of Islamic world.
The word, color, water, ornament and space are the five sections of film ton which the film was divided. Throughout the film, different architectures were demonstrated. And I think that the point of this is that Muslims by building those beautiful architectures expressed their faith. So the faith was expressed by the Muslim people with the help of art. In the film Islamic art importance of design, colors, arches, geometry, paintings and carpets of and in Islamic architectures such as the Shaykh Lutfallah mosque, Alhambra palace, the mosque of Damascus, the mosque of Cordoba and other great Islamic architectures were demonstrated in details. As it was stated in the class lecture on the Spread of Islam, Islam religion was spreading fast around the world, and different regions converted to the Islam differently. And in the movie Islamic Art, show us the diversity of Islamic art in different regions around the world, and its considerable contribution to the world art and culture. In addition, everyone who saw the mosques in real life noticed that they are built in strange direction, and the film explains the importance of geometry in the Islam why mosques are in build in those direction. And this is due to the fact that the mosques are constructed in such way and direction so that the mosque is oriented towards Mecca, so that Muslims who come to pray are oriented and are praying towards Mecca. Also, Muslims used geometry to know the time when they need to pray. Furthermore, most of the things in mosque and mosque itself are symmetric. And this is considered as the Islamic art. Inside mosques as was shown in the film, the beautiful ornaments in mosques and Arabic inscriptions can be seen everywhere and they are considered as one of the elements of the Islamic art and in addition those Arabic inscriptions are the God words because they were taken directly from the Qur'an. So, calligraphy was transformed into masterpiece by the Islamic art. Moreover, in of the sections of the film "water", it can be seen that the water supply and pools used by Muslims was a one of the forms of art. Beautiful pools such as in the in the Islamic world were form of art, and in some places they were used by Muslim people to wash up before the pray.
The film Islamic Art was narrated by the narrator, Susan Sarandon. And one of the things I like most in that film is the beautiful and clear voice of the narrator, which accompanies the viewer throughout the film in a combination of nice and very suitable background music. Moreover, I like the quality of the film, namely that the quality of the picture is of high quality, and the smooth transitions between scenes. The Islamic architectures, mosques, calligraphies and palaces were demonstrated and accompanied with the interviews with the scholars throughout the film.
To conclude with, this is one of the most beautiful documentary films that I have ever watched. It was so interesting and breathtaking to watch the whole beauty of the Islamic art and its diversity, so that I didn't even understand how 90 minutes of the film passed so quickly. After watching this film I really want to visit all astonishing places that were shown in the film such as the great Mosque of Cordoba and see all the beauty of Islamic art by my own eyes. I highly recommend this film to all, regardless which religion person has or how many years he old, everyone will like this movie and none of those who watched the Islamic art movie will definitely regret the time spent. Therefore, I give 10/10 to this great movie!
The word, color, water, ornament and space are the five sections of film ton which the film was divided. Throughout the film, different architectures were demonstrated. And I think that the point of this is that Muslims by building those beautiful architectures expressed their faith. So the faith was expressed by the Muslim people with the help of art. In the film Islamic art importance of design, colors, arches, geometry, paintings and carpets of and in Islamic architectures such as the Shaykh Lutfallah mosque, Alhambra palace, the mosque of Damascus, the mosque of Cordoba and other great Islamic architectures were demonstrated in details. As it was stated in the class lecture on the Spread of Islam, Islam religion was spreading fast around the world, and different regions converted to the Islam differently. And in the movie Islamic Art, show us the diversity of Islamic art in different regions around the world, and its considerable contribution to the world art and culture. In addition, everyone who saw the mosques in real life noticed that they are built in strange direction, and the film explains the importance of geometry in the Islam why mosques are in build in those direction. And this is due to the fact that the mosques are constructed in such way and direction so that the mosque is oriented towards Mecca, so that Muslims who come to pray are oriented and are praying towards Mecca. Also, Muslims used geometry to know the time when they need to pray. Furthermore, most of the things in mosque and mosque itself are symmetric. And this is considered as the Islamic art. Inside mosques as was shown in the film, the beautiful ornaments in mosques and Arabic inscriptions can be seen everywhere and they are considered as one of the elements of the Islamic art and in addition those Arabic inscriptions are the God words because they were taken directly from the Qur'an. So, calligraphy was transformed into masterpiece by the Islamic art. Moreover, in of the sections of the film "water", it can be seen that the water supply and pools used by Muslims was a one of the forms of art. Beautiful pools such as in the in the Islamic world were form of art, and in some places they were used by Muslim people to wash up before the pray.
The film Islamic Art was narrated by the narrator, Susan Sarandon. And one of the things I like most in that film is the beautiful and clear voice of the narrator, which accompanies the viewer throughout the film in a combination of nice and very suitable background music. Moreover, I like the quality of the film, namely that the quality of the picture is of high quality, and the smooth transitions between scenes. The Islamic architectures, mosques, calligraphies and palaces were demonstrated and accompanied with the interviews with the scholars throughout the film.
To conclude with, this is one of the most beautiful documentary films that I have ever watched. It was so interesting and breathtaking to watch the whole beauty of the Islamic art and its diversity, so that I didn't even understand how 90 minutes of the film passed so quickly. After watching this film I really want to visit all astonishing places that were shown in the film such as the great Mosque of Cordoba and see all the beauty of Islamic art by my own eyes. I highly recommend this film to all, regardless which religion person has or how many years he old, everyone will like this movie and none of those who watched the Islamic art movie will definitely regret the time spent. Therefore, I give 10/10 to this great movie!
Review on Islamic Art: I rate 6/10
daniyarfaizullayev11 April 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Islamic Art Mirror is a documentary film with a huge amount of information about Islamic Art. It was interesting to know more about Islamic Art and different parts of it. Nevertheless, at the end of the movie, people usually forget important information said at the beginning. Therefore, it is necessary to take notes on film or rewatch it one or two times more, which forces me to rate it 6 out of 10. It is known that the category of this film is documentary,while documentary film is not required to be in such form. It is stuffed with a lot of information and all parts of Islamic Art, which were born during explanation of one topic. Usually, in the process of reading the history of one country, historians divide the history of this country depending on chronologically to few parts. It makes it more informative and easy to understand or remember.
It contains important details about Islamic Art, which makes it interesting. However, this topic is not a small topic, which might be explained in one short documentary film. In this movie, actors tried to explain this topic as much as possible. In the process of explaining parts of Islamic art, discussions about other aspects of Islamic Art were opened and actors started to explain new topics. In my point of view, It will be more useful to discuss each part of the Islamic Art separately. For example, explaining calligraphy, textile, buildings, gardens separately will be more informative and interesting for people. It will be informative because people will know more about one category, which is interesting for them. If someone wants to research Textile Art of Islamic Art, they will watch documentary movies with deep knowledge on textile.
In this documentary film, it was mentioned about sightseeings of the World connected with Islam religion. For example, Dome of the Rock with earliest Quran words, Alhambra with its poetry written at eye level, Great mosque of Djenne with poor exterior compared with Asian mosques and Hagia Sophia the bridge connecting christians and muslims. All these places were mentioned in the film, but I want to know more about them: about constructions of them, people constructed them and other important information. It is interesting to know more about calligraphy in different parts of the Islam Caliphate. I think that calligraphy is not the same in India, Africa and Central Asia. Additionally, it was mentioned about interference of local culture into Islam, which might be seen from different mosques in different parts of the world. Abd-Al Rahman founded his dynasty in Cordoba and used some local techniques in construction of mosque in Cordoba. It is known that different aspects of local culture like this were included into Islamic Art and it was different due to the regions.
This movie is not a failure and contains a lot of information that will be useful for people. The team working on this documentary film tried to include all important information of Islamic Art, which might spoil its structure. Additionally, the aim of this documentary film was not to provide ordinary people with structured and clarified information, and was including all information collected about all parts of Islamic Art. In this film, even the process of making colors were mentioned. According to this information, the idea of blue and white ceramic creation in Iran was proven. Therefore, it will be disrespectful to not mention the importance of the information said in the film. According to content choosing part of the film, the producing team succeeded in their aim. All the information in this film was interesting and informative. It also includes some important information about the importance of Quran around of which Islam religion is based. It is the gift from God, which is the direct speech of God to us.
According to the cinematography part of the film, it meets the requirements of the documentary film. There were no effects like sounds and pictures not connected with the topic, which helped to concentrate during the watching process. I want to mention about successful choosing of background music in all episodes, which makes it better. It was a descriptive documentary film, which might be improved simply by changing the title. It will be better, if the title of the film will get the audience interested immediately. There is a possibility to start with a general intriguing question and give information during the film to analyse and find the answer for the question.
To conclude, Islamic Art Mirror is a descriptive documentary film with a huge amount of information that might be very useful for researchers, but is very difficult to remember and understand all information in the film. It would be better to present such a huge amount of information in several documentary films. This is practising in explaining the history of the countries with smaller chronological range. It makes it more informative and easy to understand. All of these arguments were born through my analysis of this documentary film and contains only my opinion about this film. It is not the best documentary film, but might be very helpful for many people. Therefore, I will rate this fill 6/10.
It contains important details about Islamic Art, which makes it interesting. However, this topic is not a small topic, which might be explained in one short documentary film. In this movie, actors tried to explain this topic as much as possible. In the process of explaining parts of Islamic art, discussions about other aspects of Islamic Art were opened and actors started to explain new topics. In my point of view, It will be more useful to discuss each part of the Islamic Art separately. For example, explaining calligraphy, textile, buildings, gardens separately will be more informative and interesting for people. It will be informative because people will know more about one category, which is interesting for them. If someone wants to research Textile Art of Islamic Art, they will watch documentary movies with deep knowledge on textile.
In this documentary film, it was mentioned about sightseeings of the World connected with Islam religion. For example, Dome of the Rock with earliest Quran words, Alhambra with its poetry written at eye level, Great mosque of Djenne with poor exterior compared with Asian mosques and Hagia Sophia the bridge connecting christians and muslims. All these places were mentioned in the film, but I want to know more about them: about constructions of them, people constructed them and other important information. It is interesting to know more about calligraphy in different parts of the Islam Caliphate. I think that calligraphy is not the same in India, Africa and Central Asia. Additionally, it was mentioned about interference of local culture into Islam, which might be seen from different mosques in different parts of the world. Abd-Al Rahman founded his dynasty in Cordoba and used some local techniques in construction of mosque in Cordoba. It is known that different aspects of local culture like this were included into Islamic Art and it was different due to the regions.
This movie is not a failure and contains a lot of information that will be useful for people. The team working on this documentary film tried to include all important information of Islamic Art, which might spoil its structure. Additionally, the aim of this documentary film was not to provide ordinary people with structured and clarified information, and was including all information collected about all parts of Islamic Art. In this film, even the process of making colors were mentioned. According to this information, the idea of blue and white ceramic creation in Iran was proven. Therefore, it will be disrespectful to not mention the importance of the information said in the film. According to content choosing part of the film, the producing team succeeded in their aim. All the information in this film was interesting and informative. It also includes some important information about the importance of Quran around of which Islam religion is based. It is the gift from God, which is the direct speech of God to us.
According to the cinematography part of the film, it meets the requirements of the documentary film. There were no effects like sounds and pictures not connected with the topic, which helped to concentrate during the watching process. I want to mention about successful choosing of background music in all episodes, which makes it better. It was a descriptive documentary film, which might be improved simply by changing the title. It will be better, if the title of the film will get the audience interested immediately. There is a possibility to start with a general intriguing question and give information during the film to analyse and find the answer for the question.
To conclude, Islamic Art Mirror is a descriptive documentary film with a huge amount of information that might be very useful for researchers, but is very difficult to remember and understand all information in the film. It would be better to present such a huge amount of information in several documentary films. This is practising in explaining the history of the countries with smaller chronological range. It makes it more informative and easy to understand. All of these arguments were born through my analysis of this documentary film and contains only my opinion about this film. It is not the best documentary film, but might be very helpful for many people. Therefore, I will rate this fill 6/10.
Movie Review
ademimuratova1 April 2020
Warning: Spoilers
The documentary movie "Islamic Art: Mirror of the Invisible World" was directed by Rob Gardner in 2011. Opinions of historians all over the world, and a beautiful narration supported by demonstrative professionally shoot video help us visualize and feel the beauty of the Islamic Art.
The movie is divided into five sections: word, space, ornament, color and water. These are the most essential parts for the creation of Islamic art. The movie provides examples of the most prominent art works for each section, including decoration in mosques, palaces, ceramics, carpet making, paintings and beautiful gardens. In all of the abovementioned pieces of art, we can see and feel their magnificence and beauty, as well as a deep message containing in them. Precisely, the Islamic art reflects the different stages of history, people's perception of Islam, and architecture style.
Throughout the history of Islamic art, a very close attention is paid towards the application of inscriptions on walls, outer surface, and domes. Usually, excerpts from Koran, a sacred book, are illustrated on the surface of mosques, palaces, and metallic objects. For instance, the Dome of the Rock, is a representation of how cultures merged after Muslim conquests and of how important are the words of Allah to Muslims. The architecture of the Dome resembles Byzantine martyrium, but the words written on it show that it is an Islamic architecture. The inscription on this building is mainly about saying that God is one, not three, and can be perceived as a rebuttal to Christians' belief in Trinity. Only the inscriptions are made in gold cubes, emphasizing the sacredness of those words. In addition, the dome covers a giant rock, believed to be the one from which Prophet Mohammad ascended to the Night journey, Mi'raj.
Another type of art of words is a calligraphy. In the movie, it is well explained that an Islamic calligraphy is different from other types of calligraphy in a way that there should be no sign of human interaction in these words, because they are the words of God himself. Through an example of Mohamed Zachariya, we can understand that Islamic calligraphy needs an enormous amount of dedication, not to mention the meticulous preparation, such as carving a pen, soaping a paper, for the calligraphy. The Islamic calligraphy is a prayer in itself, and it makes the words of God look breathtaking and beautiful, so that even if a person does not understand the meaning, he can at least feel the magnificence and the presence of God.
According to Mohammad al-Asad, a Jordanic self-historian, In Islamic art, the architecture also plays a vital role in reflecting people's economic, social and cultural values. We can see wide variety of buildings, including mosques, palaces, and military architecture. One of the oldest existing mosques built in 715 is in Damascus, Syria. The mosque is built in hypostyle form, that is, it is built with a series of columns, extending to a big area, which was built in accordance with the growing Muslim population. The mosque has a place for ablution, minbar, a place for Islamic preach, mahrib, a place showing the direction of Ka'aba, towards which Muslims should pray. A magnificent palace in Cordoba, Spain resembles the building structure of this mosque, because it was built under the control of Syrian prince, Abd al Rahman.
A fairly unusual example of mosque may be the Great Mosque of Djenne, a city in west Africa, which is a large adobe building and is different from the common representation of mosque. The reason is that it does not have carvings, ornaments at all due to the material of the construction. However, there are 99 columns, illustrating the 99 names of Allah, and a small hole on the roof allow natural light to pass in the building. The usage of light and space is peculiar, and that makes it unique. The architecture style represents how people perceive religion and their cultural values.
One of the ubiquitous feature of Islamic art is ornament. Textile, building, ceramics, paintings, metallic objects, all of them have ornaments on them. Usually, ornaments are the illustration of flowers, plants and geometrical shapes. An aesthetic depiction of flowers and other plants may represent Muslim perception of paradise, containing beautiful fruit plants, flowers, bushes, and trees. These representation give the viewers the sense of beauty of paradise. The geometric patterns on the surface of buildings, objects show Muslims' great interest in geometry, which may be due to their large reliance on geometry in everyday life, such as identifying the direction of prayer by looking at the stars and making calculations. Even on the Great Mosque of Djenne, which seems to lack any ornaments, we can notice patterns created by the shadows of beans, and they are constantly changing reflecting the movement of sunlight.
In order to diversify ornaments and inscriptions, artists used a spectrum of colors. Unlike present day readily available coloring, paint was extracted from natural resources, such as cobalt and grinding up pigments. An eye-catching example of ornament coloring is Isfahan's Sheikh Lotfollah mosque, which is colored in different types of blue color, resulting in the most colorful and complex ornaments. The intense usage of blue color is due to large sources of cobalt in Iran. Along with the ornaments, coloring techniques were used to make paintings. For instance, in private palace Chehel Sotoun of Iranian rulers, there are paintings representing historical battles, narratives, and epical poems, such as Ferdousi's Shahnameh or Nizami's poem "Seven Beauties", the paintings of which are colored in seven different styles corresponding to each princess. These art pieces do not contain prayers, Koranic verses, but rather it depicts the history and culture of a country.
The last feature of Islamic art conveyed in this documentary is water. Water symbolizes life, as well as purity. As it is written in Koran that God gave life through water, we can understand the importance of water to the Islamic art. Often in palaces, there is a fountain located whether in gardens or the yard of palace. As a historian D. Fairchild Ruggles says, water connects us to the past figures, as the water in a tomb or in palace is the same water that was used centuries ago, helping us to be a part of that same environment. Moreover, water plays a vital role in religious practice, as Muslims should take ablution before prayer in order to purify themselves before standing in front of Allah. And there are many water reservoirs, basins, fountains in mosques and palaces. Therefore, water not only is a main source of life, but it also has an artistic, cultural role in the religion Islam.
Islamic art may serve as a bridge between this and the other world, and it is people's expression of obedience, love to God and their faith. Anyone can feel the magnificence of the big domes and colorful ornaments, the power of beautiful inscriptions and I think it is what makes Islamic art so special.
Islamic Art
daniyar96112 April 2020
Warning: Spoilers
The documentary film demonstrates how art complements and identifies the ideas of Islam. The narrative is divided into parts, each of which covers an important aspect of Islamic art: Word, Space, Ornaments, Color and Water. The narrative of the movie is both descriptive because it shows some fascinating facts about Islam, and argumentative simultaneously because it has some implicit claims about both religion and art. I will try to elaborate on the claims and construct the arguments. On the one hand, the film conveys the idea that art has a communicational function because it is a universally understood language. Thus, Islamic art may spread its ideas to people from outside and help to unite all Muslims using universal symbols. On the other hand, the film destroys orientalist myths by explaining that Eastern culture is not inferior to the Western one and was not developed in its shadow. The movie develops a contrary message that although the culture of the Near East has its uniqueness, different cultures and religions develop together by influencing each other.
If Jesus is the center of the Christian tradition, the center of Islam is oral revelations and art can be considered as the media to appreciate and spread Qur'an and its oral revelations. I think that the most important idea of the movie is that art is the best form of communication for religion, as historian D. Fairchild Ruggles says in the film, 'art is universal and you do not need to learn to appreciate it to get it'. The language of art is beauty, which is an understandable language even for people who do not speak Arabic and read Qur'an. This beauty takes different universal forms like calligraphy, architecture, sculpture, textile, etc. to create symbolic meaning and spread ideas of Islam so people can relate to this art. One of the movie narrators, American calligrapher, who found the beauty of Arabic scriptures and then became one of the most influential Islamic calligraphers. That supports the argument that religious ideas can spread through art as a medium. Secondly, because the end purpose of Islam is the recitation of the holy scriptures, Islamic art also adapts to this goal. Through some pieces of art, Muslims may express and perceive the state of prayer. For instance, the calligrapher can meditate and recite Qur'an through the process of writing, a wanderer may appreciate Islam by reciting surahs on a mosque's walls. Thus, art unites these experiences of people and creates a network between people of the same faith. Moreover, art expresses spirituality and helps to repeat the experience of different generations of people and unite them using universal symbols.
Even though Islam is younger than Christianity and Judaism, it has left no less heritage and influence on the global culture. The film carries the message that Islamic art cannot be regarded as something exotic and isolated from world culture because art, as a reflection of the culture of that time, is a bridge between different worlds: Western and Eastern, religious and secular, rich and poor. Art allows us to understand that Islam was both subject to influence from outside, and often itself influenced and even was a pioneer in some respects. For instance, the construction of the Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba was inspired by the Great Mosque of Damascus but was built based on the local Spanish church, therefore it is an impressive merger of Roman architectural influence and Islamic symbolic narratives from Syria. Another great example is the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, which architectural style was influenced by both Byzantine and Islamic elements. And there are a ton of similar examples in architecture, paintings, sculptures, etc. when Islamic culture influenced European ones and vice versa. Moreover, some artistic inventions were created in the Islamic world and influenced the West. It is a fact that the first irrigation system was invented on the territory of modern Iran, and it is called a qanat. Then this system reached the other parts of the world. The film tells us interesting though that this invention was partly born at the expense of Islam, so we can say that the aesthetics and art of Islam have significantly influenced the modern Western world in different aspects. An interesting for me was that once religious art can become part of something mundane and secular.
It is fascinating how people generated intertextual language as art and how certain universal symbols were developed. I think that art as a tool of intertextuality for religion, society, and politics, helped to make stronger connections between people because they have a common sense of unity and one faith. Of course, we cannot reduce art to this function alone, however, it was interesting to look in this context while watching the movie. Moreover, we cannot make assumptions researching only one religion or one form of art independently because this intertextuality permeates through and connects all religions and cultures, thus we need to see the bigger picture, a phenomenon. Although the film could not fully understand this phenomenon, it made a good small step in this big direction
Totally recommend
aidanakaribzhanova1 November 2020
Warning: Spoilers
"Islamic Art: Mirror of the Invisible World" is a documentary film that was created in the format of interviews with historians, professors, engineers and many other professionals who had experience in studying the Islamic culture and art. Beautiful videos of Islamic historical sites and rarities are accompanied with the narrator's voiceover that helps the viewers to fully immerse to the culture and art inherent to the Islamic world. It was said in the documentary that "Art is what makes us humans" implying that material things can be beautiful, full of deep meaning and exciting regardless peoples' religion and culture. Thus, the documentary effectively emphasizes the importance of studying art inherent to the Islamic world in order to gain a broader knowledge about the intricacies of Islam by eliminating some uncertainties that may some people have concerned to it.
The film is divided in 5 subparts: "word", "space", "ornament", "color", "water" and each part of the film gives us knowledge about Islamic culture that is gained through the analysis of art. Relying on history, it is known that the tribes of Arabia were united in the 7th century under one widely spreading faith of Islam. The diversity and wealth of Arab rulers gave the rise to that new complex civilization. The first and main aspect that describes Islamic art was the importance of the "word". As Quran is God's words that was sent to Muhammad in the cave in Mecca in 610 as a revelation to guide people "along the straight path" , God's sacred words needed to be well written. That is the reason why writing (calligraphy) is the central feature of Islamic world playing vital role in its art. The words of Quran are written in a beautiful way across the walls of mosques, palaces and even on different daily used objects. That shows that in the Islamic world it was important that objects of art and architecture could actually "speak". Moreover, it was and it is still very important to write these words of Quran without any little marks so that human hands' interaction to God's divinity will not be clearly noticed. The tradition of writing Quran's words in the features of art implies that by this way God speaks through walls. Thus, emphasizing the huge importance and divinity of Quran and God. Furthermore, beautiful calligraphically writings soon became ornaments. It is highlighted in the film that endlessly repeated ornaments on the walls of mosques and palaces, on textiles, or on ceramics imply the infinity, the possibility and promise of heaven. In general, by this way God is never represented and depicted figuratively, thus, there is no place for iconography in Islam , but God is actually seen and felt everywhere. Therefore, divine is non-figurative and not idolized in Islam.
Arabic lands due to its dry climate are mostly represented by colors of dust. That is why in order to add notes of brightness shiny, bright colors were often used in a decoration of mosques, palaces and other different pieces of art including textile, ceramics, dishes with complex jewel inserts, etc. In other words, bright colors served as an encouraging bright place like heaven in the middle of dust. When it comes to the importance of space, it is highlighted in the film that Islam was spreading very fast and needed more common space for the believers to pray. That is how architecture in hypostyle form became popular in mosques' construction. The hypostyle form implies the series of columns constructed along the grid making the space open and infinite adding the feelings of spirituality to it. Moreover, such spaces of architecture that required high engineering and geometrical skills were also full of very complex and luxury decorations in terms of mosaics, paintings, frescoes, sculptures, inserts, etc. Especially palaces and mosques of the 16th century show the magnificence, power and richness of the Islam elite, but at the same time there were also simple mosques that perfectly served the same idea of a place to pray. The unusual and captivating example of such mosque is the great mosque of Djenne located in West African Muslim country Mali. Based on available resources as earth, mud and water the unique and diverse object of Islamic architecture was built there in 13th century. There the space for praying and divinity of God is felt by the play of lights and shadows among the 99 columns inside the mosque where 99 columns imply 99 sacred names of God. The outside part of the mosque is also covered with sort of ornament that was gained by the play of lights and shadows showing the beauty and power of God. Moreover, analyzing architectural style of mosques and palaces, it is seen that Islamic world was also in close contact with other religions and cultures. One such example is the mosque of Cordoba which represents the merger of Byzantine and Roman techniques with Islamic ones. Such kind of confluence of religions and their tolerance towards each other is also believed to be rooted to the prophet Muhammad's "Night Journey" where it is believed that he prayed with Abraham, Moses, Jesus .
Another vital aspect in Islamic world and art, according to the documentary, is water. Relying on Quran, God made everything alive through water. As climate in Arabian lands is dry the engineering knowledge of providing adequate irrigation was very important. Bathing was also vital in Muslim culture as people had to be clean before praying to God. That is the reason why every mosque had special pools where prayers were able to clean up themselves. Moreover, such pools with water were also used as a beautiful piece of art as they amazingly enhance the architectural buildings playing with lights, reflections and shadows. Taj Mahal mausoleum is one of the greatest examples of such great usage of pool with water as a part of architecture and art. By the help of proper irrigation, Islamic gardens were also considered as a part of art that have deep meaning and role for Muslims. Islamic gardens looked like a box with an incredible amount of flavored plants and flowers that resemble promised paradise for the believers.
To conclude, it should be said that Islamic art and architecture represent not only the beauty and magnificence of different unique objects, but they also mirror deep complexity and distinctiveness special to that culture. Complex techniques, creativity and intelligence of people can actually speak through the centuries representing the worship and faith to one God. As it was seen from above art and architecture sufficiently help to emphasize on important features inherent to Islam. Thus, beauty and complexity of art had calming effect on believers promising heaven to them and highlighting the incredible power of God.
"Islamic Art Mirror" is a beautiful documentary
sholpannurzhan5 April 2020
Warning: Spoilers
"Islamic Art Mirror" is a beautiful documentary film produced by Robert Gardner in 2011. Documentary targets a general audience who are unaware of Islamic art in our world and who perhaps feel skeptical about Islam.
The main purpose of the film is to show the embellished exquisite art that Muslims brought to world architecture, literature, and humanity in general and to invoke respect and worship to Islam as religion and philosophy. The authors try to deliver a message that early Islamic art was something cutting-edge, with writing styles and geometrical figures, and delicate, created by use of new tools to make unusual colors, which was made by Muslims and that all writings were based on Qur'an manuscripts. Therefore, directors want the audience to appreciate this art and fall in love with it.
Before watching this documentary, I had a knowledge about the structure of Islam as a religion only. Islam originated from Arabian Peninsula and spread to all parts of the world since then. From the documentary, before watching I expected a history of origination of art and wanted to reach an answer to questions like what the meaning of the beautiful designs of mosques is.
Overall the documentary starts with origination of Islam and its artistry of architecture that shows the wealthiness of Muslim rulers in different parts of world such as Damascus, Turkey, Africa. The main events in the documentary are the different types of artistries that construct Islamic Art. One of the first forms of art is calligraphy. In Islam the words are everything, God is not painted, God is written, therefore, to show their most respect they developed special tools for this writing style. One of the speakers in the film, Zaccharia says that learning this craft is hard and every little detail is important as writing becomes a readable ornament with meaning. For example, Alhambra is a 14th century building that has a poetry inscription written or beautifully crafted on its walls. Another thing that added exquisiteness to Islamic Art is use of geometrical designs in buildings. Great Mosque of Damascus is one of the earliest mosques that maintained its early design. Use of mosaics, dynamic floral ornaments, unusually intense glowing colors and images are also demonstrated in the film as part of Islamic art. Film also demonstrates the importance of water as a separate theme in Islam.
The documentary shows different mosques all around the world and emphasizes on their differences and unique styles. Therefore, the documentary was shot in different places. Moreover, the interviews with different authorities take different places too. The speech of authorities add reliability to the documentary, and they were informative to the audience. The sound was narrated by famous actress Susan Sarandon whose voice is very pleasant to hear. The images were very captivating and of good quality. There are also historical video segments and maps that make it easier to imagine what is being narrated.
Considering my personal comments, I think the film has achieved its main goal to persuade audience that Islamic Art is beautiful and worth corresponding attention. The part that I liked the most is the images of art pieces, colorful architecture and calligraphy. From the interviews I noted one good phrase from one of the speakers, who said that in Qur'an God says "To know me, look at my creations". The phrase seemed very thought-provoking to me. Personally, from the film I learned that I didn't know much about the Islamic art and that it is very delicate and meaningful. In addition, I saw mosques that I never seen before such as Djenne mosque that surprised me by its complete difference from other mosques. It is simple, it has no colorful ornaments and it needs constant maintenance works. Another surprising thing was how Islamic people developed vivid colors when their surrounding landscape was all dust colored. Their use of vivid neonic colors in design of mosques is very clever strategy to encourage or bring people to the mosque and to make life as pleasant as possible. Moreover, they colored not only mosques, but also metalware like bronze on silver, making it colorful and attractive.
Speaking of the drawbacks of the documentary, I would say that it is biased, because all the speakers have a predilection towards Islamic art and there were not much skepticism or criticism towards Islamic art. Moreover, usually documentaries investigate the true history as it is without any comments and use of subjective adjectives. This documentary uses lots of adjectives such as exquisite, embellishing, beautiful, extraordinary, stunning, garish, blossom, and so on making it seem like there is more admiration than analysis of Islamic art. However, despite this criticism I would recommend this film to other people, because it shows artistry of Islam which is very unknown among ordinary people. Film might feel boring to watch, however it bears good amount of information, and the images and pleasant voice of the narrator make it a nice-to-watch documentary.
Review on Islamic Art: Mirror of the Invisible World
danayasin11 April 2021
Islamic art and the heritage that the Muslim World built through centuries are a door and a key to understanding the Islam itself. This can clearly be seen in Robert Gardner's film Islamic Art: Mirror of the Invisible World. As the film depicts, the art is a reflection of faith, believe and culture of followers of Islam. This fascinating documentary, with the collection of beautiful shootings from different countries with Islamic background, was able to illustrate the history, art and the role, that Islam played in the life of people.
The importance of writing and reading (which is stated in Qur'an) is introduced through the art of calligraphy. Qur'an is the direct speech of God and the film also comments "God speaks through the pen". Therefore, Qur'anic inscriptions are a huge fundamental part of Islamic art. We can see in the film, that different Mosques such as Süleymaniye Mosque, (dedicated to Ottoman Empire), the old mosque of Damascus Umayyad Mosque have Qur'anic inscriptions. Another example is one of the most significant mosques the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. As it is stated in this film and our class reading of Ibn Ishaq's The Life of Muhammad, this is an important place for followers of all 3 religions (Islam, Christianity, Judaism) and happens to be the place where prophet Muhammad was sent to heaven. That night is known to be one of the 5 sacred nights in Islam Mi'raj Night. The mosque's Qur'anic inscriptions are written in the most expensive gold cubes. Sheila Blair comments that the interior inscription says about the existence of only one God and is a rebattle to tripartite In Christianity. This can also be viewed in our class reading Apology of Patriarch Timothy of Baghdad, where he uses the allegory of a pearl to resolve a debate regarding the tripartite with Caliph. Through the example of Qur'anic inscriptions and the role of calligraphy, we can see that writing and reading had a significant role (reading and writing Qur'an is also considered as praying) in the life of Muslim people and that might be a reason for the birth of different famous mathematicians, scholars and literary figures during the Islamic Golden Age (8th to 14th century) such as Al-Biruni, Ferdousi.
Islamic Art: Mirror of the Invisible World was also able to identify the meaning of space in Islam. The religion that spread to 3 continents had variations due to the different cultural values and traditions (as professor Garipova commented in one of her lectures). Therefore, there are different designs of mosques and their grandiosity was the signature of wealth and represented the local culture, tradition and material background. All of the mosques have pulpit known as minbar. Most of the mosques are dome shaped and hypostyle mosques (following the design of Umayyad Mosque). However, the mosque of Djenne located in Mali, has a different structure that was based on the preferences and views of the people that live there. The mosque does not have a big dome and is made of mud bricks. It contains 99 columns that are deicated to 99 holy names of Allah. The West African branch of Sufism that is spread in this region is for tolerance. It states that the main importance here is the connection with God and each person can have their own way of connection. Roderick Mcintosh also comments that "We need to make space where we can be alone with our own thoughts". This moment in film reminded me of one of our first readings in class Eliade (The Sacred and the Profane), where Eliade says that the sacred place can be anywhere, it is the moment, where you feel that you are connected with the divine, where you understand that God is always with you, whether you are in a mosque or in a church. I feel the connection of this idea in the Eliade with the above mention moment in film. In our class reading of Rahman Major themes of Qur'an, he also says we should keep in mind that God is always with us and we should not forget it. I believe that the diversity of mosques in different places can be explained through the fact that everyone's divine experience might be different but they all do have same faith and religion of Islam. Therefore, the meaning of space is broad and deep for Muslim people.
After explaining the role of space, the film describes the role of ornaments, textile and water. Different ornaments in Islamic art are very connected with geometry since Muslims had to know the proper direction of sun in order to pray, the time and the navigation. Therefore, we can see different types of geometrical ornaments with different textile, such as metalwork, adding colors to paintings and ceramics (literature is also not an exception, an example could be Shahname). Through the ornaments and textile, we can see that figurative art existed in Islamic art. Sultans, in fact, had sculptures of lions specially made by their request. Moving on to the water, it had and still has a sacred meaning. It is the foundation of our survival and living since as the film shows, for some Muslim countries water is a treasure that is hard to find.
In conclusion, the film Islamic Art: Mirror of the Invisible World describes the history and culture of Muslim world through Islamic art and is a very interesting documentary. A viewer will get new information and will enjoy the beautiful scenery of Islamic heritage that was build through many centuries.
The importance of writing and reading (which is stated in Qur'an) is introduced through the art of calligraphy. Qur'an is the direct speech of God and the film also comments "God speaks through the pen". Therefore, Qur'anic inscriptions are a huge fundamental part of Islamic art. We can see in the film, that different Mosques such as Süleymaniye Mosque, (dedicated to Ottoman Empire), the old mosque of Damascus Umayyad Mosque have Qur'anic inscriptions. Another example is one of the most significant mosques the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. As it is stated in this film and our class reading of Ibn Ishaq's The Life of Muhammad, this is an important place for followers of all 3 religions (Islam, Christianity, Judaism) and happens to be the place where prophet Muhammad was sent to heaven. That night is known to be one of the 5 sacred nights in Islam Mi'raj Night. The mosque's Qur'anic inscriptions are written in the most expensive gold cubes. Sheila Blair comments that the interior inscription says about the existence of only one God and is a rebattle to tripartite In Christianity. This can also be viewed in our class reading Apology of Patriarch Timothy of Baghdad, where he uses the allegory of a pearl to resolve a debate regarding the tripartite with Caliph. Through the example of Qur'anic inscriptions and the role of calligraphy, we can see that writing and reading had a significant role (reading and writing Qur'an is also considered as praying) in the life of Muslim people and that might be a reason for the birth of different famous mathematicians, scholars and literary figures during the Islamic Golden Age (8th to 14th century) such as Al-Biruni, Ferdousi.
Islamic Art: Mirror of the Invisible World was also able to identify the meaning of space in Islam. The religion that spread to 3 continents had variations due to the different cultural values and traditions (as professor Garipova commented in one of her lectures). Therefore, there are different designs of mosques and their grandiosity was the signature of wealth and represented the local culture, tradition and material background. All of the mosques have pulpit known as minbar. Most of the mosques are dome shaped and hypostyle mosques (following the design of Umayyad Mosque). However, the mosque of Djenne located in Mali, has a different structure that was based on the preferences and views of the people that live there. The mosque does not have a big dome and is made of mud bricks. It contains 99 columns that are deicated to 99 holy names of Allah. The West African branch of Sufism that is spread in this region is for tolerance. It states that the main importance here is the connection with God and each person can have their own way of connection. Roderick Mcintosh also comments that "We need to make space where we can be alone with our own thoughts". This moment in film reminded me of one of our first readings in class Eliade (The Sacred and the Profane), where Eliade says that the sacred place can be anywhere, it is the moment, where you feel that you are connected with the divine, where you understand that God is always with you, whether you are in a mosque or in a church. I feel the connection of this idea in the Eliade with the above mention moment in film. In our class reading of Rahman Major themes of Qur'an, he also says we should keep in mind that God is always with us and we should not forget it. I believe that the diversity of mosques in different places can be explained through the fact that everyone's divine experience might be different but they all do have same faith and religion of Islam. Therefore, the meaning of space is broad and deep for Muslim people.
After explaining the role of space, the film describes the role of ornaments, textile and water. Different ornaments in Islamic art are very connected with geometry since Muslims had to know the proper direction of sun in order to pray, the time and the navigation. Therefore, we can see different types of geometrical ornaments with different textile, such as metalwork, adding colors to paintings and ceramics (literature is also not an exception, an example could be Shahname). Through the ornaments and textile, we can see that figurative art existed in Islamic art. Sultans, in fact, had sculptures of lions specially made by their request. Moving on to the water, it had and still has a sacred meaning. It is the foundation of our survival and living since as the film shows, for some Muslim countries water is a treasure that is hard to find.
In conclusion, the film Islamic Art: Mirror of the Invisible World describes the history and culture of Muslim world through Islamic art and is a very interesting documentary. A viewer will get new information and will enjoy the beautiful scenery of Islamic heritage that was build through many centuries.
Beautiful film about Islamic art
inzhuzholymbetova1 November 2020
Directed by Robert H. Gardner, the documentary film "Islamic Art: Mirror of the Invisible World" demonstrates the beauty and diversity of Islamic art created throughout many centuries. It does so by focusing on five aspects of Islamic art: the word, space, ornament, color, and water. The film excellently connects Islam with historical events, politics and geography. The commentaries of scholars such as D. Fairchild Ruggles, Ruba Kana'an, Afshan Bokhari, Sheila S. Blair, Jonathan M. Bloom, Amy Landau, Mohammad al-Asad, and Oleg Grabar help to understand the meaning behind the art and to appreciate it. In this review I will analyze this film in terms of what aspects of Islam does it highlight and whether it does so effectively.
The beginning of the film talks about how Islam spread across the Europe. According to it, the tribes of Arabia began the revolution under the new faith of Islam in the 7th century when the Byzantine Empire and Persian Empire were mutually weakened due to constant wars. Although this is true, the lecture by Fred Donner gives some interesting insights on this matter. Donner claims that those who followed Muhammad did not readily identify themselves as "muslims" under the Islam, a separate religion distinct from other monotheisms. He believes that originally it was a monotheistic revival movement, which did not oblige the conversion of Jews and Christians since they were already monotheists. The redefinition of the core group in the "believers" community as "muslims" took place at the end of 7th century, during the ruling of caliph Abdul Malik.
The section of the film about "The word" emphasizes the Islamic belief that the Quran is the very word of God. Since God's gift to muslims is the Quran itself, writing becomes the central feature of Islamic culture. According to the film, the earliest dates of the words of the Quran are found in the Dome of the Rock, built in 692 and from which Muhammad ascended to heaven on his night journey. The lecture by Professor Beben also highlights the importance of this building since it was constructed by Abdul Malik and it contains inscriptional texts emphasizing the fact that the trinity is not acceptable. Sheila S. Blair claims that this message was a rebuttal to the Christian presence in Jerusalem. The widespreadness of calligraphy in Islam is explained by the fact that Quran itself is the focus of devotion in Islam. For the calligrapher, the process of copying the texts of the Quran is a meditation and a prayer.
The second aspect of the Islamic art in the film is "Space". It highlights the importance of sacred space for muslims: in the earlier times they prayed facing the side of the mosque closest to Mecca and later the direction was shown by the mihrab. The idea of sacred space is further highlighted by the story of Syrian prince Abd al-Rahman, who had to flee from Syria to Spain and built a mosque in Cordoba using the model of the hypostyle mosque of his homeland Damascus. Later this mosque becomes the juxtaposition of old and new, by mixing the Byzantine and Roman techniques of mosaics with Islamic style. D. Fairchild Ruggles claims that Islamic architecture has the ability to absorb the best solutions already present in the surrounding regions. This might be the indication of tolerance to other religions mentioned in the lecture. Furthermore, this section highlights the tolerance within Islam itself: the West African Sufism is tolerant in the sense that everyone is allowed to have their own experience with God.
The section on the "Ornament" disputes the misconception about Islam that figurative art does not exist. The film showcases that figurative art and sculpture depicting animals and people are common in Islam. Surprisingly, there are also pictures of Muhammad unveiled in manuscripts. Nevertheless, they are not idols and are not worshipped. Sheila S. Blair claims that by denying the existence of the figurative art, we say that there were no differing views in Islam. However, different Muslims felt differently at different times in different places. This is also mentioned in the lecture by Professor Garipova, where she explains the reason for the existence of Quranic Commentaries (Tafsirs). She informs that there are many debates on the meaning of the Quran since Muslims understood it differently in different times and places.
The last sections on "Color" and "Water" talk about the importance of color to make life as pleasant as possible and the importance of water to cleanse yourself before the prayer. In my opinion, both of these things helped Islam to survive. The usage of colors made Islamic art even more astonishing and increased its value as a cultural heritage. Water is the basic thing needed for survival and muslims appreciated it both for usage in agriculture and religious rituals.
This documentary film captures both the beauty and the meaning of Islamic art. The Islamic heritage in the form of art is a valuable artifact to dive into the history of this religion. The film successfully portrays this connection of art with history and reminds us that Islamic art is valuable both for muslims and non-muslims. The beauty and elegance of it can be appreciated by every person regardless of what religion he or she practices. Furthermore, the film demonstrates that the Islamic art is as diverse as the Islam itself: throughout the time, cultures and places.
The beginning of the film talks about how Islam spread across the Europe. According to it, the tribes of Arabia began the revolution under the new faith of Islam in the 7th century when the Byzantine Empire and Persian Empire were mutually weakened due to constant wars. Although this is true, the lecture by Fred Donner gives some interesting insights on this matter. Donner claims that those who followed Muhammad did not readily identify themselves as "muslims" under the Islam, a separate religion distinct from other monotheisms. He believes that originally it was a monotheistic revival movement, which did not oblige the conversion of Jews and Christians since they were already monotheists. The redefinition of the core group in the "believers" community as "muslims" took place at the end of 7th century, during the ruling of caliph Abdul Malik.
The section of the film about "The word" emphasizes the Islamic belief that the Quran is the very word of God. Since God's gift to muslims is the Quran itself, writing becomes the central feature of Islamic culture. According to the film, the earliest dates of the words of the Quran are found in the Dome of the Rock, built in 692 and from which Muhammad ascended to heaven on his night journey. The lecture by Professor Beben also highlights the importance of this building since it was constructed by Abdul Malik and it contains inscriptional texts emphasizing the fact that the trinity is not acceptable. Sheila S. Blair claims that this message was a rebuttal to the Christian presence in Jerusalem. The widespreadness of calligraphy in Islam is explained by the fact that Quran itself is the focus of devotion in Islam. For the calligrapher, the process of copying the texts of the Quran is a meditation and a prayer.
The second aspect of the Islamic art in the film is "Space". It highlights the importance of sacred space for muslims: in the earlier times they prayed facing the side of the mosque closest to Mecca and later the direction was shown by the mihrab. The idea of sacred space is further highlighted by the story of Syrian prince Abd al-Rahman, who had to flee from Syria to Spain and built a mosque in Cordoba using the model of the hypostyle mosque of his homeland Damascus. Later this mosque becomes the juxtaposition of old and new, by mixing the Byzantine and Roman techniques of mosaics with Islamic style. D. Fairchild Ruggles claims that Islamic architecture has the ability to absorb the best solutions already present in the surrounding regions. This might be the indication of tolerance to other religions mentioned in the lecture. Furthermore, this section highlights the tolerance within Islam itself: the West African Sufism is tolerant in the sense that everyone is allowed to have their own experience with God.
The section on the "Ornament" disputes the misconception about Islam that figurative art does not exist. The film showcases that figurative art and sculpture depicting animals and people are common in Islam. Surprisingly, there are also pictures of Muhammad unveiled in manuscripts. Nevertheless, they are not idols and are not worshipped. Sheila S. Blair claims that by denying the existence of the figurative art, we say that there were no differing views in Islam. However, different Muslims felt differently at different times in different places. This is also mentioned in the lecture by Professor Garipova, where she explains the reason for the existence of Quranic Commentaries (Tafsirs). She informs that there are many debates on the meaning of the Quran since Muslims understood it differently in different times and places.
The last sections on "Color" and "Water" talk about the importance of color to make life as pleasant as possible and the importance of water to cleanse yourself before the prayer. In my opinion, both of these things helped Islam to survive. The usage of colors made Islamic art even more astonishing and increased its value as a cultural heritage. Water is the basic thing needed for survival and muslims appreciated it both for usage in agriculture and religious rituals.
This documentary film captures both the beauty and the meaning of Islamic art. The Islamic heritage in the form of art is a valuable artifact to dive into the history of this religion. The film successfully portrays this connection of art with history and reminds us that Islamic art is valuable both for muslims and non-muslims. The beauty and elegance of it can be appreciated by every person regardless of what religion he or she practices. Furthermore, the film demonstrates that the Islamic art is as diverse as the Islam itself: throughout the time, cultures and places.
The amazing art of Islamic religion
zhanarmukhtarova11 April 2021
Warning: Spoilers
The Islamic Art Mirror is a documentary film, produced in 2019 and describes the fascinating architecture, art and culture of Islamic people. The film shows five ideas of art: "space", "word", "colour", "ornament" and "water", which show the full perception of people, bounded with the history and spread of Islam. The art in Islam is a sacred aspect, which saves the traditions and ideas of the religion, and after the years people still would be able to "read" this art, to increase their knowledge about the religion and to inherit the whole wealth of Islam. The high emphasis in a film was made on the fact that the art is a significant tool for uniting all Muslims around the world. The use of the universal language as art is a way of communication of all Muslims together, sharing the same patterns, ornaments and techniques. According to the lecture of Professor Beben, it is understood that you do not have to know or even read Quran to be a Muslim, you just have to commit that you believe in Allah. As well in the film all Muslims, who even do not know what Quran is about, could understand the divine power of art on the mosque and palace's walls and feel their relatedness to Islam and other Muslims. In the part about space the narrator argues that whether the style is used in creating the mosque, all of the buildings have the same purpose- to reflect how people receive and understand the prayer. The one idea is represented among the whole world, through different techniques, but serve to one religion of Islam and all Muslims could understand it. In the video, the researcher Oleg Grabar argues that you are not always expected to read, but if you are Muslim, you expected to relate to them, since you see the relatedness to Quran. A good example of such a building in Alhambra, built in the 14th century, where poetry is written on the whole building.
The calligraphy, which mentioned in the video, is one of the central features of Islamic Art. The importance of this art could be explained as a transition of sacred text among all Muslims. The calligraphies have to be so accurate and even hold the breath during the work, which shows how respectfully and patiently people treat everything, connected with their belief. Also, calligraphies are again is a way to communicate with God, through Quran and admire God. The ability to write in Islam was a gift since Islam considers that Quran was received by Prophet Muhammad, when he was forty years old, and it was a divine gift. Muslims write and read for their Lord and feel the presence of God when they could re-write or re-read Quran's texts. There is also the explanation of many ornaments and their history, which appeared in Islamic art. One of them is geometric, which closely related to Islamic practices such as praying and the importance to know to which side and the time Muslim have to pray. Another ornament is connected with the idea of heaven, therefore in many Muslims buildings decorated with flowers, trees and fruits as the representation of infinity and endless life. One of the ideas of image worship, which is described in Ahmad's reading also mentioned in the video. In the Islamic traditions, the have many sculptors of people, who do not exist and were done not for praying and in Islam the divine power also represented through non-figural designs. In Ahmad's article, he denies the relevance of Christianity and Islam by this aspect, saying Muslims do not practice image worship, since God is the only divine power, that could not be imagined. This show one of the differences of Islamic religion between Christianity and Buddhism as Muslims could not portray Allah for worship. It also explains the significance of the wall art and ornaments as the whole wall is a representation of the divine power of God. The art in Islam plays a tool as communication with God and praying with him. God as talking with people through these walls and ornaments, which bounded with sacred texts.
In conclusion, the film emphasizes the uniqueness and power of Islamic religion through the different forms of art. The art in Islam plays a significant role since it used to communicate and admire the Lord. Muslims believe that through sacred texts, ornaments and places they have the presence of God and he could hear them and speak with them. The most important role of the art in Islam is a unification of all Muslims into one big community, who follow one purpose to pray for their God. Muslims around the world do not have to be able to read Quran and understand it, but they feel their relatedness through the art. Also, art demonstrates the history and beliefs of Muslims, such as the appearance of heaven, praying to Mecca, etc.
The calligraphy, which mentioned in the video, is one of the central features of Islamic Art. The importance of this art could be explained as a transition of sacred text among all Muslims. The calligraphies have to be so accurate and even hold the breath during the work, which shows how respectfully and patiently people treat everything, connected with their belief. Also, calligraphies are again is a way to communicate with God, through Quran and admire God. The ability to write in Islam was a gift since Islam considers that Quran was received by Prophet Muhammad, when he was forty years old, and it was a divine gift. Muslims write and read for their Lord and feel the presence of God when they could re-write or re-read Quran's texts. There is also the explanation of many ornaments and their history, which appeared in Islamic art. One of them is geometric, which closely related to Islamic practices such as praying and the importance to know to which side and the time Muslim have to pray. Another ornament is connected with the idea of heaven, therefore in many Muslims buildings decorated with flowers, trees and fruits as the representation of infinity and endless life. One of the ideas of image worship, which is described in Ahmad's reading also mentioned in the video. In the Islamic traditions, the have many sculptors of people, who do not exist and were done not for praying and in Islam the divine power also represented through non-figural designs. In Ahmad's article, he denies the relevance of Christianity and Islam by this aspect, saying Muslims do not practice image worship, since God is the only divine power, that could not be imagined. This show one of the differences of Islamic religion between Christianity and Buddhism as Muslims could not portray Allah for worship. It also explains the significance of the wall art and ornaments as the whole wall is a representation of the divine power of God. The art in Islam plays a tool as communication with God and praying with him. God as talking with people through these walls and ornaments, which bounded with sacred texts.
In conclusion, the film emphasizes the uniqueness and power of Islamic religion through the different forms of art. The art in Islam plays a significant role since it used to communicate and admire the Lord. Muslims believe that through sacred texts, ornaments and places they have the presence of God and he could hear them and speak with them. The most important role of the art in Islam is a unification of all Muslims into one big community, who follow one purpose to pray for their God. Muslims around the world do not have to be able to read Quran and understand it, but they feel their relatedness through the art. Also, art demonstrates the history and beliefs of Muslims, such as the appearance of heaven, praying to Mecca, etc.
Islamic Art
saltanatotegenova1 November 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Art is what makes us human. It allows us to share our cultural and social values, economy, history, emotions and messages to our descendants. Every kind of religion is unique with its' indispensable artstyle best shown in sacred places and other spiritually important materialistic objects. For Islam, the very beginning of the development of its' unique artstyle is the Koran. The documentary film "Islamic Art: Mirror of the Invisible World" thoroughly analyzes and explains every single essential part of Islamic art and the factors that made it develop to the state that we are still blessed to catch sight of. The film discusses the development and uniqueness of Islamic art in terms of four essential elements or should one say, factors, which are: the word, space, ornament and water. By looking at how and where Islam spread across, one can clearly say that outpouring of artistry in this religion heavily depends on what is available and certain religious beliefs, which serve as a sort of restrictions when doing art.
Islamic art is best-known for its' beautiful calligraphy. As it is said in the film, the word in Islam is an elegance that speaks through centuries. Early muslims were writing the words of the Koran on treated animal skins called parchment. However, the interaction of Islamic caliphate and China brought to early muslims the essential material, paper, that started the evolution of calligraphy. Calligraphy is considered more essential than other arts so that the Arbic inscription that runs around the interior side of the walls of many mosques is astonishing itself even if one can't read it. However, apart from its beauty, the meaning of those words deserve more attention. For example, the Dome of Rock, a sacred place from which Mohammad ascended to heaven to pray with Ibraham, Moses, and Jesus, has an arabic inscription on the walls that clearly states that God is one, not three. That is clearly some kind of response to Christianity, which is also present in the city. As we know, Christians believe that God is three and that his son Jesus is a gift for them, while Muslims believe that the Koran is the only gift. That's why God's words are written on the walls with the most expensive gold cubes.
Another factor to consider in terms of religious buildings is the space and how it is arranged. In mosques there is nothing but mihrab and minbar which shows the direction to pray and is used for the reading of the Friday sermon, respectively. Also, from Byzantine time it was necessary to build big mosques that can allow more people to come in and pray. Therefore, the structure of the mosques was in hypostyle form where columns remind a forest. However, the architecture of the mosques were changing overtime depending on surrounding culture and needs and, of course, availability of the natural sources(materials) for building. For example, if we compare the oldest surviving mosques in Damascus, Syria and a little later built mosque in Spain called The Alhambra Granada, we can obviously see the latter one has mixed Byzantine and Roman techniques with Islamic style. So the architecture of the religious buildings, palaces and fortresses of Islamic rulers absorbs the culture and technological advancement of the place they are built on. Another example is the mosque of Djenne, West Africa. People there have less access to natural sources and technological advancement of other countries, therefore, the appearance and architecture of the mosque is distinctive. It is mainly built from cement-like material that local people use to build their own houses. Even if it has a forest of columns like on other buildings, its style clearly demonstrated the culture of the local population. In other words, Islamic religious buildings or buildings of Islamic rulers are prominent with their diversity, refinement and sometimes with giving a sense of luxury.
In terms of the ornament, the words became ornaments. However, we also see different geometrical figures, patterns and leaves depicted on the walls. Before watching this film, I didn't pay much attention to those ornaments and didn't suspect that they are of great importance. For muslims, geometry became very essential as it is the basic tool and technique that helps to determine the right direction and to find out the right time to pray looking up at the stars. Regarding the vegetal designs, the patterns of flowers, leaves and other plant elements is associated with how heaven looks like. Also, as Afshan Bokhari from the film says, muslims show deep interest in nature and look closer to God's creations by depicting them in order to get closer to God. However muslims were afraid of idolatry that in the mosques the presence of the divine is shown only through non-figural designs and the holy words of the Koran. Moreover, Afshan Bokhari mentions that figural images are confined to the secular and ordinary world, where religion is not dominant. It explains why it is so strictly prohibited to depict the humans in religious places in Islam, even though it was allowed in palaces where the history of the muslim rulers were depicted on the walls. Another very essential element of mosques that gives them the uniqueness is water. As we know, water is life and even in the Koran it is said that life comes from the water. For muslims, before praying and attending mosque it's vital to cleanse yourself from dirt with water. That's why many mosques have a separate place for it.
Islamic art found its place not only in the form of buildings, but also furniture, toolboxes (e.g. for reed pen), ceramics, pietra dura, complex tile works, rug and other objects for utilitarian purposes.
Overall, the film could illuminate the diversity, uniqueness and beauty of Islamic art by showing the most well-known architectures and objects of religious importance. Moreover, it not only discusses the art but also some essential parts of history of how Islam spread across the basin of Meditterenian sea and then Europe. For example, it explained why Abd Al-Rahman fled seeking refuge in Cordoba and how it helped the spread of the religion in Spain and the capture of Constantinople by Ottoman Empire.
Islamic Art: Mirror of the World
ibragimmyrzaly5 April 2020
Warning: Spoilers
"Islamic Art: Mirror of the Invisible World" was filmed by Robert Gardner in 2011. The film displays the essential aspects of Islamic Art and their importance in Art while it is illustrating charming examples of them. The film is also accompanied by commentaries of several professional historians, which add an instructive feature to the film. Thus, the film was entertaining as well as informative for me. The main idea of the film was that pieces of Islamic art are reflections of the people and the context of the time when they were produced. The film explains the development of specific types of Islamic art and relates them to their historical context. In my opinion, we can also see from the film that Islamic art was influenced by local and foreign cultures in different countries during its development in the history while it has always had its uniqueness thanks to its main source that is Islam.
The first aspect of Islamic Art was "word", which depicts one of the central topics in Islam. In Christianity, people mostly used the portrait of Jesus as a central figure of their architecture. Whereas Muslims emphasized on "words" of God in Islamic architecture because portraying God was infeasible. In addition, because the Quran was believed to be the primary words of Allah and a gift to humankind, "words" of the Quran was an essential feature of Islamic Art and architecture. Thus, Muslims tried to represent the divine with its words in Islamic architecture. The first sign of this Islamic architecture can be seen from one of the oldest Islamic building, the Dome of Rock. The design of the building reminded people Christian buildings, which design was widespread at the time of its construction. However, the characteristic of the building that make it Islamic construction is the writings on the wall taken from the Quran. Those words are made from expensive gold, while Christians used golds to make a portrait of Christ in their church. Thus, the architecture of Islamic buildings and attempt to represent the God at the central point of Islamic architecture was similar with pre-existing Christian culture, while the difference between Islamic and Christian tradition was in their attitude toward imagery, which arose as a result of differences in their belief to God. The second part of the "word" section of Islamic art contains calligraphy, which is an art of beautiful writing. Some people accepted it as one sort of prayer. Therefore, a reed and parchment, which were used in the process of calligraphy, were specially treated. When China invented paper, it changed the path of development of this Islamic art. From the 8th century, Muslims also started to use paper instead of parchment, which were less convenient to use, in calligraphy. Consequently, Islamic art and architecture seem to be influenced by pre-existing Christian architecture and foreign cultures throughout their development while the uniqueness of them was in their foundation that is Islamic belief.
The second section of the film was spared for "space". When "space" is mentioned in Islam, one can recall mosques. Although the purpose of mosques was everywhere the same, providing a place for praying, they were constructed differently around the world. The first mosques were constructed with hypostyle design as the great mosque of Damascus was. While that design reached Spain, hypostyle form experienced new changes according to local Hispanic traditions as well as Byzantine and Roman techniques in the mosque of Cordoba. Through further development of Islamic architecture, Alhambra palace was built with a new design, which was unique to Hispanic Muslims, in the 14th century. Thus, Islamic architecture of mosques was affected by Hispanic traditions and other world cultures during its development in Spain. Whereas, under Ottoman rulers, magnificent palaces, such as Topkapi Palace, were build, which outreach palaces of other world princes in its luxuriousness. In addition, Sultan Suleyman ordered to build his imperial mosque, Suleymaniye under the instructions of architect Sinan. While they built the Suleymaniye mosque, they tried to outdo the architecture of Hagia Sophia that was built as a Byzantine church in the 6th century. Therefore, it implies that Islamic architecture in the Ottoman Empire developed through competing with other cultures. In addition, West African mosques, such as Djenne, had a traditional form of the interior, hypostyle design, while the outlook of the Djenne mosque is distinctive to local African traditions. Thus, Islamic architecture developed differently by being impacted by local and foreign traditions in different countries, although they all served the same purpose, praying.
The third section of the film includes "Ornament". Behind the idea of ornamenting stayed a purpose of representing the possibility of heaven and God with worldly opportunities in Islamic art. Patterns, leaves and geometry were important in the ornament. Firstly, Islamic rulers competed with and imitated their comparatives, such as Christian and Buddhist rulers, in the ornamentation of their court. An important distinction was in their attitude toward figural imagery. Islamic art was vulnerable toward figurative art because of its fear of idolatry worship. For example, on the incense burner in the shape of lion (39:40) plant ornaments were used. Thus, it represented only the idea of a lion, but not an image itself. Moreover, on the box found from the palace of Cordoba's caliph, images of princely animals were depicted. However, usage of those types of figural imagery was limited only for the private life of rulers, as the usage of the box was. This implies that they were cautious not to spread the idea of idolatry with figurative imagery while they imitated Western art. Thus, Islamic elite ornamentation was influenced by foreign traditions during its development, while it also paid attention to its precision, figurative art. Secondly, Pietra dure was another technique of ornamentation, which Indian Muslims borrowed from ancient Romans. Thirdly, both Taj Mahal and Djenne's mosques are beautiful in their way, although ornamentation of them are in contrast. This is because they met different local norms of beauty and conditions. Thus, they show that the Islamic art of ornamentation developed differently under the different expectation of beauty. Consequently, the Islamic art of ornamentation developed in contact with other traditions while preserving its essence and precision.
The next section of the film was for "color". Colors, especially vivid colors, was attractive for Muslims who lived traditionally in dust-coloured world. They used natural pigments to take different colors, which Muslims included in every aspect of their life. Firstly, different colors were used to depict epic tales, which included many images of people, on the walls of buildings. However, those buildings were intended traditionally for the private use of princes and courts. Therefore, as Oleg Garbar (1:01:34) stated, those images were not made for externalization, public use as Western art was. Secondly, the Islamic art of India was hugely influenced by Western art and flourished under Janhangir. He admired Western paintings, while Portuguese Jesuits made many gifts to Muslim communities. Therefore, Western concepts started to be involved in Islamic paintings, while colors that were used in paintings were successfully taken from natural ingredients some of which were indigenous to India. From later works, such as the memoir of Jahangir, influence of Western art to Islamic paintings and their sophistication in India can be easily seen. As a result, Islamic paintings were influenced by Western concepts during its development while Islamic communities were successful in producing vivid colors.
The last section of the film was for water. Water was important in everyday life as well as rituals. Water, which was mostly used in gardens, played also an important role in Islamic architecture. In Africa water was a gift as well as a curse. Most of the buildings including mosques, such as Djenne's, were made with mud. Therefore, after a long period of rain, buildings require maintenance.
To conclude, Islamic art was highly influenced by local and foreign cultures during its development in different countries while it still maintained its uniqueness. The distinctive feature of it from Western art was based on its Islamic belief. Islamic tradition may also have an impact on other cultures throughout history. Thus, Islamic art and architecture are an inseparable part of contemporary world civilization. Historical contact between Islamic and non-Islamic traditions might be also the factor behind how art can be a universal value. Because Islamic culture affected by non-Islamic traditions, it shares common values with other cultures. Therefore, people from non-Muslim communities can feel the beauty of Islamic art when they look at specific pieces of art even though they might not understand what is written on them. Existing works of Islamic art reflect a shared history of Islamic and non-Islamic traditions.
Review: Islamic Art: Mirror of the Invisible World
amirkhanshapiyev31 October 2020
Warning: Spoilers
The documentary called "Islamic Art: Mirror of the Invisible World" directed by Robert H. Gardner is about magnificent contribution of Islamic art to the human history and development. I would like to divide the movie content to two components: emotional and analytical. Emotional component of the movie is mostly conveyed by passionate explanations and body language of experts, who was interviewed. Nevertheless, in this review I primarily want to focus on analytical part.
To begin with, the frames of definition of art in the context of this movie should be bounded. Art reflects fusion of local culture and Islamic philosophy on the daily lives of people at that time. The film starts with history of Islamic expansion during 7-8 centuries CE. During the period, when the Islamic Caliphate was under the rule of Caliphs Omar, Uthman, and Ali, Islamic religion was expanded to Persia, Byzantine Empire, Central Asia and North Africa up until modern Spain. So that Islam started influencing multiple cultures that resulted in the abundance of Islamic art. The documentary divided Islamic art for five elements: word, space, ornament, color, and water. The main nuance to notice is that all elements were integral parts of Muslims' every-day practices of that period.
The art of word implies a beautiful calligraphy of Arabic words taken from Qur'an. Qur'an is a fundament of the religion. The revelations were provided to the prophet Muhammad and recorded by his fellows (sahaba). Since, at that century, there was no printing machines, to create copies of Qur'an manually was quite common and honorable occupation. The mistakes occurred in these copies were not tolerated, because Qur'an is the God's words. Henceforth, the occupation required extreme concentration and was taking a lot of time. Just to notice, to spread religion over the whole world billions of copies are needed, so that rewriting of the Qur'an was very usual and consequently has become the part of Islamic culture.
In the documentary, the art of space is explained on the example of mosque construction. The only common requirement for all mosques is a mihrab directed to the side of Mecca, so that mosques over the Islamic world were quite different. Primarily, Muslims tried to use resources they had. Thus, the difference between the mosques of African communities and mosques in Syria was dramatic. However, the scarcity or abundance of resources did not play a key factor in the art of construction. In both cases, the way how space was used by architects of these mosques fascinates modern engineers. Again, the mosque is a place, which Muslims invite on the daily (or at least weekly) basis and is considered as 'place of ritual prostration'. Hence, Muslims attempts to build mosques very attractive that is also become the part of Islamic culture.
The Islamic art of ornament and color was applied to the things that surrounded Muslims. It was demonstrated on the example of carpets, cookware, design of mosques etc. The development of ornament art is closely connected with Muslims' knowledge of geometry. Geometric patterns express the concept of infinity, one of the God's features, and found the broad usage in carpet weaving. The carpet is one of the daily accessories of every Muslim because it allows them to pray on the clean surface that is one of the condition of worshipping. As a result, the carpet became the main attribute of home furniture in Islamic culture. Progressively, the geometric art transformed to the depiction of animals and plants. This explained by Islamic philosophy, which states that to understand God, human being should understand His creatures. Additionally, the color art was developed the idea to make life everywhere as pleasant and colorful as possible. Even the word paradise is emerged from Persian word 'paradisus', which means vibrant garden. So, the color was considered as something that can ship you to the ultimate reality.
The last element of Islamic art is water. As spiritual tidiness, the physical tidiness also plays a huge role in Islamic practice. Taharat is a ritual made by all Muslims five times a day before worshipping, when prayer wash his hands, face, ankles and hair. Otherwise, your pray (salat) will not be recognized. Thus, there are always the rooms or fountains close to mosques, where Muslims can complete the ritual before entering inside of mosque. Like the art of ornament, the art of water is closely associated with science. To provide mosque yard with water system, Islamic architects and scientists was developing complex mechanisms, computing slopes and volumes of reservoirs.
To conclude, Islamic art can be defined as an interaction of Islamic philosophy, science and various cultures. It can be observed that the Islamic art is very different in different communities, but the beauty of meaning is something that unites all of them. In addition, the art is perfect way to save the religion for next generations and leave the heritage. This is something that Muslims of Middle Ages tried to do.
To begin with, the frames of definition of art in the context of this movie should be bounded. Art reflects fusion of local culture and Islamic philosophy on the daily lives of people at that time. The film starts with history of Islamic expansion during 7-8 centuries CE. During the period, when the Islamic Caliphate was under the rule of Caliphs Omar, Uthman, and Ali, Islamic religion was expanded to Persia, Byzantine Empire, Central Asia and North Africa up until modern Spain. So that Islam started influencing multiple cultures that resulted in the abundance of Islamic art. The documentary divided Islamic art for five elements: word, space, ornament, color, and water. The main nuance to notice is that all elements were integral parts of Muslims' every-day practices of that period.
The art of word implies a beautiful calligraphy of Arabic words taken from Qur'an. Qur'an is a fundament of the religion. The revelations were provided to the prophet Muhammad and recorded by his fellows (sahaba). Since, at that century, there was no printing machines, to create copies of Qur'an manually was quite common and honorable occupation. The mistakes occurred in these copies were not tolerated, because Qur'an is the God's words. Henceforth, the occupation required extreme concentration and was taking a lot of time. Just to notice, to spread religion over the whole world billions of copies are needed, so that rewriting of the Qur'an was very usual and consequently has become the part of Islamic culture.
In the documentary, the art of space is explained on the example of mosque construction. The only common requirement for all mosques is a mihrab directed to the side of Mecca, so that mosques over the Islamic world were quite different. Primarily, Muslims tried to use resources they had. Thus, the difference between the mosques of African communities and mosques in Syria was dramatic. However, the scarcity or abundance of resources did not play a key factor in the art of construction. In both cases, the way how space was used by architects of these mosques fascinates modern engineers. Again, the mosque is a place, which Muslims invite on the daily (or at least weekly) basis and is considered as 'place of ritual prostration'. Hence, Muslims attempts to build mosques very attractive that is also become the part of Islamic culture.
The Islamic art of ornament and color was applied to the things that surrounded Muslims. It was demonstrated on the example of carpets, cookware, design of mosques etc. The development of ornament art is closely connected with Muslims' knowledge of geometry. Geometric patterns express the concept of infinity, one of the God's features, and found the broad usage in carpet weaving. The carpet is one of the daily accessories of every Muslim because it allows them to pray on the clean surface that is one of the condition of worshipping. As a result, the carpet became the main attribute of home furniture in Islamic culture. Progressively, the geometric art transformed to the depiction of animals and plants. This explained by Islamic philosophy, which states that to understand God, human being should understand His creatures. Additionally, the color art was developed the idea to make life everywhere as pleasant and colorful as possible. Even the word paradise is emerged from Persian word 'paradisus', which means vibrant garden. So, the color was considered as something that can ship you to the ultimate reality.
The last element of Islamic art is water. As spiritual tidiness, the physical tidiness also plays a huge role in Islamic practice. Taharat is a ritual made by all Muslims five times a day before worshipping, when prayer wash his hands, face, ankles and hair. Otherwise, your pray (salat) will not be recognized. Thus, there are always the rooms or fountains close to mosques, where Muslims can complete the ritual before entering inside of mosque. Like the art of ornament, the art of water is closely associated with science. To provide mosque yard with water system, Islamic architects and scientists was developing complex mechanisms, computing slopes and volumes of reservoirs.
To conclude, Islamic art can be defined as an interaction of Islamic philosophy, science and various cultures. It can be observed that the Islamic art is very different in different communities, but the beauty of meaning is something that unites all of them. In addition, the art is perfect way to save the religion for next generations and leave the heritage. This is something that Muslims of Middle Ages tried to do.
Importance of the Islamic Art
renatataurbekova1 November 2020
Warning: Spoilers
The language of art is common for all. Even if we cannot understand the meaning of art, we can always appreciate it as the reflection of cultural beauty. The documentary directed by Robert H. Gardner, "Islamic Art: Mirror of the Invisible World", explores the beauty of Islamic art and reflects its historical context. The documentary is a journey through places and centuries that open a window on the Islamic culture. By learning about the culture and its reflection in the art, we are able to see the key elements, key ideas centralized by the religion. As said in the beginning of the film: "Islamic art is the elegance that speaks through centuries".
The film focuses on five distinct parts of the Islamic art: calligraphy, space, ornament, color and water. Each play a certain role in depicting the key elements of the Islam religion, its ideas and practices. The film also well demonstrates how unique and varied is the Islamic Art. Although it is unique, the influence of different cultures is well integrated and reflected in the art, especially in the architecture of the mosques.
Quran is the key element of the Islam. It is its heart, it is the word of God, it is the essence of the divine. Importance of the Quran is well demonstrated in the film. Words from the Quran are written everywhere: they are seen in architecture inscribed on the walls of the mosques; they are present on the ceramic plates; they are written with distinct patience and discipline; they reveal the word of God. As it is said in the film, we are looking at the words from the Quran to see the divine. Writing words from the Quran is the form of Islamic art and is called calligraphy. Mohamed Zakariya, the master calligrapher, said that it is a magical art. Everything about the calligraphy is important, he says, the quality of the paper, angle of reed pen's cutting is part of the art too. Calligraphic writings are accurate and breathtaking. They are present everywhere, the writing becomes an ornament in the Islamic art. It is as if the word of God is everywhere.
Writings which became part of the ornament in the Islamic art are its unique feature. According to Sheila Blair, the writings always say that God is one, not three. It is what differs Islam from Christianity, one of its key elements.
However, not only calligraphy is important. Architecture as part of the sacred space is also well demonstrated in the film. Mosques are places for unique personal experience. They connect the one to the divine, in the mosques one is surrounded by the word of God since the words from Quran are inscribed in the walls. Even though mosques located in different places look different, such as the majestic mosque of Damascus in Syria, simple mosque of Djenne in Mali or beautiful mosque of Cordoba in Spain, all of them have the key elements of Islamic architecture. These are hypostyle mosques with series of columns at the base form an infinite space. All mosques have a designed mihrab wall, which directs the prayers to Mecca.
The same as Islamic calligraphy reveals the word of God, the architecture of the Islamic mosques creates space for unique spiritual experience.
Another key aspect of Islamic art revealed in the film is the ornament. Since figurative image is forbidden in the Quran, geometrical ornaments and calligraphic writings become an essential part of decorative art, which again differs Islam so well from Christianity. The film highlights the importance of geometry. Geometrical shapes and geometry itself are central in Islam, as said by D. Fairchild Ruggles. Geometry plays a role in religious and social practices: it is used to identify the direction of the prayer, to calculate the time of the prayer. However, it is wrong to say that there are no human or animal images in the Islamic art. There are sculptures and paintings of humans but these are not idols to be worshipped; these are more close to the ordinary world. In the Islam is said by God: "To know me, know my creation". So the sculptures and paintings are not the depictions of God, the divine, but the representation of his creation. The film also highlights the importance of color in the Islamic art, explains how colorful inscriptions encourage people, how color decorates the carpets, the metalware, the ceramics and is a decorative unit of the Islamic art. Thus ornaments and color are also essential parts and key features of the Islamic art which reveal the ideas revealed in the Quran.
The last ten minutes of the documentary are devoted to the water as part of the Islamic art, as well as to its role in the Islam society and religion itself. Water is life. Many parts of the Islamic world are limited in the water resource, so people living there needed to come up with ideas on how to bring water to them. The film well describes this issue: it gives an example of thirty wheels in Hama, Syria, which bring water for people; or subterranean aqueduct in Iran and further development of water management. Religious role of the water is highlighted in the practice: all Muslims have to wash their hands before prayer to approach the divine in the right mental framework, that is why each mosque has a water reservoir.
Thus, this documentary discusses five parts of the Islamic art which are its distinct and unique features. Art speaks for the context, for the culture, for the ideas and religion itself. The religious beliefs are reflected in the art: the word of God, the Quran inscriptions, surround people in the mosque and serve as the expression of the divine; architecture reveals the importance of space to provide personal spiritual experience; ornaments and colors serve decorative feature; and water becomes part not only of the social life, but an important part of religious practices.
The film focuses on five distinct parts of the Islamic art: calligraphy, space, ornament, color and water. Each play a certain role in depicting the key elements of the Islam religion, its ideas and practices. The film also well demonstrates how unique and varied is the Islamic Art. Although it is unique, the influence of different cultures is well integrated and reflected in the art, especially in the architecture of the mosques.
Quran is the key element of the Islam. It is its heart, it is the word of God, it is the essence of the divine. Importance of the Quran is well demonstrated in the film. Words from the Quran are written everywhere: they are seen in architecture inscribed on the walls of the mosques; they are present on the ceramic plates; they are written with distinct patience and discipline; they reveal the word of God. As it is said in the film, we are looking at the words from the Quran to see the divine. Writing words from the Quran is the form of Islamic art and is called calligraphy. Mohamed Zakariya, the master calligrapher, said that it is a magical art. Everything about the calligraphy is important, he says, the quality of the paper, angle of reed pen's cutting is part of the art too. Calligraphic writings are accurate and breathtaking. They are present everywhere, the writing becomes an ornament in the Islamic art. It is as if the word of God is everywhere.
Writings which became part of the ornament in the Islamic art are its unique feature. According to Sheila Blair, the writings always say that God is one, not three. It is what differs Islam from Christianity, one of its key elements.
However, not only calligraphy is important. Architecture as part of the sacred space is also well demonstrated in the film. Mosques are places for unique personal experience. They connect the one to the divine, in the mosques one is surrounded by the word of God since the words from Quran are inscribed in the walls. Even though mosques located in different places look different, such as the majestic mosque of Damascus in Syria, simple mosque of Djenne in Mali or beautiful mosque of Cordoba in Spain, all of them have the key elements of Islamic architecture. These are hypostyle mosques with series of columns at the base form an infinite space. All mosques have a designed mihrab wall, which directs the prayers to Mecca.
The same as Islamic calligraphy reveals the word of God, the architecture of the Islamic mosques creates space for unique spiritual experience.
Another key aspect of Islamic art revealed in the film is the ornament. Since figurative image is forbidden in the Quran, geometrical ornaments and calligraphic writings become an essential part of decorative art, which again differs Islam so well from Christianity. The film highlights the importance of geometry. Geometrical shapes and geometry itself are central in Islam, as said by D. Fairchild Ruggles. Geometry plays a role in religious and social practices: it is used to identify the direction of the prayer, to calculate the time of the prayer. However, it is wrong to say that there are no human or animal images in the Islamic art. There are sculptures and paintings of humans but these are not idols to be worshipped; these are more close to the ordinary world. In the Islam is said by God: "To know me, know my creation". So the sculptures and paintings are not the depictions of God, the divine, but the representation of his creation. The film also highlights the importance of color in the Islamic art, explains how colorful inscriptions encourage people, how color decorates the carpets, the metalware, the ceramics and is a decorative unit of the Islamic art. Thus ornaments and color are also essential parts and key features of the Islamic art which reveal the ideas revealed in the Quran.
The last ten minutes of the documentary are devoted to the water as part of the Islamic art, as well as to its role in the Islam society and religion itself. Water is life. Many parts of the Islamic world are limited in the water resource, so people living there needed to come up with ideas on how to bring water to them. The film well describes this issue: it gives an example of thirty wheels in Hama, Syria, which bring water for people; or subterranean aqueduct in Iran and further development of water management. Religious role of the water is highlighted in the practice: all Muslims have to wash their hands before prayer to approach the divine in the right mental framework, that is why each mosque has a water reservoir.
Thus, this documentary discusses five parts of the Islamic art which are its distinct and unique features. Art speaks for the context, for the culture, for the ideas and religion itself. The religious beliefs are reflected in the art: the word of God, the Quran inscriptions, surround people in the mosque and serve as the expression of the divine; architecture reveals the importance of space to provide personal spiritual experience; ornaments and colors serve decorative feature; and water becomes part not only of the social life, but an important part of religious practices.
Movie Review
anelamantayeva1 November 2020
Warning: Spoilers
From the historical documents, scholars may understand the origin of Islam, how it spread, and other events. This movie showed a more sophisticated way to study Islam - through art. "Islamic art is a reflection of the people and the context in which it was produced". Religious art and architecture are believed to be a tool to express emotions and to aspire "for an understanding of our place in the world". It was interesting to see how Islamic art is very versatile and it could adapt to the various culture, environment and it could use already existing techniques to "perform" art. My review will focus on the movie content and will try to tie the given information with learned information.
At the age of 40, Prophet Muhammad received a revelation from Allah and His gift was a Quran. Quran is the direct speech of Allah and it is a source for Islamic Law, so in Islam, calligraphy is central art. Starting from pen cutting, special paper preparation, words of the Quran are copied with high precision and accuracy. This process resembles meditation and the Muslim calligrapher claimed that writing concentration minimizes self-presence in that writing, so "Allah speaks through the pen". Dr. Rozaliya Garipova claimed that Quran, also, facilitates the oral aspect of art. In the early stages of Islam, memorization was the most reliable preservation of the Al-Kitab, because more people memorized it and fewer alterations occurred. Moreover, there are contests on testing memory and a recitation of the Quran as seen in "Quran by Heart". So, the Quran is a sacred book that promotes the art of Word.
Quran is full of sacred blessing and the Words of it inscribed on buildings, so they could illustrate the Word of Allah. An example of an Islamic inscription, given in the movie, is in the Dome of the Rock (Jerusalem) and the golden writings on the walls say that "God is one" and Sheila Blair claimed that these inscriptions are "rebuttal" to Christianity. This could be an example of how Muslims were differentiated from Believers after the Monotheistic Revival Movement as Professor Fred Donner argued.
The concept of space is well utilized in Islam and it could be seen in their architecture. To understand Islamic architecture, it should be noted that Mecca is the central city of Islamic tradition and Kaaba is the "center of the rites and rituals associated with the Hajj and with the pilgrimage to Mecca". In the Islamic mosque, it is crucial to have a prayer niche Mihrab, which is in direction of Mecca, because it is the only standard for a mosque according to the Quran. So, the versatility of mosques is not constrained and the movie was able to depict architecturally different mosques and even palaces. If in Alhambra palace's ornaments were used to imitate textiles and give a building a feeling of a tent, the Mosque of Djenne uses unique ornaments of line on the wall, which is crated from perturbing beams and the sun's position. In the movie, various unique Islamic buildings were analysed for historical influence, environmental factors, or inspiration. From each case, it was apparent that Islamic architecture's strength is the ability to adapt. For example, to build Suleymaniye Sinan was inspired by the dome of the Byzantine church of Hagia Sophia and he was able to create a more proportional and sophisticated mosque. According to Professor Fred Donner, Muslims were tolerant of the believer's architecture as he claimed that "no significant architecture evidence of conversion" was found during the Monotheistic Revival Movement. In his lecture "How Islam Began" he gave an example of cohabitation of two monotheistic religions. The Church was excavated near Jerusalem and the analysis showed that during the rebuild in the 8th century under the Umayyad dynasty, along with prayer place in the East for Christians this building had a Mihrab for Muslim prayers. So, this kind of architectural buildings illustrates the nature of Islam and their tolerance of architectural art. Such tolerance was explained by Professor Fred Donner as "some people of the book were believers (as Muslims) and they were included in the Monotheistic Revival Movement if they were adequately pious in their behaviour". The movie hinted to the tolerance of other religious arts as a cause of trade, for example, Jahangir admired European and Christian art, so the art - he created - had elements of inspired art. The notion that trade is the cause of tolerance, the versatility of Islamic art might be true, because the center of Islamic tradition Mecca was also known as the trading hub and even the early life of the Prophet Muhammad was connected with trading to Syria.
To sum up, this movie did a great job of showing the values, lifestyle, and attitude toward the Quran and toward other religious art forms. For Muslims, the Quran is a valuable book because it bears the words of Allah. All the mentioned art forms in the movie are influenced by the Quran. If calligraphy and Arabic inscriptions on buildings are directly associated with the Quran, the architecture and the ability of Muslims to adopt the most beautiful and effective techniques from others are supported and directed by the Quran. From this movie, I understood that to explore Muslim nature, Islamic culture, and the Quran, we should look at their artistic heritage.
At the age of 40, Prophet Muhammad received a revelation from Allah and His gift was a Quran. Quran is the direct speech of Allah and it is a source for Islamic Law, so in Islam, calligraphy is central art. Starting from pen cutting, special paper preparation, words of the Quran are copied with high precision and accuracy. This process resembles meditation and the Muslim calligrapher claimed that writing concentration minimizes self-presence in that writing, so "Allah speaks through the pen". Dr. Rozaliya Garipova claimed that Quran, also, facilitates the oral aspect of art. In the early stages of Islam, memorization was the most reliable preservation of the Al-Kitab, because more people memorized it and fewer alterations occurred. Moreover, there are contests on testing memory and a recitation of the Quran as seen in "Quran by Heart". So, the Quran is a sacred book that promotes the art of Word.
Quran is full of sacred blessing and the Words of it inscribed on buildings, so they could illustrate the Word of Allah. An example of an Islamic inscription, given in the movie, is in the Dome of the Rock (Jerusalem) and the golden writings on the walls say that "God is one" and Sheila Blair claimed that these inscriptions are "rebuttal" to Christianity. This could be an example of how Muslims were differentiated from Believers after the Monotheistic Revival Movement as Professor Fred Donner argued.
The concept of space is well utilized in Islam and it could be seen in their architecture. To understand Islamic architecture, it should be noted that Mecca is the central city of Islamic tradition and Kaaba is the "center of the rites and rituals associated with the Hajj and with the pilgrimage to Mecca". In the Islamic mosque, it is crucial to have a prayer niche Mihrab, which is in direction of Mecca, because it is the only standard for a mosque according to the Quran. So, the versatility of mosques is not constrained and the movie was able to depict architecturally different mosques and even palaces. If in Alhambra palace's ornaments were used to imitate textiles and give a building a feeling of a tent, the Mosque of Djenne uses unique ornaments of line on the wall, which is crated from perturbing beams and the sun's position. In the movie, various unique Islamic buildings were analysed for historical influence, environmental factors, or inspiration. From each case, it was apparent that Islamic architecture's strength is the ability to adapt. For example, to build Suleymaniye Sinan was inspired by the dome of the Byzantine church of Hagia Sophia and he was able to create a more proportional and sophisticated mosque. According to Professor Fred Donner, Muslims were tolerant of the believer's architecture as he claimed that "no significant architecture evidence of conversion" was found during the Monotheistic Revival Movement. In his lecture "How Islam Began" he gave an example of cohabitation of two monotheistic religions. The Church was excavated near Jerusalem and the analysis showed that during the rebuild in the 8th century under the Umayyad dynasty, along with prayer place in the East for Christians this building had a Mihrab for Muslim prayers. So, this kind of architectural buildings illustrates the nature of Islam and their tolerance of architectural art. Such tolerance was explained by Professor Fred Donner as "some people of the book were believers (as Muslims) and they were included in the Monotheistic Revival Movement if they were adequately pious in their behaviour". The movie hinted to the tolerance of other religious arts as a cause of trade, for example, Jahangir admired European and Christian art, so the art - he created - had elements of inspired art. The notion that trade is the cause of tolerance, the versatility of Islamic art might be true, because the center of Islamic tradition Mecca was also known as the trading hub and even the early life of the Prophet Muhammad was connected with trading to Syria.
To sum up, this movie did a great job of showing the values, lifestyle, and attitude toward the Quran and toward other religious art forms. For Muslims, the Quran is a valuable book because it bears the words of Allah. All the mentioned art forms in the movie are influenced by the Quran. If calligraphy and Arabic inscriptions on buildings are directly associated with the Quran, the architecture and the ability of Muslims to adopt the most beautiful and effective techniques from others are supported and directed by the Quran. From this movie, I understood that to explore Muslim nature, Islamic culture, and the Quran, we should look at their artistic heritage.
A Glorious Islamic Art
emirkhandemir12 April 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Film Review on Islamic Art Mirror of the Invisible World 2019 History of Documentary
The producer of this documentary Rober Gardner created one of the immense feelings of Islamic culture in art. The strong connections between history and the art of Islam were shown in this special documentary. Rober Gardner starts this documentary from the emerging point of Islam. The emergence of Islam began in the 7th century when the Byzantine and the Persian empire experienced some massive wars. The Arabic tribes were the epicenter of the emergence of Islam. However, Islam itself and art of Islam was spread to most of the parts of the world. Gardner shows how the revelation of the holy Islamic text Quran played a key impact on Islamic art. Quran was considered as an illumination of Islamic art because Quran was something above the art. The text of God was creating shine to most of the Islamic arts decorated with Quranic texts. The most important Islamic art was considered as mosques. Almost all the mosques were decorated with a Quranic text, and this was giving all the meaning to its holiness and spirituality. However, it is also important to mention that according to Johnathan Berkey, "Muslims leaned heavily on the vocabulary of pre-Islamic art and architecture" (62). We can see that Berkey has a very great connection with Gardner's documentary. By stating this sentence Berkey almost summarizes the beautiful documentary of Rober Gardner. It is important to mention that all these beauties of Islamic were art spread all around the world. Most of the time holy Quranic text was decorated in golden colors and often was decorated with some beautiful mosaics. "They used them to fashion a distinctively Islamic visual language, one which in the religious sphere produced a simple but unambiguously Islamic artifact - the mosque" (Berkey, 62). This shows that Berkey was also witnessed an art of an Islam that was considered as Mosques. The style of writing of the Quran had a very deep meaning. These styles were considered as a turning point in Arabic writings. To learn some of these styles of writing people were spending too much time and effort. It was all magical when a person tried to write these scriptures. The documentary has shown that the Islamic art of writing exists in modern Turkey. Most of the people go and learn how to write Quranic text in a specific and beautiful manner. These special skills of writing connect us to one of the beautiful architecture of the world which was considered the Alhambra mosque in Spain. The special beautiful Quranic texts were covering all the mosque. This mosque was considered one of the concrete pieces of evidence of beauty in Islamic art. Mihrab in mosques considered as the point which emphasizes the Mecca and all Muslims in mosques are praying to that way. Some of the narrators explain the art which Mihrab contains. I also believe that the beautiful mosaics in Mihrab makes a person more respectful to God. Besides, Abdu Rabman or Cordoba mosque believed as a deep art that was designed similarly as the Umayyad mosque in Damascus, Syria. This mosque is known with its own unique wonderful column architecture. The mosques in Islam conations full of meaning because the colorful mosaics which shape the words of God give a feeling of connection to God. Also, Islamic art in mosques helps people to connect to the divine world with God. Most of the time mosaics help people to understand that the world was created from small pieces and these pieces' shape our lives. Rober Gardner points out that the Ottoman empire's Islamic architecture has its own meaning in the art of painting. The Dome of Rock mosque is one of the evidence Ottoman Empire's beautiful handcraft. The Ottoman Empire made this mosque more beautiful by painting it into gold and blue colors. The most unique mosque in Africa is the Djenne mosque which was made out of clay. This mosque was built in the 13th century by the West-African king. The architecture is known as a completely local because it was built out of clay and this gives a more unique atmosphere inside of the mosque. It was built with ninety-nine columns and the king named each one with God's ninety-nine name. Ornaments have a very deep meaning in Islamic art. Most of the time in Islamic art people see ornaments of animals which shows us a message of beauty. Most of the world's art creates ornaments on furniture like chairs or tables. Although Islamic art uses ornaments on carpets. These ornaments mostly connected to flowers. This style of ornaments was a symbol of knowing God and to understand his creatures. Flowers also symbolized the birth and death of a person. The next important type of Islamic art is considered as the art of color. The blue color of mosaics in the Isfahan mosque is a sign of a sky. I think that this is very divine because the sky connects to God and life. I also believe that these colors make people think about the Quran and the divine world. Some of the colors in Persian paintings of Shahname creates a world-famous art and stories. The colors in these paintings make people go deep into the history and mystery of the Persian stories. Water is the last important art in Islam. First of all, water symbolizes cleanness and it is important in Islamic law. Each person should clean themselves before each prayer so that why water symbolizes Islam. In addition, water symbolizes life, continuity and deep history because water doesn't change. Water evaporates and comes back so that why water contains deep history. Especially in mosques, we can see places where people can clean themselves with water. The author also mentions that water is beauty and life which creates some basic needs for survival and comfort.
Beauty of Islamic Art
shahizadamashrapova11 April 2021
Warning: Spoilers
The documentary film "Islamic Art: Mirror of the Invisible World" through Islamic art demonstrates the development of religion Islam. Due to vast Arab possessions in the 7th and 8th centuries becoming the largest empire, Islamic art is a combination of multiple traditions. As one of the guests in the film says: "Islamic art is a reflection of the people and the context in which it was produced". Thus, the history, development, and true faith reflected in Islamic art. In order to illustrate the uniqueness of Islam, the film represents through five themes, namely the word, space, ornament, color, and water, that as well as in the Quran are the table of contents of chapters.
Islam that was originated in the early 7th century when Muhammad got a revelation from God. From that time, the Quran assumed to be a gift from God to people and serves as a source of Islamic law. Words from the Quran, the name of the Prophet and Allah are presented in every subject, including mosques and day-to-day objects. This is a distinguishing feature of Islam from other religions, namely the unity of man with God. Moreover, presenting Arabic phrases, words from Quran also serve as not just the beauty that adorns buildings and objects but also serve as a reminder to people of the sacred records. In the lecture on Quran and Tafsir, was mentioned that the words of the Quran were engaged in the monumental mosques and place to show the magnificence of the Quran. In addition, writings on the walls of buildings and household items can be considered done taking into account the fact that the Quran is not forgotten, so that people always remember and know about the only God. Thus, the words of the Quran represent a connection with God in all aspects of people's lives.
In addition, it was interesting to know that people pay great attention to calligraphy, both for writing on a piece of paper and on buildings and household items. People have special boxes for accessories, a special knife to sharpen a pen for writing, a special angle of a pen, a special technique to prepare the paper for writings. It demonstrates that people especially refer to the scriptures of the Quran since they believe that God speaks through the scriptures, that through writing the Quran, the writer prays. Thus, accepting the writing of the Quran as a pray, the writer should concentrate on words, would be in connection with God. Therefore, if we can argue that writing is some kind of pray, thus, reading the words, phrases from the Quran on mosque walls, from plates and decanters, it also could be accepted as a pray.
Besides the uniqueness of words from the Quran, mosques, buildings, and household items are beautiful in design. This beauty spread to different continents, thereby spreading the religion of Islam. As an example, the film illustrates mosques in Alhambra, Damascus, West Africa, Africa. All of them represent the majesty of Islam. It seems that Islam spread not only due to social factors that were presented in the lecture on the Spread of Islam like when parents accept Islam, then children would also be Muslim and the chain would continue. In addition, the lecturer argues that people accept Islam to become part of "umma" (community) to reach some privileges like lower taxes or occupying governmental positions. However, the film also represents another side of the spread of Islam. The beauty of buildings, their huge structures, colorful designs, an abundance of gardens, food, the presence of water as a source of energy shows people what heaven looks like. It seems to me that with these beauties Islam aroused people's interest. As one of the guests in the film says, people, in order to pray to their ancestors, would accept Islam imagining the rich life after the death looking at those extraordinary beautiful mosques. As a result, this attraction by paradise contributed to the spread of Islam on three continents.
To conclude, the film "Islamic Art: Mirror of the Invisible World" represents not only the beauty of Islamic art, its unique techniques but also illustrates the features of Islam, history of occurrence and change, spread over a vast territory. Through art, people are interested in Islam, its teachings. Thus, the existence of Islamic art on religious buildings and everyday objects prolongs the existence of Islam. Islamic art is a type of connection with God.
Islam that was originated in the early 7th century when Muhammad got a revelation from God. From that time, the Quran assumed to be a gift from God to people and serves as a source of Islamic law. Words from the Quran, the name of the Prophet and Allah are presented in every subject, including mosques and day-to-day objects. This is a distinguishing feature of Islam from other religions, namely the unity of man with God. Moreover, presenting Arabic phrases, words from Quran also serve as not just the beauty that adorns buildings and objects but also serve as a reminder to people of the sacred records. In the lecture on Quran and Tafsir, was mentioned that the words of the Quran were engaged in the monumental mosques and place to show the magnificence of the Quran. In addition, writings on the walls of buildings and household items can be considered done taking into account the fact that the Quran is not forgotten, so that people always remember and know about the only God. Thus, the words of the Quran represent a connection with God in all aspects of people's lives.
In addition, it was interesting to know that people pay great attention to calligraphy, both for writing on a piece of paper and on buildings and household items. People have special boxes for accessories, a special knife to sharpen a pen for writing, a special angle of a pen, a special technique to prepare the paper for writings. It demonstrates that people especially refer to the scriptures of the Quran since they believe that God speaks through the scriptures, that through writing the Quran, the writer prays. Thus, accepting the writing of the Quran as a pray, the writer should concentrate on words, would be in connection with God. Therefore, if we can argue that writing is some kind of pray, thus, reading the words, phrases from the Quran on mosque walls, from plates and decanters, it also could be accepted as a pray.
Besides the uniqueness of words from the Quran, mosques, buildings, and household items are beautiful in design. This beauty spread to different continents, thereby spreading the religion of Islam. As an example, the film illustrates mosques in Alhambra, Damascus, West Africa, Africa. All of them represent the majesty of Islam. It seems that Islam spread not only due to social factors that were presented in the lecture on the Spread of Islam like when parents accept Islam, then children would also be Muslim and the chain would continue. In addition, the lecturer argues that people accept Islam to become part of "umma" (community) to reach some privileges like lower taxes or occupying governmental positions. However, the film also represents another side of the spread of Islam. The beauty of buildings, their huge structures, colorful designs, an abundance of gardens, food, the presence of water as a source of energy shows people what heaven looks like. It seems to me that with these beauties Islam aroused people's interest. As one of the guests in the film says, people, in order to pray to their ancestors, would accept Islam imagining the rich life after the death looking at those extraordinary beautiful mosques. As a result, this attraction by paradise contributed to the spread of Islam on three continents.
To conclude, the film "Islamic Art: Mirror of the Invisible World" represents not only the beauty of Islamic art, its unique techniques but also illustrates the features of Islam, history of occurrence and change, spread over a vast territory. Through art, people are interested in Islam, its teachings. Thus, the existence of Islamic art on religious buildings and everyday objects prolongs the existence of Islam. Islamic art is a type of connection with God.
film review for extra credit
elmiraospanova1 November 2020
Warning: Spoilers
The film Islamic Art: Mirror of the Invisible World is a documentary on the art and architecture of Islam. As is argued in the film itself, it is a unique way for the outsiders to understand more about Islam. The film emphasizes "a continuity rather than a break" that is evident in the comparison between Western and Islamic art. In this review, I will analyze how the film manages to present Islamic religious tradition through the explanations about its art and architecture and connecting them to the Qur'an.
The film starts by emphasizing the importance of Qur'an in Islam as the direct word of God, its prevalence in the art produced by Islamic craftsmen and artisans, and its the need for everyone to know it. "Islam Lecture 2: Quran and Tafsir" focused on the recitation of Qur'an being the most important way of preserving the word of God in Early Islam. In contradiction to what was said in the lecture, the film emphasizes the importance of calligraphy as an art of writing the Qur'an. However, the film continues to explain that some writings, for example, the inscriptions on the walls of mosques and palaces, are not even meant to be read. They are the adornments that are understandable because the readers should already know what is written there because they know the Qur'an by heart. The comparison is made in the film between Qur'anic writings in Islam and iconography in Christianity. There are similarities in the two in that the best places, most precious materials and talented artistry were used for their depiction. In Christianity, the film explains, the icons containing Jesus are the most beautiful and devout pieces of art. In Islam, this place is reserved for Qur'an, either in the form of inscriptions or in the way pf rewriting the whole book in the fanciest possible way. Such a comparison, made more evident by saying both Jesus and the Qur'an are the gifts of God, in my opinion, would help the non-Muslim viewer appreciate the importance of such art. This is a good way to simultaneously highlight the reverence of the text and awaken the understanding of it in the viewers.
On the example of the Great Mosque of Djenne, the diversity of Muslim architecture is shown in the film. In West Africa, the builders of the mosques had to employ local architectural style and were limited to the locally available materials. However, in the internal elements of the mosque, there are similarities with traditional mosques of countries like Iraq and Saudi Arabia. This implicates the universal spread of Islam and it shows the viewers that the religion evolves and adapts to the different places to which it found its way. This is a good way to de-alienate the viewers from the concept of geographically isolated or exclusionary Islam.
Discussing ornaments, the focus of Islamic art is on nature images, floral and vegetable patterns and depictions of animals and birds. Dr Afshan Bokhari argues that such depictions are meant to help Muslims understand God more intimately, because of the Qur'anic line "To know me, know my creations". This follows the Islamic notion that although God is too great to understand or depict him, there is a way to be close to understanding him through faith and art. Once again, highlighting the beauty and enormous care with which the arts were created, the film manages to make Islam more accessible and understandable to the people outside it. Muslims themselves probably do not need the detailed explanations about the symbolism behind the Islamic art. To the people outside the religion, who are used to the depictions of the figure of god, this produces a way to understand that Islam has that too. The film gives off the idea that in Islam all the art is actually made in the worship of god, even though there are no images of him. I believe it is a very useful message to carry.
Understanding Islam and its origins as a religion should come together with the understanding the material environment of the people who practice it. Dr Mohammad Al-Asad recalls the line from the Qur'an that "God has made everything alive through water", ie that water is life. Such a notion is explained by the fact that the lands where Islam emerged and is spread the widest are often the regions with sparsely available water resources. The fact that water was not abundant has likely played a role in the fact that water is an important element needed for Muslim prayers. The use of water in Islamic architecture, both for mosques and palaces, is shown in various scenes of the film. Water was used in mosques for washing before prayers and in palaces to enhance and highlight the beauty and magnitude of the buildings.
In conclusion, the film Islamic Art: Mirror of the Invisible World expands understanding of Islam through the depiction and explanation of Islamic art. It broadens the understanding of the Islamic traditions by challenging the widespread theories and highlighting the beauty and thoughtfulness of the creations of the Islamic civilization.
Islamic art is a reflection of the creators
aigerimsatvaldiyeva9 April 2020
Warning: Spoilers
The movie ends with the concluding phrase "A translucent glass is beautiful regardless of your religious background, mosaic sparkles regardless of what in history you are in...", which is the point speakers make throughout the movie. According to them, art is a universal human experience. It transcends through time, and culture and space. Therefore, the same goes for the Islamic art culture. The 7th century was the turning point in human history when Persian and Byzantium empires weakened, while Arabic people united under Islam. As a result, Arabic civilization spread throughout the world, while also spreading the Islamic culture. The discovery and study of Islamic art can be a kind of a mirror as it the reflection of people and the context in which it was made. Through this movie, we can discover the uniqueness of Islamic art in different places of the world, while also understanding the universality of it. As we can see, the movie does that by studying different spheres of art such as words, space, ornaments, color and water themes.
The movie indicates how words in Islamic culture are a form of art in themselves. This was because of the revelations prophet Muhammad received from God in a cave and throughout his life in order to direct and enlighten people, very different experience from Christianity. It is evident that Quran in itself became an art form because of the divine presence in the words of God. Bright example of the Arab inscriptions are the words written on walls and domes of mosques in Islamic world. An interesting piece of information on the reflection of context in Islamic art was the example of Arabic inscription on the walls of mosque written in gold, provided in the beginning of the movie. The words meant that there is not three, but only one God, which reflects the presence of Christianity at the place where mosque was located. This corresponds to Berkey's Formation of Islam, in which he explores the connection between Islam and other religions. As Berkey stated, Islam while in some places borrowing elements from other religions, also did respond to fragments of religions. In this case, we can see that the inscription reflected the attitude of Muslims towards the Trinity concept in Christianity.
The movie also highlights the use of space by Islamic culture, in which it explored different designs of palaces and mosques. Usually, people expect mosques to be of the same kind as in Arabic peninsula or the ones from Ottoman empire. However, what strikes the most is the representation of mosques from other parts of world such as Djenne. The mosque shows the simplicity of Islamic traditions, where it was made from mud brick. Here, we can sense the mix of West African traditions with Islamic culture. The mosque has flat roofs supported by 99 columns, while having no ornaments and decorations at all. This mosque, as said by the speaker of the movie, redefines our concept of what a mosque is because it does not look like any other mosques from Arabia or Turkey.
Moreover, the movie also highlights the role of ornaments and decoration in Islamic art. For instance, the patterns in ornaments signify the role geometry as they employ different geometric sequences. This reflects the importance of geometry not only in art, but in Islam in general. People needed geometry in order to identify the direction of prayer, or the time of prayer. The patterns of flora and fauna are also present in different pieces of art such as decorations of everyday things (bowls and plates), the walls of palaces and mosques, and etc. Considering that the main lands of Arabia were deserted, this might reflect the ideas of Heaven in Islam, or specifically the theme of abundance. Another explanation for the prevalence of flora and fauna were the words said by God in Quran, that is "to know my creatures is to know me". Hence, it might have possible that people depicted the creatures around them so much in order to try to understand God himself.
Water also played a great role in Islamic art where we can see water fountains or water pools in many palaces and mosques, which required complex engineering knowledge. Water was the tool with which God made everything alive, so it was sacred. Not only that, but water also played significant role as it allowed people to cleanse themselves before prayers - before approaching God. Thus, it is not surprising that water carriers where present in many Islamic architectures.
In general, the movie explores different aspects of Islamic art in order to discover the context of its creation. As stated in the name of movie, Islamic art serves as a mirror in order to discover the cultural and religious ideals. Thus, art is not simply for people to admire its beauty, but also to understand and discover knowledge about those who created them.
Review of the movie "Islamic Art: Mirror of the Invisible World"
ayanaablayeva12 April 2020
Warning: Spoilers
The movie " Islamic Art Mirror" familiarizes an audience with the concept of Islamic Art and with its key components, which unify its different manifestations throughout the world. The documentary also shows how Islamic art has shaped itself throughout the change of time and space. Through its key components, the movie has demonstrated that Islamic Art was not only based on religious practices but also have influenced by Western Art.
Firstly, the movie stops on how Islamic art is focused on recitations from the Quran and how dramatically it differentiates this cultural art from others. The importance of Quran in Islam itself can be seen from the work of Ibn Ishaq, "The life of Muhammad", where it is shown how God described the sending down of the Quran as "The month of Ramadan in which the Quran was brought down as a guidance to men, and proofs of guidance and a decisive criterion". From this moment, it is possible to say that the whole life of Muslims including art is based on the Quran. It can be observed starting from the engraved words on day-to-day objects and ending with big architectural buildings as mosques covered with different verses from it. This high value of Quranic words is explained by Shelia Blair by making parallels between Christianity and Islam: "For Christians, God's gift was his son. He sent down his son to save mankind. For Muslims, God sent down a revelation" and "...God's gift to mankind in Islam is the Quran". It shows that Muslims have tried to depict revealed God's words in every item in their life or places for prayer like mosques. This adherence to Quran in Islamic Art has affected in the development of its another branch as the calligraphy, were this practice again can be linked with the first revelation given to the apostle of God: "Read, for your Lord is the most generous, the one who taught the use of the pen, taught man who did not know". Overall, the Quran is not only the main component of Islam alone but also of the Art, which have sprung from it.
Secondly, the movie discusses how the practice of prayer has influenced Islamic architecture. In general, as it is also depicted in the work of Ishaq, the prayer is a key element of the Islamic faith, because as it is told in the story of the ascent to Heaven: in the beginning, God appointed fifty prayers for believers, and only by the second request of the apostle of God, reduced it till five prayers per day. Therefore, mosques as buildings for public prayer played an important role in each Islamic society. Moreover, they have shaped the diversity of Islamic practices in different regions of the world.
The difference in architectural design of the Great Mosque in Damascus and Mosque in Cordoba can be a great example of this variety. Even that mosques were both built in the 8th century, in the same hypostyle form and shared common elements as Mihrab pointing to Kaa'ba and the abundance of ornaments, the second mosque greatly differs from the first by its short columns, horseshoe arches and spatial effect adapted from Western Architecture. Another example is Suleyman's imperial mosque, Suleimaniye, built-in the 16th century, which is special with its huge dome adapted from Haga Sophia and with a restrained ornament style. Moreover, these examples also demonstrate how Western Art, especially Christian Art have played its role in the development of Islamic Art, which again shows the fundamental influence of other Abrahamic religions on Islam as it was underlined too by Berkey in his discussion called "The origins of the Muslim community".
From another point of view, 13th-century Mosque in Djenne built mostly from the mud also serves as a public prayer place. Moreover, even the simple structure of this mosque includes its reference to Islamic theology: its flat roof is supported by 99 columns, one for each of the 99 names of God. According to Jonathan Bloom, these described "differences between very simple mosques and the very complex, highly engineered buildings have to do with local cultural traditions, the availability of materials, and the availability of money and technologies". However, as the movie also notes "whether domed or hypostyle, plain or ornamented, all mosques serve the same purpose". It just shows as Ruba Kanaa'an said "how people perceived and understood prayer", "expressed that from different places and different ideas in different ways". Overall, it is possible to see how Islamic Architecture serves as a demonstration of how Islam is practiced differently and changed over time.
Thirdly, the documentary also highlights the importance of water in Islamic art. This is strongly connected with the ablution practice before the praying. As it was stated in the work of Ishaq, the apostle of God was taught by Gabriel itself to make the ablution before the prayer. The meaning of this practice lies in "personal cleansing of oneself before approaching God", as stated by Jonathan Bloom. Therefore, most architectures always considered the water supply for ablution places of the mosque. Moreover, due to most Islamic culture was placed on geographical areas with the water shortage, it also influenced the creation of water ewers and pitchers made in Islamic style. Besides, as Mohammad al-Asad noted, the Quran has one important verse stating that "God has made everything alive through water". Therefore, it is also possible to observe that the territory of most Islamic architectural buildings as Tadj Mahal and Palace of 40 Columns of Ishafan includes the water pool, which magnifies these buildings even greater by their reflections.
In overall, this movie has demonstrated how different practices of the Islam as the recitation of the Quran, the collective prayer and ablution have shaped the Islamic Art, and how it has emerged differently in different Islamic cultures.
Art as a bridge between the cultures
aidanadaniyarova12 April 2020
The documentary called "Islamic art: Mirror of the Invisible World" directed by Robert Gardner in 2011 is not only about getting visual pleasure from admirable mosques and their architectural design, but, more importantly, about the similarities in our cultures, about the continuity as well as the change of the cultural legacy, and a shared history of world civilization. The documentary consists of small episodes or parts called words, space, ornament, colors and water. In each episode the narrator discusses the nuances, specific features, history and the role of corresponding title of episode in Islamic religion and culture. So, from the very start of the film the audience witnesses the fascinating internal design of Islamic mosques that are covered with beautiful inscriptions in Arabic. These inscriptions are perceived by Muslims as the words of God. The use of words everywhere is one of the features of Islam since in religious history of Muslims it is told that God sent down a revelation in order to guide and regulate people's lives. This idea leads to the emergence of the whole art forms as of calligraphy and illumination in Islamic culture and to their gradual evolution and alteration. The belief that God speaks through the pen came from the belief of the divine presence embodied in the word that appears throughout Islamic art. Thus, although one doesn't understand or cannot read those inscriptions and Arabic calligraphy, one can always appreciate their beauty and feel their divine nature while being in different historical context, in a different place and being different human beings. Furthermore, the narrator tells about the history and significance of mosques and their architecture. We can see how the design and architecture of the mosques are evolved throughout the history adapting to the needs of growing religion and adding more specific components, new styles, forms and systems within mosque spaces. The creation of a wonderful spatial effect by Abd-al-Rahman and mixing of Byzantine and Roman techniques with Islamic style for the great mosque of Cordoba were achieved through the interaction of Muslim leaders with other cultures and shows the heritage of shared history of different civilizations. Thus, the film shows that the mosques are ubiquitous for Muslim society, but differ in their structure and design historically due to the availability of technology and wealth. What doesn't differ across the time and place is how Muslims perceive their place of prayer and experience with God regardless of the changes in mosque's design. Also, we can see the importance of renovation and repairing of Islamic architecture. Despite the ability to create the new structure and building, Muslims thought it was more meaningful to repair and renovate and valued the continuity of cultural legacy and transmission of the heritage through the decades. The ornaments in Islamic art express the idea of infinity, of an ending and reflect Muslim's deep interest in geometry. Indeed, there are so many religious practices in Islam that depend on geometry. There is also a wide application of geometric techniques in a day-to-day lives of Muslims such as weaving of rugs. Carpet weaving based on geometric patterns in a Muslim world was gradually elevated to a special form of fine arts. Rugs play an important symbolic and practical role in Islamic world since it is used for prayer to separate worshipper from the dirt of the ground and it also constitutes one of the main furniture in Islamic culture. Carpets began to develop into a more elaborate patterns, colors and designs including the floral patterns. The use of flora and fauna in Islamic art reflected the idea that by looking at the creations of God deeper at their essence we will become much closer to God. Similarly, the colors in Islamic art conveyed the idea to make life everywhere as pleasant and vibrant as possible. So, the colors in Islamic art was believed to transport you to another place that is not earthly. Water also played a significant religious role as all Muslims are required to wash before prayer, before approaching the divine. Moreover, masons of Djenne mix earth and water with a vegetable fat to shape the mud bricks which form the skeleton of mosque building. So, water is used in the act of rebuilding and renewing the mosques and is, therefore, considered as a symbol of making objects eternal. Thus, water is continuous and makes people become the part of the same environment in a different time for different human beings. It is told in Quran that God has made everything alive through water.
Islam is a large religion and it has so many adherents over the past 1400 years. Moreover, the nuance and ingenuity of its art and architecture created the conjunction and proximity of old and new demonstrating both the continuity and the change in a cultural legacy of Islamic world. However, we cannot deny that the legacy of Islamic art is intertwined with the world civilization. As the film displays, we had a lot of contacts, interactions, and movements of artists and poets between Iran and India. And that's how ideas, techniques and goods were transmitted. Islamic heritage took new forms though these interactions. Thus, it's misleading to say that Islam appeared suddenly and separately from other religions, rather it emerged in the context of different political and social events and through the interaction with other different religions. Similarly, Islamic art is not about the break and standing out from the rest of the world, but rather it's about the contribution to the world civilization and to the reservoir of priceless historical heritage of human beings. We can certainly claim that art can be the bridge between one world and another as well as one culture and another. But, more importantly, we can perceive art as a mirror reflecting the invisible world of the human spirit and as a way of life in itself.
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