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Worldwide Locations
Islamic Belief Made Visual
As students learn about the art produced by people of a different or earlier society, they discover that it tells them many things about what these people did, knew, and believed. Examining the geometric patterns that characterize so much of Islamic art can provide students with important insights into the technology, scientific knowledge, and religious beliefs of Muslims. Appreciation for a basic relationship between the art and the religion of Islam increases with familiarity. Careful observation of the illustrations here will provide an introduction to Islamic religious beliefs through its art.
Geometric motifs were popular with Muslim artists and designers in all
parts of the world, at all times, and for decorating every surface,
whether walls or floors, pots or lamps, book covers or textiles. As
Islam spread from nation to nation and region to region, artists
combined their penchant for geometry with pre-existing traditions,
creating a new and distinctive Islamic art. This art expressed the
logic and order inherent in the Islamic vision of the universe.
Although the shapes and structures are based on the geometry of Euclid
and other Greek mathematicians, Islamic artists used them to create
visual statements about religious ideas. One explanation of this
practice was that Mohammad had warned against the worship of idols;
this prohibition was understood as a commandment against representation
of human or animal forms. Geometric forms were an acceptable substitute
for the proscribed forms.
An even more important reason is that geometric systems and Islamic
religious values, though expressed in different forms, say similar
things about universal values. In Islamic art, infinitely repeating
patterns represent the unchanging laws of God. Muslims are expected to
observe strict rules of behavior exactly as they were orginally set
forth by Mohammad in the seventh century. These rules are known as the
"Pillars of Faith":
- pronouncing the creed (chanting an affirmation of the existence of one God and that God is Allah)
- praying, in a precisely defined ritual of words and motions, five times a day
- giving alms
- fasting during the month of Ramadan (time varies according to lunar calendar)
- making, during a lifetime, at least one pilgramage to Mecca
The strict rules for construction of geometric patterns provide a
visual analogy to religious rules of behavior. The geometric patterns
used in Islamic art are aggressively two-dimensional. Artists did not
want to represent the three-dimensional physical world. They preferred
to create an art that represents an ideal, spiritual truth. Ideals are
better represented as two-dimensional than three-dimensional.
The star was the chosen motif for many Islamic decorations. In Islamic
iconography the star is a regular geometric shape that symbolizes equal
radiation in all directions from a central point. All regular
stars--whether they have 6, 8, 10, 12, or 16 points-- are created by a
division of a circle into equal parts. The center of the star is center
of the circle from which it came, and its points touch the
circumference of the circle. The center of a circle is an apt symbol of
a religon that emphasizes one God, and symbol of the role of Mecca, the
center of Islam, toward which all Muslims face in prayer. The rays of a
star reach out in all directions, making the star a fitting symbol for
the spread of Islam.
Many of the patterns used in Islamic art look similar, even though they
decorate different objects. Artists did not seek to express themselves,
but rather, to create beautiful objects for everyone to enjoy. It takes
considerable experience in analyzing Islamic patterns before
discovering that seldom are two designs exactly alike. That is
worrisome to Westerners because of the premium placed in the West on
originality in evaluating an artist. Not so in Islam; there the artist
sees himself as a humble servant of the community, using his skills and
imagination to express awe of Allah, the one God, eternal and
all-powerful.
Author: Jane Norman.
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