Monthly Archives: May 2016

Like many, I have a 9/11 story. I was a high school junior in Boulder, Colorado, and that day permanently popped the “Boulder Bubble” I’d been inside. Naive to global politics but deeply affected, I spent the rest of the … Continue reading →

Vocal composition in four-part harmony This piece is inspired by Professor Asani’s book, Infidel of Love: Exploring Muslim Understandings of Islam. The poetic trope of an “infidel of love” was one of the first and most exciting ideas I internalized from … Continue reading →

Collage of greeting cards  I assembled this piece in response to the spiritual message of Islamic calligraphy as it is so beautifully portrayed by Seyyed Hossein Nasr in Islamic Art and Spirituality. I was moved by the idea that Quranic calligraphy “issues at once … Continue reading →

Photography Here I have in mind two things: First, the mystical dimension of the ayat: that all creation is a ‘sign’ of God that refers to God’s grandeur, and the many poets who describe nature in this way. Second, and moreso, I … Continue reading →

Colored pencil and paper cutouts This was one of my favorite weeks of the semester, and one of my favorite pieces to make. In John Renard’s Seven Doors to Islam: Spirituality and the Religious Life of Muslims, he makes a … Continue reading →

Colored pencil on paper This piece is inspired by the poetry of Allama Iqbal and his vision of growing Godward. The flowers are unfolding and reaching toward the sun, and each individual unfolds in the journey toward the divine. In … Continue reading →

Oil pastel on paper with digital enhancement I will never forget the exercise we did with Maryam Eskandari. It was so simple: We turned to a neighbor and asked them where they find sacred space, then designed a space that … Continue reading →