Aesthetic and Interpretive Understanding 54: For the Love of God and His Prophet: Religion, Literature, and Arts in Muslim Cultures Professor Ali Asani Spring 2016 Preface This is my second class with Professor Asani, and I feel that I have come a long way since I have taken my first class with Professor Asani […]
Prophet Muhammad has been depicted in so many different art forms, throughout the centuries. There are numerous poems, paintings, odes and songs about Prophet Muhammad, his Isra and miraj (Muhammad’s night journey and celestial ascent where he is said to have led all other prophets in prayer and to have spoken to Allah), his […]
It has been so interesting learning about local Muslim communities in different parts of the world. Both people who grew up in Muslim countries and people who grew up in non-Muslim countries tend to have one specific idea of what Islam is and what Muslims should look and behave like. Thus, it was very interesting […]
Women rights’ is a very important issue that needs to be tackled worldwide. It is an issue that affects fifty percent of our world population; this problem persists almost everywhere in the world, to different extents. Women are paid less in the United States, cannot drive in Saudi Arabic and have a difficult time […]
The idea of symbolism is very important in Islamic tradition. Artifacts, images, animals, plants, art , Quranic verses and calligraphy always have multiple meanings. This notion is also particularly very important in Islamic architecture. In “The Topkapi Scorll – Geometry and ornament in Islamic Architecture,” Gulru Necipohlu discusses how “the innate spirituality […]
The written word is highly esteemed in Arabic and Islamic culture, and as explained in Schimmel’s book, “Calligraphy and Islamic Culture,” Arabic calligraphers often regard their profession as highly sacred. Islam has always stressed the importance of reading and writing for the preservation of everything. In fact, Islam’s first verse in the Quran […]
I have heard more sounds in AI54: “For the Love of God and His Prophet: Religion, Literature, and the Arts in Muslim Cultures,” than I have in any other class at Harvard. It was very interesting listening to the adhan, the Islamic call of prayer, in different countries. Growing up in Egypt, I had […]