Islam is a Religion of Peace

By Basma Abdou

“The name of my artwork is “”الاسلام دين السلام, which translates to: Islam is a religion of peace. The Quran reads: 

Which translates to: Because of that, We decreed upon the Children of Israel that whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption [done] in the land - it is as if he had slain mankind entirely. And whoever saves one - it is as if he had saved mankind entirely. And our messengers had certainly come to them with clear proofs. Then indeed many of them, [even] after that, throughout the land, were transgressors.

The artwork itself is produced digitally, and aims to bring the message to the younger generation. With the popularity of tumblr-esque inspirational quotes overlaid with quotes, the style of imagery became increasingly popular on social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. The inspiration for the piece what the Quranic verse above, which strikes home. As an Arab, it is a constant struggle to defy the stereotypes against Muslims, especially those from the middle east. therefore I wanted to create an artwork that allows for the widespread of the message, and I figured what better way to do so than digital artwork that is shareable and modern.

My artwork is a large 50x50 cm printable piece, that is scalable to any size. the calligraphy style that was attempted is the kufic style, this is to match the modern feel of the piece. In the background, there are many pictured of what one would associate with terrorism, from leaders, to groups, to iconic mass execution images, such as the one by Isis. The pictures were colorized with blue as blue is a common colour in many Islamic artworks across history, as well as it being a very calming color that relaxes the eye.

At first glance, I want the viewer to see how the calligraphy shadows the violent icons in the background, in hopes that one day, the purity of the religion would be the main association with the term Muslim, and not violence.

My name is Basma Abdou, I am currently an Visual Communications student, majoring in Advertising in the American University in Dubai. I am currently a junior, pursuing an undergraduate degree.