Tawheed

By Nadine Kassab

The artwork that I have produced is a drawing of a mosque using Kufic calligraphy.  I engraved my drawing on an A3 wooden board that is 42cm x 29.7 cm.

Nowadays the perception of Islam has diverged from being a religion of love and peace into being viewed as a religion that encourages hate and ignorance. This change might have been caused by either the way media broadcasts the news or the emphasis on terrorist attacks done mostly by the Muslim extremists.

 I believe that one of our missions in life is to spread love and peace. Regardless of our origins, beliefs or religion, we should all spread love and care. Our morals and the anticipated humane acts do not belong to any certain religion. A human is expected to help a friend in need, donate money to the unfortunate and make the world a better place. You do not have to be religious person to be a good person. However, in order to be a good person decisions should be based conscious and a person’s own judgement.

Moreover, these morals are further emphasized in the religions we belong to. Religions that we have inherited, chosen or denied. Thinking about it, the teaching of all religions basically state the same things; don’t kill, don’t steal and don’t hurt a soul. However, these teachings have been categorized in many ways and this has later on further developed into religions. The main reason behind religions was to organize human life and to acknowledge people of a divine power that has created them and all the marvelous creations in their surroundings. Religions have long been accepted by people and were followed as a mean to comfort oneself and protect the soul from being lost in this wild and mysterious universe.

The human mind, no matter how advanced or unlimited it can think, no one ever has been able to interpret the world we live in. It is such a beautiful and enigmatic world. Humans are either blessed or cursed to have such a curious mind, a mind that nourishes on thinking, exploring, discovering and expanding. This mind can never be limited with boundaries nor restrictions that will only hinder its thinking process. Any person is free to think the way they want to and accept or deny what they have concluded.

According to my own interpretation of peace, reaching the stage of being content with yourself, your beliefs and lifestyle is happiness itself. This happiness escorts you to the highest level of peace. Peace with oneself, with the others and the surroundings in general.

In order to produce such an artwork or to reach such an idea, I had to review the work of many artists. I was particularly interested in mixing media. I did not want to write a plain Kufic script nor just produce a painting. Therefore, I combined calligraphy with geometry to produce such a piece that is visually interesting.

Kufic calligraphy has a deep symbolism in Islam. This is because it is a beautiful font to write the Quran script with. Kufic calligraphy usually gives the vibe or feel of geometry, lines and edges. This gives the viewer a sense of organization and order.

Mosques are said and have long been believed to be the “houses of God”. In mosques, Quran is recited the whole time, prayers are called for five times a day and Islamic gatherings are held frequently to keep the people connected with their creator. All of this created within the mosque boundries a comfort zone or a peaceful environment for the Muslims. Thus, according to Muslims at least, mosques are directly linked with peace and inner happiness.

Calligraphy was initially developed as a way to beautify Qur’anic scripts, that’s why calligraphy was mostly seen in mosques and prayer areas. It was and still is used as a way to decorate mosque walls.

Therefore, combing calligraphy, Kufic calligraphy in specific with the mosque drawing seemed to be a very interesting and exciting idea.  

El Seed was my main inspiration. Although his work is not as geometric as the one I have produced, I was inspired by him. El Seed took calligraphy to a whole new level and this is why I like him. He did not restrict calligraphy to Islamic scripts but has rather expanded it to Arabic sayings and phrases. Also, El Seed always tried to deliver a message through his work and this makes the art piece even more worthy and deep. In my project I tried to include his colorful spirit and vibe into my shapes. I also, like him, tried to mix media and not stick to one type only.

I called my artwork “tawheed.” Tawheed is what Muslims say when they want to seek God and look for comfort. Tawhid is the religion's most fundamental concept and holds that God (Allah), is One and Single and that Mohamad( Peace be upon him) is his prophet. These words are mostly glorified by Muslims and Muslims have to admit this belief every day in their prayers. These words can also be called “Shahada,” and they are recited by Muslims during every prayer.

About the artist:

I am an interior design student. I am particularly interested in Arabic language and Calligraphy. I am on a life time mission that aims to deconstruct all the stereotypes built by non-Muslims about Islam and Muslims. I also try to revive the Arabic and middle eastern culture that tends to be forgotten by many youth people my age. 

The Equalizer

Diba Mohebzadeh

We live in a world where we are labeled according to our looks and race and this stereotypical thinking has been taking place in many forms, from the national television to someone’s everyday life. This problem has been mostly happening to Muslims. A Muslim is a follower of a monotheistic religion called Islam- in other words “Peace”. Both words, Muslim and Islam come from the same 3 letter roof of S,L and M in Arabic. In fact, Islam did begin by the Arab speaking population, this is why our Holy book, the Quran was written in Arabic. Quran is said to be one of the most complete religious books, and personally when I first read the Holy book, I realized how rhythmical it is. However, there seems to be the another side of the story.

Orientalism began, when the Western Scholars began to interpose their thinking of the “Middle East” or the “Far East” according to their perspective without understanding the concept of Surrendering to the only God and sacrificing yourself for him and your country- Jihad. This issue has always been a main concern to many Muslims around the world. They have been bordered and zoned out from most of the facilities in which any free person can enjoy in their lives. We were all created from the same ground, and we should be able to walk on this ground freely without being labeled. Unfortunately, this misunderstanding of Muslims being terrorists has began by the 9-11 issue in the United States, followed by other attempts to take us away from our lands due to misunderstandings.

Using the Zodiac sign of “Libra”, the balance of mood swings, in this case, ideas, was the main concept behind this project. The purpose of this art piece is to show the true meaning of Islam, using an equalizer- The balancing element in life. According to Taoism, the Equalizer displays the main balance between heaven and hell and only a single sin can destroy the balance of this world. The Equalizer is made form 5 different components. The Base, which holds the rest of the project to one another, acting as the human, with “Ya Latif” engraved on it. The Expression “Ya Latif” is said in Iran as a reminder of “God” or another way of saying “ Ya Allah” meaning I will start every move I make I am reminded of God. 

Moving towards the lower part of the base, it contains a simple yet important aspect, of a semi-circled curve, explaining the cycle of life, where according to Zen religion, life is a circle divided into two parts. One semi-circle in the Earth life we are living right now, and the other in the after life. The second part is the basic shoulder element. According to the stories I have been told as a child, every human has two angels. One on the right shoulder and the other on the left. The right angel will write our good deeds while the left one will write our bad deeds. Moving towards the two circles, our good and bad deeds or in the other words, the portraying of the right and biased Islam. 

This project consists of two main circles, including an 8 petalled flower. The two sections are divided into the True Face of Islam, which is about friendship, equal rights, understanding women, respecting our elderlies and etc. and the other part about the Wrong image of Islam, the Terrorists, Bombing and Isis. 

Number 8 is a holy number in Islam, which resembles the beauty of a Garden especially in the Persian culture. Within this 8 petalled flower, there are 6 Arabic words calligraphied and engraved using Autocad and the Laser Cutting machine provided by the university. These words are summarized by, family, unity, love, friendship, honesty and peace representing the true vision and image of Islam. While the left circle is a counter-argument using words such as war, bombarding, racism, terrorism, violence and being caged. 

 

Since the chosen material is Bass wood, the project will not be stable enough to be standing on a single wooden cane, therefore using the Golden Triangle rule, a base is produced to hold the art piece to one another. The circle, which consists of the True face of Islam, will have a lower landing level compared to the misunderstood part of Islam, due to the amount of moral values we have in this religion. According to an Iranian quote, “Something which is humble, will have a heavier weight because of the amount of values it is given by the people” and this is what Islam is, a valuable religion for all. 

About the Student

Diba Mohebzadeh is an Iranian Architecture student in the American University in Dubai.

The Torch

 Anoosh Jariyani

Islam is the fastest growing religion on the entire planet, yet it is misunderstood by millions. Islam means peace and submission to God and it is a religion of ethics, obedience, harmony, and is based on a faithful belief system. Interestingly, Islam has also been considered as a religion of cruelty, oppression, and brutality in Western media. 

The religion of Islam is not a religion of hatred and violence, but a religion of respect for all humans and God. This is the true Islam, the religion of equality, morality, unity, and faith. Islam is divided into many branches but the two major branches in Islam are the Sunni and the Shi’a. Western media always try to create division and conflicts between these two to ruin their relationship and unity. Most of the conflicts and wars between these branches are the result of the media activities.

In this project I try to show my own vision of stereotypes about Islam and express my own beliefs.

My artwork: a light box made out of white museum board and  engraved calligraphy using laser cutter on its body. A lamp inside the box is used for lighting. The calligraphy that I was inspired by is found in the “Blue Qur'an”, which is a late 9^th and early 10^th century Fatimid Tunisian Qur'an manuscript written in Kufic calligraphy, probably created in North Africa for the Great Mosque (Mosque of Uqba) of Qairawan.

The idea behind this project is that each of these parts represents a specific object. For instance, the light is representing Islam, and the box symbolizes the Kaaba and calligraphy represents Arab societies and Islamic countries. The reason is that Islam itself and the Kaaba are the main reasons for Muslim’s Unity and the light inside the box is the enlightenment of the Arab societies and Islamic countries. Without the light, there is no possible unity, and everything inside and outside the box would be dark.