The Dome of Peace

By Mohammad Almajedi

The Dome of peace is the name I have chosen for my artwork. I chose this name since I drew a Dome and under it the word Peace in Arabic and English.The Idea of calling it The Dome of peace came to me from The Shrine of Dome of the rock.

My idea is basically to write سلام (salaam) in the Kufic calligraphy and above it the word peace. But peace will be written in a way that is similar to the style of the Kufic calligraphy.

I got influenced to write peace in a similar way to Kufic Calligraphy by the artist Julien Breton. Since the Breton’s style is writing English letters in the form of Arabic calligraphy. So I wrote سلام in a Kufic calligraphy and peace in a similar shape.

I specifically chose the word سلام and peace because they have the same meaning and at the same time they both represent Islam.

The Dome above the two words Symbolizes Islam.

The gold color for the dome was chosen for 2 reasons.

|  1^st reason is that I wanted to give my artwork something related to the Islamic history and I found the dome of the rock a good choice.

|  The 2^nd reason is that in Islam the gold color it paradise and by that I meant to show that the path to paradise is Islam.

As Edgar Degas said “Art is not what you see, but what you make others see”.

In conclusion, I have tried to translate my opinions and thoughts of Islam into art with my humble abilities. And I hope that I made people see what I see.

Peace - As Salamu Alaykum

 

BY SARAH TABBARA

The title of my artwork is “Peace”. For my project, I will be using three techniques; sketching, calligraphy, and coloring.

At a first glance at the artwork, one can see two hands of two different people greeting each other. Only the hands of these people show (one cannot see who these people are). However one notices that each person has a different skin tone. This part of the artwork is done using the sketching technique. On the top of the page there is written “As-salamu alaykum” in Arabic, using the calligraphy technique. Below the drawing, a translation in English, which is “Peace be upon you”.

The concept of my artwork is the focus on deconstructing the stereotypes about Islam. The world we live in, especially today, views Muslims as terrorists and as backward people, contrary to the true meaning of what being Muslim is. The most common phrase used by Muslims is “As-salamu-alaykum” and this fact itself is enough to prove anyone who thinks Islam is a religion of violence. 

Another issue this drawing tackles is that Islam is a religion that does not know color. Thus the different skin tones I chose.  

The artist who inspired me is El Seed. He is a Tunisian artist who promotes calligraphity. The messages that he conveys and the creative ways in which he conveys them is something worth being inspired from. He produces his artwork on the walls of mosques, and so much more. His international impact is what catches my eye. He has done artwork all over the place! From Melbourne to Toronto to London and to Paris, he is everywhere. This man is someone to look up to because he actually has achieved something only a few can. He integrated the traditional calligraphy with the contemporary graffiti and gives out powerful messages using his technique.

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References:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EL_Seed

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/As-salamu_alaykum

http://elseed-art.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lTTis3gQEg

http://islamic8.com/peace-be-upon-you-arabic-greeting/

 

Women in Islam

By Hiam Alsanousi

My name is Hiam Alsanousi, I study International Studies (International Relations Track), and I am currently a senior in the American University in Dubai. I am interested in politics and humanitarian issues and I aspire to become a diplomat or work in an international organization such as the United Nations. I love travelling and learning more about different cultures.

The theme I chose to focus on for my art project is women in Islam with specific reference to the ongoing stereotype that Muslim women are oppressed and deprived of the same opportunities that “Western” women are capable of having due to the rules of Islam. The artwork that I created depicts two sides, a woman wearing “niqab”, and on the other side a woman without the “niqab” but instead wearing a graduation cap. The medium that I chose to draw on is a mirror, because my artwork aims to reflect to a woman that looks in to the mirror that her religious background or national dress code, should not be able to limit her success and that the idea that women in Islam do not have the right to receive an education is yet another flawed assumption about the religion.

The reason I specifically chose women in Islam as my focal point in the creation of my art project is because Muslim women have constantly been victims to media and the stereotypes that come along with it. Whether classified as oppressed or simply assumed to be uneducated due to their dress code or beliefs, there is no denial that the media tends to make rash associations between Islam and lack of women rights. Lack of women rights is not something that is encouraged by Islam and in terms of women’s rights to education and success there is no reference in the Holy Quran or a specific rule in the religion in general that requires women to abstain from receiving an education. Another purpose for my specific interest in this topic is the fact that I am a Muslim Afro-Arab woman whom was given the chance to study whichever major I desired abroad, along side many peers with a similar cultural background.

Although I am well aware of the fact that there are women that are oppressed in specific countries and these activities tend to be highly associated with Islam, I believe that these accusations do the religion no justice. Different individuals can portray religion like most other things differently, which is why different Muslims act in different ways. People who do not follow the religion may also view some of the attributes of the religion as restrictive or extreme, and although having specific doubts about something you are unfamiliar with is natural, there is no justification for generalizing when it comes to religion.

Media: Mirror, Permanent Black Marker.

Technique: Sketching.

Dimensions. 30x30 cm Mirror.

WOMEN RIGHTS

By Nimra Arshad

In this art project, I drew something representing women rights; that they have equal rights as men, which a lot of Muslim cultures do not understand. I got inspired by the painting of Rosie the Riveter. I did sketching and used color pencils on an A4 sized paper.

 

Many Muslims today have a misconception about Islam regarding most of the things. I’ll be talking about one of these misconceptions, which is forcing a marriage onto your daughters.

It’s said in the Qur’an that have a sense of awe towards the wombs; this means that anything that has something to do with the womb we have to respect it. This is the reason why we have great respect for our mothers and our family relationships. It is also said in Qur’an, “…and they have taken a strong pledge from you?”; here, it basically means that women have taken a very strong and heavy contract from men (husbands), that it was their decision to get married to a specific person. Whereas in many Muslim cultures, unfortunately, giving women the choice to marry who they want is being stripped from them. The families put psychological or emotional pressure on their daughters, physically abuse them, and forcefully marry them to someone who they’re not willing to marry. They think it’s an insult to them, their relatives or to their community, and also that their daughters have no rights to marry someone who they want, and that this is not allowed in Islam or haram.

In my opinion, this is a very wrong act; everybody should have the right to marry the person they want, because in the end, it is them who have to spend their lives with their spouses and not their families or relatives. 

Once, a lady went over to the house of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and said that her father had forced her to marry someone she did not want to, and so the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) told her the\at the father had no rights to marry off their daughter to the people they did not want, then he said to her “Your marriage is invalid, go marry whoever you want.”

So not only did the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) allowed women to come over to his house and speak to him directly, he also affirmed their rights constantly, even if that meant going against the will of their families, and this is how Islam treats women.

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My name is Nimra Arshad, a third year student in the American University in Dubai. In my free time I mostly sketch, watch movies or listen to some good music.