Ikhtiyari

By Raveena Kriplani

According to the Oxford dictionary, ‘Islamophobia’, is defined as dislike of or prejudice against Islam or Muslims, especially as a political force. The uprising of extremist terrorist groups fighting in the name of Islam, have led to dire consequences for the rest of the world. The direct, or most obvious, are the lives lost in the wars waged by such groups. However, the indirect consequences are more threatening to the Muslim world since people who instigate such terror, tarnish the name and reputation of the Islamic religion. This leads to stereotyping and generalization of Islam, and through this generalization a fear of Islam and Muslims arises.

My piece was inspired not so much by a particular artist, but in fact by a recent event that took place in Texas, United Sates. It occurred soon after the Paris terror attacks; a group of individuals referring to themselves as the “Bureau of Islamic Relations” protested the influx of Syrian refugees into the U.S outside a mosque in Texas. The protestors were dressed in facemasks and carrying loaded guns. They felt that such an anti-Islamic initiative was necessary to show force and, quote, ‘was a solution to Islamic terrorism’. The juxtaposition of the modestly dressed Muslim woman in a picture that was taken at that time, and the veiled man carrying the gun, both infuriated and inspired me. This picture highlights the irony of how such people have begun to associate the hijab with oppression or terrorism, meanwhile they are confidently wielding firearms and covering their face – doing exactly what they are supposedly against. Imagine the height of ignorance and fear that exists about Islam, only then would rational human beings consider threatening people on their way to worship, a holy place, where one comes to find inner peace, and defiling the concept of Islam in such a derogatory manner.

            The West, and the United States in particular, advocates the first amendment as being so crucial and giving their people the right, and the freedom to live the life they choose. Hence, my artwork is titled “ikhtiyari” which translates to “my choice” in English. Everyone, should have the right to live and dress as they wish, this definition cannot be restricted to everyone except Muslims, but must include them as well.

            In my painting I chose to depict a woman wearing the hijab, with her eyes looking out at the word “my choice”. The word is inscribed in a circle, which in Islam is a key geometrical shape since it represents God’s infinite nature. In addition, the circle is shaded like a purple sky, because I wanted to highlight that a Muslim individual’s choices are a reflection of the all mighty above (thus heavenly) and not influenced merely by material things. Moreover, I wanted to portray how the hijab, at the root of Islam, is nothing but a sign of modesty. I focused on her eyes to show her courage and defiance - I wanted to display an independent woman who will not bow her gaze down to anyone but God, and that is why her eyes are a prominent feature.

I am not a native Arabic speaker, though one of the reasons I painted the word my choice in Arabic instead of English it is the language of the Qu’ran which makes it a more powerful choice of language to use to convey my message. Furthermore, I thoroughly enjoyed the kufic calligraphy sessions we did, and that also motivated me to try searching for a slogan in Arabic. I used both oil and acrylic paints in this piece and I chose incorporate the colour gold in it due to the religious symbolism associated with it; it is one of the colours of Paradise.

I have been born and resided in Dubai all my life and I wanted to include something in my piece that is representative of the Islamic region that I live in, hence I chose to sieve through some sand from the desert, and used this technique to complete the background as a spiral of gold and sand.

List of references:

(1) http://mic.com/articles/129226/here-are-the-most-staggering-images-of-gun-toting-men-outside-a-texas-mosque#.pUeCrBbTi

The Other’s Others

Conceptual photography series by Rasha Al Shaar

            “Orientalism” is a way of looking at the differences between Arabs and their culture and the Western countries such as Europe and the United States of America. During the European Enlightenment and colonization of the Arab World, when “Orientalism” came about, it was artistically depicted with imagery that emphasizes, exaggerates and distorts reality of the Arab word in order to portray it as a world that is so different or unusual. This act or perspective is described as “othering”. “Othering” is when characteristics are fixed to a certain group of people that are different. I related this movement in history to modern day human behavior and judgment in the Arab world internally. My final artwork represents this concept of “othering” from a different perspective. Rather than “othering” a society or culture outside of your own in order to compare the two, I portrayed the “others” within my Kuwaiti community that has been labeled as “the other” by the West. With my conceptual photographic series, “The Other’s Other”, I show the different “others” within the Kuwaiti society specifically in regard to marriage or romantic relations.

            Although I believe that “Othering” and “Orientalism” lead to several negative misconceptions and stereotypes that were far from the realities of the Arab world, I believe that “othering” is a great example of natural human behavior. As an Arab, learning about Orientalism in history was upsetting, as it explains a lot of current misconceptions, it also puts several different acts of “othering” into perspective, both in religious or secular settings. Technically, “othering” is something we do everyday. As human beings, it is in our nature to judge what we see that is different than what we perceive as acceptable or normal. What usually happens when we see or perceive something of this sort is we tent to share, and when we tend to share we tend to exaggerate in order to tell an interesting or persuasive story. A discipline that they do this often in is advertising. Similarly, in the history of “Orientalism”, French entrepreneurs advertised the region through the production of postcards. Although they were meant to depict women in their every day lives, the scenes were set up in a studio. This form of advertising or propaganda that circulated France were published in Malek Alloula’s book, The Colonial Harem. As a Creative Advertising student with a love for psychology and human behavior, this was very interesting to me.

            As a student in the Visual Communications department, the effect that visuals have and the messages that they communicate attracted me to the visual representation of the Arab world in “Orientalism”. What pushed this interest further was my interest in human behavior, which is evident in most of my social awareness campaigns that aim to make a positive change in the community regarding both social and psychological issues. Lastly, the fact that I am an amateur conceptual photographer, I was motivated to show a different perspective to “othering” using the same exaggeration that is evident in my personal artistic style.

            “The Other’s Other” is a piece that looks at one community and shows that even in an Arab community, which is labeled the “other” among many other countries in the region, in one community itself there are many “others”. The same way the region was looked at and judged in a specific way for its differences, I decided to look at those sub groups of different or judged people in Kuwait. So I asked myself, what topic or situation is there the most controversy in Kuwait that leads to judgment and forming subgroups that go against the norm from the older generation, in this case “the others”. This led me to the concept of relationships/ marriage. As a Lebanese Kuwaiti born in Thailand with some Saudi Arabian, Egyptian, and Palestinian heritage, I never felt like I belonged to one country, nationality, or mentality. Growing up in Kuwait I witnessed how the traditional mentality lead to expectations and criteria that society needs to follow in order to be accepted by “the rest” (or those who have not been “othered”). I thought that it would be interesting to portray the most common different or unacceptable decisions that go against the norm regarding marriage or relationships that separates our community. This piece shows the reasons people are excluded and indirectly labeled as the “other” when it comes to marriage, and the different ways “the rest” of the Kuwaiti community judge them.

            Considering the visual style of “Orientalism” as well as my personal style in the arts, “The Other’s Other” photography series plays with exaggeration in its social satire or commentary on the Kuwaiti society to communicate a strong message about “othering”. The photographs were taken with a Canon D550 outdoors with natural light in a secluded and isolated area. Another consistent theme of my creative work other than exaggeration that I felt fit this project well is the use of mixed media, or specifically the use of text and image. After shooting, I added the layer of text into the images using Adobe Illustrator. Each sentence is written in the modern Arabic English keyboard in the Kuwaiti dialect and written from the voice of “the rest” of the Kuwaiti society who are judging these common unacceptable or different behaviors.  

            An artist who had an influence on this photographic series is Shirin Neshat. Shirin is an Iranian artist who works with photography, film, and video. The subject of her work reflect on the contrast between Islam and the West, femininity and masculinity, public life and private life, and antiquity and modernity. One of her specific photographic series photographed by Cynthia Preston that highly interested me is "Women of Allah". It examines the complexities of women’s identities in the Middle East as it is continuously changing. One of the obvious similarities between our works is the representation of Muslims in the modern world through photography. Another one is the use of text and image. I found the way Shirin Neshat merged text into the image very interesting. She overlapped the text on the women’s skin as if it were engraved or tattooed on.

            “The Other’s Other” communicates that  “othering” or judgment within a community only separates us. In an Islamic country or society one should not only put efforts in stressing globally that this is a religion that represents peace in order to deconstruct the stereotype of terrorism and violence; but more importantly it represents peace internally within the community. Peace is about non-violence as much as it is about the unity and brotherhood.

Works Cited

Chrabieh, Dr. Pamela. "What Is Orientalism?" MEST 329 Islamic Art and Architecture       (2016): 1. Print.

Chrabieh, Dr. Pamela. "Introduction to Islam and the Arts." MEST 329 Islamic Art and     Architecture (2016): 23. Print.

"Gladstone Gallery." Gladstone Gallery. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Apr. 2016.

LeMoon, Kim. "Shirin Neshat." Signs Journal of Women in Culture and Society. N.p., 10   Oct. 2012. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.

"Shirin Neshat." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 01 Apr. 2016.

About the Hijab

By Raghd Al Shar

Achieving peace in this century can be problematic, with all the media depicting Islam as a terrorist religion. My art project was inspired by some events that started happening in the US since 9/11. Feminists typically advocate or support the rights and equality of women, being a feminist and believing in women’s rights can be hard in today’s world since everyone who sees Islam and women think that most of the women are oppressed or forced to be maids for their husbands, being a good wife and a good mother to their children is interpreted as lacking all their civil rights and have no identities. Women all over the world have gone through many different mental and psychological abuse when it comes to their religion, oppression is one of the many words that women wearing “Hijab” (scarf to cover their heads) go through in their everyday life especially in western countries. The word "Hijab" comes from the Arabic word "hajaba" meaning to hide from view or conceal. In the present time, the context of Hijab is the modest covering of a Muslim woman. The question now is what is the extent of the covering? Why do Muslim women have to cover their heads? This question is one which is asked by Muslims and non-Muslims alike. For many women it is the truest test of being a Muslim. The question of Hijab for Muslim women has been a controversy for centuries and will probably continue for many more. A middle line position is taken by some who claim that the instructions are vague and open to individual discretion depending on the situation. The wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) were required to cover their faces so that men would not think of them in sexual terms since they were the "Mothers of the Believers," but this requirement was not extended to other women. Why are Muslim women oppressed when they are equals to the Christian nuns? 

A common misconception is that Muslim women are the only ones who cover their hair. It may be true that Islam is the only religion in which most women follow its directives to cover the hair, but it is not the only religion to have such directives. The explicit purpose of the Christian woman's head covering, as stated by Paul, is that it is a sign of man's authority over woman. The explicit purpose of Islamic hijab is modesty. Strange how so many Westerners think that the purpose of hijab is a symbol of male authority. Maybe they know that that's what it is in their own religion (Christianity) so they assume that Islam must be the same. The Christian woman is to cover her head whenever she is praying, whether it be at the church service or just personal prayer at home. This may mean that if she is not praying at home, she is uncovered around male guests who are not related to her; or if she is praying at home, that she is covered around her own husband and family. If any more proof were needed than Paul's own words that the Christian head covering is not about modesty, this must certainly be it. This puts hijab in a whole new perspective, Non-Muslim women who feel that hijab is a sign of oppression for the Muslim female should read the above and then read the Quran. Furthermore, if Allah meant for the hijab to be a sign of male authority, the Quran would be as unambiguous about it as Paul is in the Bible. Isn't this difference the kind of entity that attracted you to Islam in the first place? It is particularly interesting to look at the case of Christianity, since Christianity is the predominant religion in the West, who are often the first to criticize Islam because of the hijab (modest dress, including head covering).

            The portrait that I drew itself explains what I am trying to say, both religions have the same obligation, so why misinterpret one but not the other? I chose to draw on a paper canvas and use a drawing pencil and I sketched one Muslim women wearing the Hijab and on the right I sketched a Christian nun. To show the similarities that both these women are covering their heads and full body but only displaying their hands and face. After I finished with the shading I used color pencils to give the portrait some life with bright colors meanwhile not losing the main idea for the Christina nun’s clothes (black and white or black and grey…etc). The Muslim lady has her eyes closed which resembles praying to God, while I portrayed the Christian nun with her eyes open but her hands across each other and holding a cross while also praying.

            The Feminist artists sought to create a dialogue between the viewer and the artwork through the inclusion of women's perspective. Art was not merely an object for aesthetic admiration, but could also incite the viewer to question the social and political landscape, and through this questioning, possibly affect the world and incite change toward equality.

·         Marina Abramovic - Pioneer of Performance Art, I am are going to start this list with one of the biggest names on the contemporary art scene. Marina Abramovic is a New York based performance artist whose work explores the relationship between the performer and the audience, limitations of the body and the vast possibilities of the mind. With a highly lucrative career, which spans over four decades, Abramovic has been rightfully described as the pioneer of performance art.

·         Cindy Sherman - Highly Provocative, is a renowned American contemporary artist, photographer and film director, best known for her conceptual portraits that raise challenging questions about the role and representation of women in modern society.

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1.      http://members.prtcnet.org/flinchum/head-cov.htm

2.      http://www.crossover.ellison.net/HeadcoveringIntro.htm

3.      http://www.catholicworldreport.com/Blog/3815/making_sense_of_nunsensical_controversial_headlines.aspx

Wonder women

Norah Al-Nimer

Project Description

As a female, growing up in Saudi has had a huge impact on my lifestyle, perceptions and way of thinking. Although I am not originally from Saudi, living there my whole life has affected me enormously in different aspects of my life such as the way I speak and dress up. Moreover, as the Middle Eastern countries are more or less conservative, people and especially women are raised based on traditions and culture rather than religion. In Islam, women are given the right to speak up for what they feel and want. They are authorized to have a print in society and to influence others in a good way. However, on the contrary, because of the conservative guidelines Arab countries follow, women have limited opportunities to express themselves or to be part of their communities. Today, despite that, influential women are contributing to their societies by developing initiatives that would encourage other women to speak up for their rights. Moreover, the artist that influenced me to come up with this idea is Laila Al-Shawa; her art and pieces speak up for who she is and what she believes in as a women. She believes in women empowerment and the opportunity that needs to be given to each women to express herself freely. Therefore, the reason I chose to go with the proverb “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” as my main inspiration which incorporates women, peace and Islam is because women in my culture are obliged to act within a framework set by their cultures.

My Inspiration

I have always had a specific perspective on the way I see and think of things. But ever since I came to university, my perception of things changed significantly and I started to see things in a different way. Meeting new people made me a better and more understanding person; I now appreciate diversity and different backgrounds. Women shouldn’t be judged as per the stereotypes and double standards. At the end of the day, we are all human and what we stand for as individuals is what really counts. I chose to portray women in black and white because they are at the two ends of the spectrum which I believe is a reflection of reality. In our societies, women want to say and do certain things but do not because they simply cannot. The peace symbol originated as a logo based on an individual in despair. I incorporated it in a simple and straightforward manner because it echoes both frustration and a sense of optimism.

Women & Islam

By NOORA ARJOMAND

Dimensions: 40 inches x 60 inches

Media: Canvas, acrylic paint, chalk pastel, ink, paper, aluminum.
Technique & Style:-
Painting with a background collage that is done by layering pictures in a way that they overlap each other but still show. The painting was done with smooth touches of a rough brush giving the cloth effect. The skin/flesh was done with mixing a combination of colors (red, brown, yellow, white) in specific ratios/proportions to give different tones of the flesh color and when painting playing with the shades as to where the light hits the face depending on the angle where the light is placed. Orange and blue ink were put at the top and were let to dribble towards the bottom of the painting to add a more artistic feel to it – in a way, more life to it. Some words and quotes were added diagonally to help understand the message and blend with the concept of the collage.

Statement (message):

There are no restrictions in the Islamic law that prohibits a woman from working or having a profession. In fact, by definition, in a truly Islamic society, there must be women physicians, women nurses, women teachers, -because it's preferable- also to separate teenagers in the volatile years in high school education. If she chooses to work, or if she's married with the consent of her husband, she's entitled to an equal pay, not for equal work, but for work of equal worth.

Artists who influenced this piece:-

The main artists that inspired, influenced and made me want to incorporate collage into my piece were Kurt Schwitters, Raoul Hausmann and Nick Gentry. Each of them has his own touch to their work that I thought maybe I could pick up a thing or two from each and make it my own way representing my views and the reality that the world isn’t aware of due to the major role that the media plays misrepresenting women in Islam who are the leaders of this world.

References:-

Wikipedia, Google, Twitter.

Piece description with the messages behind it:

To the foreign world, Women in Islam are misinterpreted and their rights as to what the other side of the world believes are none existent. Little do they know that women in Islam have got rights and are equal men. I chose to work with the field of women and their rights to work in Islam and included Muslim successful women who shape this world and help generate a better generation after all, they are the ones with a strong willpower that has overcame many painful experiences, first of them is the miracle of giving birth. The piece featured a women that was painted in the middle who I take as a women who represents me that is influenced and amazed by the women that are surrounding the painting (collage) as I do hope someday I will make it as big as they are right now and help influence the younger coming generations. To the collage, I added a few words of empowerment to show everyone how women in Islam are being misrepresented and in some parts of the world mistreated due to the false belief that women are less than men when in reality women aren’t and Islam made that clear several times in many Qura’anayat and hadith’s. This piece is to every Muslim woman out there who has been mistreated by the uneducated world whether it is for what she is wearing or for what she believes in. You are strong and you have already achieved enough and have come far. 

Nazret Mogtama3 نظرة مجتمع

By Yara Ahmed

I’m a 20 year old Muslim Egyptian girl who was born and raised in Dubai. However, I visit my home country every year (…). In my family, I’m the only girl who is not wearing a Hijab and I get judged for that – ‘a girl who doesn’t fulfill her religious duties’. It used to affect me before, but [their] words don’t really define me! They don’t define the way I was raised knowing my religion, and they don’t define my relationship with Allah.

This artwork displays the image of a non-Hijabi girl who is surrounded by many books however she chose to read the Qur’an. (…) I was inspired by the style of photography and writings of the Egyptian novelist, Ahmed Mourad.

The true meaning of the Hijab

By Narmin Mammadova

I am a Muslim. I was born and raised in Baku, where 85% of population is Muslim. For me, the rights of Muslim women, stereotypes about Muslim women, and their place in our society was always a delicate topic. I have never faced a situation where someone would actually humiliate or showcase rude attitude to a person who is Muslim.

When I moved to UK, five years ago, I experienced a massive cultural shock. I consider those days as the worst time of my life. Despite that UK, particularly London, is a multicultural city, I would never assume that racism and discrimination still takes place there. I went to a private school for girls, so one could think what would be my problem there. When my classmates found out that I am Muslim, they just started bullying me. I was so depressed that in 2 months my parents sent me back to Baku. Ever since then, I am trying to fight for the rights of Muslim women. When I see someone showing a bad attitude to women, especially because of her religion, I am always trying to stop and explain to him or her why they are wrong. I have experienced discrimination first hand, so I know what is it feels like.

When I read the assignment, I knew for sure what my project will be about. Three years ago, I found online a website of an amazing artist, but unfortunately I forgot her name. Yesterday, I was surfing the net and rediscovered her. Her name is Homa Arkani, and she is an Iranian painter. For a long time I couldn’t decide what is the best way to express “women in Islam”, unless I read the comments on a blog, where people called the hijab an “Allah’s hat” and ridiculed it as “a bad hair day”. And after seeing all that, I decided to dedicate my artwork to the meaning of hijab to Muslim women.

What is the hijab?

To most people it is a piece of fabric; not exactly long, but big enough to be wrapped around the head, fully covering the neck. Women who wear the hijab, feel themselves comfortable and confident in it. Hijab not only covers, but also protects them. I would even like to call it as a “protective shield against the impurities of the World”. Compared to the Middle East, in Azerbaijan people have very different views and opinions about the hijab. Some people believe, that wearing hijab is way too conservative and old-fashioned. Certain liberal families even forbid their daughters to wear it, since they are concerned about their mindset. On the other hand, families that have migrated from far-away villages to the capital force their daughters to wear the hijab. Children as young as four years old, cannot leave the house without covering their heads. This, in my modest opinion is very wrong, simply because those children do not yet understand the purpose of hijab.

The majority of Azerbaijanis though are very accepting of women’s choices. No matter what choice it may be. If a lady decides to cover her head on her own accord, people are going to respect her for that, because she is covering not for somebody else’s approval but for herself and God. Those conservative families that force the hijab, most often do not realize what their daughters end up doing once they leave the house. I have witnessed such an occasion with my own very eyes.

My neighbors that lived across the road from us were very religious. They were one of the few families that would not give their daughters the right to choose. Their eldest daughter came to school one day, in 9th grade, with her head covered. Naturally, people started to congratulate her, and praise her for accepting such a difficult life style. She didn’t seem to be very happy about it, and everyone noticed. I didn’t feel the light, clean confidence radiating from her, the way I felt from older hijabi grandmas that helped at our house. Something was off about her, she seemed trapped. She wore it all throughout high school while constantly complaining that she felt less beautiful than the other girls in our school. We both graduated and I ended up studying abroad.

On my first university Spring Break I returned back home to spend time with my family. There was a BIG surprise waiting for me. I have arrived safe and sound, had a “welcome back” dinner with my family and excused myself to my room. As I was getting ready to go to bed, I looked out of my window and saw my neighbors’ daughter leaving the house. I was shocked to see that she was dressed in a niqab now. I couldn't even recognize that it was her, I was just surprised to see a niqabi in Baku. She passes her parents’ house, walks down the road and hides in a dark alley. I thought it was very weird, so I kept watching. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw my old classmate emerge from the shadows WITHOUT the niqab, dressed in a tight, revealing outfit, that is by no means suitable for a Muslim woman, let alone for a lady that is going somewhere at night. She passed the block strutting in high heels and disappeared.

This is when I myself understood why religion and religious garments should never be forced, and in my opinion this is a great example of that. Faith should come from the heart, should be understood by the mind, and accepted by the soul. Nobody has the right to force you, even your family. They simply do not trust you or themselves enough and are more conserved with what other people might think. This is very hypocritical..

This being said, the artwork that I have created portraits the true purpose of hijab. A woman that covers her head should do it so that the people around her focus on her personality first hand, not outer beauty. We always say that inner beauty is much more valuable, but we never see it to be true in our society. These ladies make the emphasis for the men around her to understand that they are interested in serious relationships and are not playing around. This is very rare and precious nowadays, with the way media portrays female beauty, objectifying women. Media is largely to blame for the way both men and women act now. So in one way or another a true hijabi is a rebel, refusing to go with a flow of media, making her own rules, that is why she is made fun of and put down sometimes, because her bullies would never have the courage to stand up against the influence of other media-brainwashed people. This is what I tried to recreate in my artwork, the inner world of a hijabi. I made a picture of a girl, her hair braided, with a happy expression on her face. There is a bunch of toys surrounding her head, along with a yellow paper sun, and cotton clouds – representing her thoughts and feelings. Over all that is her hijab, made out of a cellophane bag. This work symbolizes how the hijab serves a Muslim woman, and the purpose behind wearing it. It is a way to protect your inner values, your thoughts, making the woman wearing it especially precious and confident.

There is not much known about the artist - Homa Arkani. All I could gather was that she is originally from Iran, with an Azerbaijani ancestry. She focuses on creating liberating art about Muslim women, particularly drawing inspiration from Persian culture. In Iran her art is considered “controversial” and even dangerous, as they give a true insight on what is happening in their society. The authorities are afraid of younger female population being inspired by her  works and rebelling artistically, just like her. Homa has nothing to fear of, since she is now living abroad and has a European citizenship. I fell in love with her style and courage.

Rise

By Malak El Gohary

I chose to create a two dimensional painting that represents a major issue facing our Arab society: domestic abuse.

Many women have been exposed to cruel mistreatment from family members and partners in life. Individuals and especially women who are exposed to domestic violence often experience physical, mental or spiritual traumas that can be worsen if they are not addressed. Furthermore it is common for individuals in an abusive relationship not to recall many aspects of their personalities before being abused, especially if they have been exposed to violence for an extended period of time. Also domestic violence can have a serious impact on the way a person thinks and interacts with the world as domestic violence affects one’s thoughts, feelings and behaviors and can significantly impact one’s mental stability, increased anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and depression symptoms.

Recovery from exposure to domestic violence is possible, and although it requires addressing painful realities, it also entails discovering new inner strengths, a process that needs time, space and safety to begin. However, it is quite known that victims of domestic violence do not always report the incident fearing their partner's reaction, or fearing their reputation be compromised. In other cases, victims do not believe that the government will help, although there are many National Councils for Women and non-governmental organizations that specialize in dealing with violence against women, and can provide victims with the support they need. About 35 percent of women worldwide have faced physical violence from their partners or family members. No woman should ever go through this pain!

About the colors I used:

Colors include red, blue and green, and are used to express feelings, a mix of warm and cool colors. For example, different shades of browns were used on the eyes to create a warm, dark and mysterious feel to them. The red and green above the eyes symbolize rage and envy while colors such as Ultramarine blue and other shades of blue such as Turquoise were used to create a cool effect under the eyes as a symbol of bruising and pain. Furthermore purple was used to create some consistency as purple is considered warm. Finally the butterfly is a  vital part of the painting. I chose it as it’s a beautiful creature with wings and wings symbolizes freedom; I placed it on the mouth to symbolize suffocation as speech is the only solution women can use to be freed of domestic abuse.

Biography :

My name is Malak El Gohary, I’m currently an international relation student at American university of Dubai. I was born and raised in Egypt and moved to Dubai when I was seven. Living in Dubai has helped me accept diversity and people coming from different backgrounds.

Nazret Mogtama3 نظرة مجتمع

By Yara Ahmed

Description

Title: Nazret Mogtama3 (Society's look)

Dimensions: 210 x 297 mm

Media: Photograpy

I’m a 20 year old Muslim Egyptian girl who was born and raised in Dubai. However, I visit my home country every year (...). In my family, I’m the only girl who is not wearing a Hijab and I get judged for that - 'a girl who doesn't fulfill her religious duties'. It used to affect me before, but [their] words don’t really define me! They don’t define the way I was raised knowing my religion, and they don't define my relationship with Allah.

This artwork displays the image of a non-Hijabi girl who is surrounded by many books however she chose to read the Qur'an. (...) I was inspired by the style of photography and writings of the Egyptian novelist, Ahmed Mourad.

Women's Role in Promoting Peace in islam

 

BY HETAVI MANDALIA

Women in Islam are like the pillars of the religion. They stand united and act as a support to the family. 

The message that I'm showing in this piece is about women in Islam and what their role is in promoting peace. For this artwork I have used symbols to indicate peace in the religion. For example flying doves carrying olive branch are considered as a symbol of peace in many countries, the olive tree is considered to be healthy and is a symbol of goodness and purity. The dove appeared as a sign that a flood, which was sent as a punishment, would abate. 

 
The circle, which is the 'Western' symbol of peace, has N and D in it. It stands for "nuclear disarmament". This symbol was adopted by anti war activists and has become a sign of peace.

I used white strokes to make my design, as white is the color of purity.

The women in my art piece stand united. The various colors in the background represent that no matter what country they come from, they are always there to support their sisters. 

The women are standing with the Fatima hand; the name comes from Fatima Zahra who was the daughter of the prophet Muhammed. The Five fingers also represent the five pillars of Islam. In Islam the hand, the eye, and the number five are of great importance. In present day, this is used as a charm for protection; it has also been used as a sign for peace and hope in the world. 

Women are the protectors of the family and the keepers of the culture. They are veiled to protect their modesty and conserve their traditional ways.

In Arabic, "salaam" means Peace, written here while using the 'nastaliq' script, which is a Persian-Arabic style of calligraphy. I believe Islam is peace and women play a major role in contributing to the cultural and heritage of Islam.