|
subject |
Contribution to Human Civilization |
|
topic |
Arts & Music |
|
grade |
Seven |
|
time |
30 miinutes |
|
objective |
To enable students to know about the culture behind Islamic art, and to see an example of a main figure in music who affected the whole Arab world. |
|
instructional material |
Info Sheet 7J – Arts & Music in Islam |
INTRODUCTION
Art is the mirror of a culture and its world view. There is no case to which this statement more directly applies than to the art of the Islamic world. Not only does its art reflect its cultural values, but even more importantly, the way in which its adherents, the Muslims, view the spiritual realm, the universe, life, and the relationship of the parts to the whole.
For the Muslim, reality begins with and centers around God ("Allah" in Arabic), the One, the Unique, the Sovereign, the Holy, the Almighty, the All-Knowing, the Loving, the Most Merciful. All existence is subject to His will and His laws. He is the center of conscious Muslims' worship and aspirations, the focus of their lives.
That is the essence of Islamic art, and there are examples of its beauty all over the world.
In the area of music, one lady affected the whole Arab world with her music, voice, and personal life: Umm Kulthum.
Called by some kawkab al-sharq (star of the East) and by others 'empress of Arab tunes,' Umm Kalthum, with a voice powerful and clear, can still be heard daily on radio stations in the multitudes of coffee shops and taxis all over the Arab world. Even though she died over two decades ago, her love lyrics, national odes and religious chants continue to affect millions of people. Her audience, as if on cue, hums along or cries in despair in reaction to her range of pitch, filled with nostalgia and yearning, touching the very Arab soul.
DEVELOPMENT
Read through the Info sheet with the students.
Islamic Art
by Elisabeth Siddiqui
An Introduction to Islamic
Art
Art is the mirror of a culture and its world view. There is no case to which this statement more directly applies than to the art of the Islamic world. Not only does its art reflect its cultural values, but even more importantly, the way in which its adherents, the Muslims, view the spiritual realm, the universe, life, and the relationship of the parts to the whole.
For the Muslim, reality begins with and centers around God ("Allah" in Arabic), the One, the Unique, the Sovereign, the Holy, the Almighty, the All-Knowing, the Loving, the Most Merciful. All existence is subject to His will and His laws. He is the center of conscious Muslims' worship and aspirations, the focus of their lives.
Since the command and authority are one, all things are bound together under God's Lordship as parts of an all-encompassing divine scheme, which includes all aspects of being and life -- whatever is both inside and outside of time and space, and embracing both the macrocosm in its most awesome manifestations and the microcosm in its most minute forms. God creates and sustains His creation how and as He wills, and all affairs return to Him for ultimate decision and judgment.
With such a belief system, the Muslim is convinced of the balance and harmony of all things in existence, even when there appear to be confusing contradictions and imbalances, regarding these as the reflection of man's limited understanding and knowledge. Nothing is looked upon as occurring randomly or by chance, for all is part of the Plan of the All-Wise, Most Merciful Planner. One of the vital beliefs of the Muslim is that the totality of things, all good and evil, proceed from the Lord of all being.
Because of the strict injunctions against such depictions of humans or animals which might result in idol-worship, Islamic art developed a unique character, utilizing a number of primary forms: geometric, arabesque, floral, and calligraphic, which are often interwoven. From early times, Muslim art has reflected this balanced, harmonious world-view.
The Islamic View of the
Cosmos
In the Islamic view, God is the Ultimate Reality. All things in the visible creation emanate from Him and are manifestations of His divine Names or Attributes (Sifat). He created the cosmos, both what is known to man and what is unknown, and He is the Sustainer of all things, with everything turning to Him and centered upon Him. This is evident in the very structure of atoms .
The early Muslim artists and artisans who derived the intricate systems of interconnected geometric forms which constitute the bases of Islamic geometric art of course had no idea of such realities. Nonetheless, the graphic manner in which they conceived God's supreme central place in the cosmos, and the connection of the parts of creation to Him and to the whole, reflects a very significant approximation of what can now be documented by science.
The Tradition of Fine
Craftsmanship
Throughout the history of Islam, its art has taken a great variety of forms in the different parts of the Muslim world, which stretches from North Africa to Southeast Asia, according to local customs and conditions, ranging from unsophisticated folk art to that of the most skilled artist or artisan. In the works of the latter, whether it be a master calligrapher, a renowned ceramists or potter, a skilled embroiderer or miniature-maker, the legacy of fine craftsmanship, involving the mastery of an art or craft along traditional lines complete with meticulous attention to fine detail, is characteristic.
These traditions persist today, and Islamic architecture and decorative arts are still very much alive and valued in many parts of the Muslim world. While Western-style art forms and machine work have to an extent eroded the traditional forms, nonetheless, handwork is respected and loved, an important aspect of the decoration of mosques and Muslim homes. In particular, decoration featuring Qur'anic calligraphy is an important aspect of Islamic art.
The Ageless Legacy
of Arabic Calligraphy
Arabic is the language of Islam. It is the language of its prophet, Muhammad; the language in which the Holy Qur'an, Islam's sacred scripture, was revealed to him by God; the language of Muslims' worship; and the language which binds Muslims of all times and places together in a single cohesive brotherhood.
Because of Muslims' profound respect and love for the Qur'an, the art of calligraphy was developed among them from early times to a very high degree. Throughout the Muslim world, Qur'anic verses embellish mosques, palaces and homes, businesses, and, in some places, public areas. Often the calligraphy is done in conjunction with decorative motifs, lovingly embellishing what is most sacred and precious.
Due to its peculiar character, the Arabic script lends itself wonderfully to decorative use. Over the centuries, many different scripts have evolved in various regions of the Muslim world.
Arabic is read from right to left, with an alphabet of twenty-six letters, of which three are long vowels. Short vowels are indicated by small symbols above or under the letters themselves.
"God is Beautiful and
Loves Beauty"
-- so said the Prophet of Islam some 1400 years ago. He also said, "God likes that when you do anything, you do it excellently." Such prophetic sayings (hadiths) have provided the impetus for Muslims' embellishment and beautification of their places of worship, homes, and even of articles in common use in everyday life. The emphasis in Islamic art is on ornamentation rather than on art for art's sake; while the names of the producers of the finest works of Islamic art may not have survived, their works have become prototypes and models on which other artists and craftsmen patterned their works, or from which they derived the impetus for related work.
An example of this is a small pouch embellished with cross-stitch embroidery and ornamented with coins. The pouch holds a small unseen bottle, which Jordanian Bedouin women used to hold kohl, a natural eyeliner. But in keeping with the Muslim tradition of ornamenting utilitarian articles, a very ordinary brown glass bottle has been given a place of honor in a beautifully embroidered work of decorative art.
Such arts as embroidery and fine crocheting were commonplace skills among Muslim women in the past -- and still are in some places in the Muslim world -- as each growing girl and her mother worked in periods of spare time during the years before the girl's marriage to produce a set of finely hand-worked bed linens, towels, prayer rugs, quilt, tablecloths, and the like for the bride to take to her new home.
Today, the finest
arts, including rugs, are to be found in
Um Kulthum Article appeared in Vol. 1, No. 1 (November 1995)
UMM KALTHUM - LEGENDARY SONGSTRESS OF THE ARABS
by Habeeb Salloum*
Called by some kawkab al-sharq (star of the East) and by others 'empress of Arab tunes,' Umm Kalthum, with a voice powerful and clear, can still be heard daily on radio stations in the multitudes of coffee shops and taxis all over the Arab world. Even though she died over two decades ago, her love lyrics, national odes and religious chants continue to affect millions of people. Her audience, as if on cue, hums along or cries in despair in reaction to her range of pitch, filled with nostalgia and yearning, touching the very Arab soul.
Umm Kalthum was born
in 1908 to a humble peasant family in Tamayet-el-Zahayra -- a tiny Egyptian
village. She began her singing career as a poor peasant girl dressed as a boy
because it was thought that virtuous maidens did not sing in public. At the
same time, she studied the Qur'an and mastered its language. During weddings
and family feasts she recited in traditional style parts of this Holy Book and
from the as-Sirah -- ballads which tell the story of the Prophet Muhammad and
his family. Even at an early age, her voice had an unequaled emotional range
and spread her fame throughout the Valley of the
In 1924 she moved to
Each song usually celebrated the miracle of the Arabs and their Muslim faith. Almost every one was a collection of the great Arab themes which ran through the gamut of pining away for the past, languid love, injured pride and memories of lost passion. They bridged the many gulfs to fuse the diverse social fragments of the Arab world into an emotional whole. It is said that she is responsible for keeping alive the Islamic heritage and the ancient poetry of the desert. Notwithstanding the fact that she starred in many films, she rejected modem singing and clung to the time-honored Arab classical melodies.
Tall, with pitch black hair, Umm Kalthum was striking and with her words and voice she could create a magical atmosphere and enchant her listeners as no other Arab singer in the past or at present has been able to do. She had a uniquely expressive tone which could make her listeners laugh or even bring them to tears.
Standing a few feet away from the microphone in an evening gown studded with diamonds, she twisted and crumpled a flowing scarf in her hands, as her voice, sometimes husky and strained or leaping with pangs of love, would hit some impossible tones. At other times, her alto voice which stretched to soprano or tenor and was punctuated, decorated and echoed by her orchestra, touched cosmic depths and brought on a mixture of longing, wistfulness and unfulfilled dreams.
During the Second
World War her lyrics had such a sway over the Arabs that both the Allies and
Axis, in their programs broadcast to the
After taking power,
In the world of artistic splendor of the 1950s and 1960s, when Umm Kalthum became the toast of Cairo and a national heroine, her fame and adoration also reached its zenith in the other Arab lands. Nicknamed the 'Ambassadress of Arabic Arts', her importance in the Arab countries was so great that she was received with the same ceremony as heads of state and taken into account when plans were made for important events.
During her twilight years, this Arab celebrity was a composed and modest woman. Unlike many Arab artists of our times she was proud of her Arab-Islamic heritage. In her daily life she followed Arab traditions and acted as one of the ordinary people. This endeared her to the masses. They idolized and thought of her as one of themselves, referring to her as al-Sitt. A dedicated humanist, she distributed much of the money she made to the poor. It is said that during her lifetime she supported at least 200 peasant families.
Umm Kalthum died in
February 1975. Her funeral was led by the presidential court and followed by
over a mile long procession of loving worshipers. Film stars, poets, business
men, ambassadors and ministers walked shoulder to shoulder with hundreds of
thousands of her ordinary fans, forming a phalanx of mass grievers. From the
front of the mass column to the last, the chant, 'Good-bye! Good-bye our
beloved songstress!' echoed amid the sobs of the mourners. The massive turnout
of grieving people was second only to
Strange as it may
seem, death did not end her sway over the masses in the Arab world. Her
phenomenally powerful and captivating beautiful voice still stirs the hearts of
millions. Over 20 years after her death the legend of Umm Kalthum lives on
among the peoples of
*Habeeb Salloum, who
lives in