Terms Flashcards
Arab
Someone who’s mother tongue is Arabic
Culture Talk
Tendency to separate out religious traditions and place them onto political things
Humanity Game
Attempt to prove the humanity of a group through art, etc.
Islamicate
Anything produced in an environment with Muslim majority, however not primarily religious
Middle East
Arbitrary geopolitical fiction
Muslim (art)
Anything created with religious purpose for and by Muslims
Orientalism
A paradigmatic mode of thought that shows the superiority of the west over the east. Specifically paints the Middle East as an uncivilized and barbaric place, that can only be liberated by the West.
Aniconism
the general tendency to shy away from representational imagery (relatively common in Abrahamic faiths)
Anthropomorphism
When there are attributes of a human in something
Fatwa
An opinion that can not be issued unless you’ve had the training. It is NOT a binding legal ruling
Iconoclasm
the activated form of aniconism where objects are actually destroyed
Aniconism vs Iconoclasm
tendency to shy away vs the activated destruction of art
Fus’ha (MSA)
A written version of Arabic that is taught in schools. No one grows up speaking this, and it is really formal. It was developed as a political project to create a common written language across the Arab world.
Hanging poems
Poems that won an ancient poetry contest that are hung on the Kabah
Hilya
Calligraphy that is explicitly Muslim. It forms a “portrait” of Mohammed, with his head, belt, and skirt.
Qu’ran
Means “the ressetation/the reading”. It’s divine origin is evident through the language, which is Quranic Arabic. Fun fact: the first word is the command “read”
Casbah
The old city that is a walled citadel. It is the traditional quarters and it is crowded, however architecturally it shows the value of privacy
Harem
Household/sanctuary which is sacred/off limits. Specially, the architecture faces inwards.
Calligraffiti
Calligraphy + graffiti, which comes out of the practice of حرفية.
Calligraffiti
Calligraphy + graffiti, which comes out of the practice of حرفية. It is born from, but not shackled by tradition (good example - Al-Seed)
Hajj
Mandatory pilgrimage to Mecca
Hurufiyya (حرفية)
An art form that deals with letters in Arabic, but it is not rigid like Calligraphy and you don’t have to study with a master. It’s not inherently religious, and it comes out of a fear of losing cultural identity w/colonization (good example - Hassan Massoudy)
Kufic
A form of calligraphy that is box-like and geometric. It probably came first and was used to record religious docs (like the Qu’ran). It is more decorative than readable, and sometimes doesn’t even have the dots that we know and love.
Naskh
A form of Calligraphy that is much easier to read than Kufic. نسخ means “to copy”. Originally used for correspondences and non religious stuff at first. Fun fact: the Hilya are written in this form of calligraphy!
