"The movement of Houghton Shahnama manuscript from Iran to Turkey to Europe and then to the United States, besides the movement of ‘peerless’ artists working on it, raises the question of how art travels" - The Tribune 3/2/14

Study Guide
Key Ideas
History of Islam
Vocabulary
PowerPoint
Flashcard Images
*Discover Islamic Art
* YouTube video: Crash Course video- Islam
* YouTube video: Sinan the Great, architect
* YouTube video: Beauty of Islamic art
* YouTube video: Arabic Calligraphy
Inside Mecca by National Geographic
​The Ardabil Carpet at LACMA, 2011
​Book of Kings (Court of Gayumars), Tribune India 
Heilbrunn Timeline: The Birth of Islam
UNESCO Alhambra video
​BBC Dome of the Rock video

BIG PICTURE QUESTIONS:
1. What are some general characteristics of places of Islamic worship?
2. How does the use of design of a sacred space reflect the religious experience there?
3. How do people use art forms other than architecture in sacred spaces?
4. Is large scale sacred architecture also an expression of political power? If yes, how so?

Key Ideas

• Most important building for Muslim worship is the mosque.
• Islamic people pray towards the city of Mecca, the most holiest site in Islam (identified by a niche in the wall of a mosque, called a mihrab)
• The mirhrab is a niche in the quibla wall (MN-QW: alphabetical!)
• Artworks include calligraphy with arabesques (interweaving and floral motifs and geometric patterns) and tessellations
• Calligraphy is the most prized art form (Persian Manuscripts, Qur'an)

Brief History of Islam

• Founder is Islam is the prophet Muhammad and began preaching in 613 BCE.
• Muhammad exclaimed that there is only one God (Allah) and that he is the chosen messenger to the people.
• Indigenous Arabs were generally polytheists
• There are 5 Pillars of Islam

1. Proclaim that there is only one God and that his prophet is Muhammad
2. Muslims should pray 5 times per day toward Mecca
3. Provide for the poor
4. Must fast during the month of Ramadan
5. Make a pilgrimage to Mecca

• Expanded to North Africa, the Middle East, parts of Spain, India, and Central Asia by the 7th century.
• After the Mongol sack of Baghdad in 1258, the Islamic world split into 2 huge cultural divisions: East vs. West
• 2 principal divisions: Shiite vs. Sunni (click here for a comparison chart)

 

  FRQ Sample
From  2009: 30 min. Essay

(Just 1 suggestion: Dome of the Rock)

Cultures designate sacred space in a variety of ways to accommodate both religious beliefs and practices. Select and fully identify two examples of sacred spaces from different cultures, one of which must be from beyond the European tradition. Discuss how each space accommodates both religious beliefs and practices within its culture.

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Artworks

Pyxis of al-Mughira
Basin by Muhammad ibn al-Zain
Folio from the Qur'an
The Ardabil Carpet
The Court of Gayumars
Bahram Gur Fights the Karg
The Kaaba
Dome of the Rock
Great Mosque of Cordoba
Alhambra
Mosque of Selim II
Taj Mahal

Vocabulary

Islam
Mosque
Muhammad
Qur'an (Koran)
Dome of the Rock
5 Pillars of Faith
mihrab
imam
qibla
minaret
arabesque
​calligraphy (kufic)
tessellation
squinch
anionic

Flashcard Images