aniconism in Islam

Muqarnas in the gate to the Shah (Abbasi) Mosque of Isfahan, Isfahan

Aniconism In Islam

Aniconism In Islam Aniconism is the avoidance of images of sentient beings in some forms of Islamic art. Aniconism in Islam stems in part from the prohibition of idolatry and in part from the belief that creation of living forms is God’s prerogative. Although the Quran does not explicitly prohibit...

Wayang Kulit, the Indonesian art of shadow puppetry, reflects a melding of indigenous and Islamic sensibilities.

Islamic Culture

Islamic Culture Islamic culture and Muslim culture refer to cultural practices common to historically Islamic people. The early forms of Muslim culture, from the Rashidun Caliphate to the early Umayyad period and the early Abbasid period, were predominantly Arab, Byzantine, Persian, and Levantine. With the rapid expansion of the Islamic empires, Muslim...

An illustration from the Birds' Head Haggadah, c. 1300, illustration of the Book of Exodus. The fleeing Jews are depicted with birds' heads, while Pharaoh and most of the pursuing Egyptians have blank circles with or without eyes as heads; two of them, however, have bird's heads. The Judenhut hats are typical of 14th-century Germany.

Aniconism

Aniconism Aniconism is the absence of material representations of both the natural and supernatural worlds in various cultures, particularly in the monotheistic Abrahamic religions. This prohibition of material representations may extend from only God and deities to saint characters, all living beings, and everything that exists. The phenomenon is generally codified by religious traditions and as such it becomes...