Charlotte Guillain - Islamic Culture

Blashfield, Jean F. Pakistan (Countries Around the World). Chicago: Heinemann Library,2012.

Brownlie Bojang, Ali. India (Countries Around the World). Chicago: Heinemann Library,2012.

Milivojevic, Jovanka JoAnn. Afghanistan (Countries Around the World). Chicago: HeinemannLibrary, 2012.

Nardo, Don. The Islamic Empire (World History). Detroit: Lucent, 2011.

Toor, Atif. Islamic Culture (Discovering the Arts). New York: Newbridge Educational,2006.

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html
The World Factbook has country profiles with information on geography, people, and more. Learn more about the countries mentioned in this book at this website.

kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/places/find
Search for Afghanistan, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Morocco, and Turkey to find photos, videos, map, and activities.

www.lacma.org/islamic_art/islamic.htm
Learn more about Islamic artfrom ancient times to the presentat this website of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

The Freer Gallery of Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Washington, D.C.
www.asia.si.edu
The Freer and Sackler Galleries contain many important examples of Islamic art.

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, California
www.lacma.org
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art has an impressive collection of Islamic art.

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City
www.metmuseum.org
The Metropolitan Museum of Art has 15 galleries that follow the history of Islamic civilization from Spain in the west to India in the east.

What topic did you like reading about most in this book? Did you find out anythingthat you thought was particularly interesting? Choose a topic that you liked, suchas food, buildings, or religion, and try to find out more about it. You could visitone of the places mentioned above, take a look at one of the websites listed here,or visit your local library to do some research. You might be able to visit yourlocal mosque with your class. You could try playing a game of bao or karam or trysome baklava or halva !

INTRODUCING ISLAMIC CULTURE

What do you know about Islam ? Maybe you are a Muslim or you have Muslim friends?You might have read about the religion of Islam or heard about Islamic people onthe news.

Islam is one of the worlds major religions, and it has followers across the globe.Islam began in Arabia. Muslims believe the Prophet Muhammad received a message, knownas the Quran , from Allah (God). Muhammad shared this message with others, and thereligion of Islam quickly spread.

The countries where Islam is found today are in the Middle East, northern and easternAfrica, and Central and Southeast Asia. Millions of Muslims live in other countries,too. There are different groups of Muslims, such as Shia, Sunni, and Sufi. However,the basic beliefs of Islam are shared by all.

What is culture?

Culture includes the values, beliefs, and attitudes of a particular group of people.It is about how they live and worship and about the music, art, and literature theyproduce. Islam has a very distinctive culture.

Did you know?

Ilm means knowledge. Many important scientific discoveries were made in the Islamicworld, and studying has always been an important part of Muslim culture.

Muslims around the world are proud of their beliefs and culture.

ARCHITECTURE AND ORNAMENT

Islamic art and architecture often reflect religious beliefs. For example, Muslimsusually avoid showing people and animals in their artwork. Traditionally , powerfulIslamic rulers employed artists, craftspeople, and architects to create beautifulobjects and buildings. The results of their work can be seen across the Islamic world.

Architecture

Mosques , where Muslim people worship, are among the most stunning Islamic buildings.Other Islamic architecture includes palaces, fortresses, and homes.

The stunning Sleymaniye Mosque in Turkey has many domes and minarets.

Mosques were built as places for Muslims to meet and pray together. The first mosquesincluded features such as a central courtyard and porches in the north and southwalls. Later mosques built for powerful rulers, such as the Umayyads based in Syria,were more complicated. Features such as the minaret , a tall tower from which Muslimsare called to prayer, and the mihrab were added. The mihrab is a niche in the mosquewall to show Muslims which direction to face as they pray.

Many mosques and other monuments have huge domes, such as the Dome of the Rock inJerusalem. Inside, decoration can include colorful painted tiles and beautiful calligraphy .

Here you can see inside the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. It is decorated with geometricpatterns and writing.

The Prophet Muhammad (c. 570632 CE)

The Prophet Muhammad preached the central message of Islam: there is no God but God,and Muhammad is the messenger of God. He lived in Makkah, in present-day Saudi Arabia,but he moved to the city of Madinah in 622 CE, to avoid being killed by his enemies.

Gardens

Islamic culture developed in the hot, desert countries of the Middle East, Turkey,India, Spain, and North Africa. People built cooling gardens from the 900s CE onward.