Asani and the third chapter of his work inspired my second art piece\u2014a modern day buraq (Week 4). Throughout his third chapter and within class discussion, the mi\u2019raj <\/em>was discussed as a significant, grounding moment for the Prophet Mohammad. I considered myself to be well informed on Islamic practice before this course, however after reading the Prophet\u2019s ascension story, I was surprised. I have never thought of the prophet in this mythical way before and it immediately brought about a Mohammad-Jesus comparison. I wanted to draw attention to this story through my artistic interpretation of the buraq\u2014a mythical winged creature that flies Mohammad to Jerusalem. The creature has been a great source of artistic interpretation, all of which are fairly dated. With this in mind, I worked to create an updated version of the buraq\u2014less vintage than prior depictions (See Figure 1). I used a standard sheet of paper and a common fashion magazine. From the pages of the magazine, I cut different patterns and textures to build a horse-like body with flying mane and bee-like wings. The collage was finished when I included a background of sorts through the small buildings in the bottom right corner of the image, giving the creature a sense of flight. Although this modern version of a buraq is characteristically wild, I believe it represents an important element of Islamic culture: that is the mystic side. The mythical history of Mohammad is important and was previously unknown to me. By creating my own interpretation of the story, Mohammad\u2019s own ascension became a tangible element of my understanding of Islam and an element that I may question and find fault with. The story may be entertaining however the religious validity of it is questionable. Mohammad in this magical story changes my understanding of him as a normal man\u2014not worshipped like the prophet Jesus\u2014to a super human figure.<\/p>\n The third art piece I created represents the role the Quran plays in Islam and the many interpretations with which it may be understood and utilized (Week 3). To best embody the sentiment I wanted to capture, I staged a photograph. The image is of a woman, holding a book in her lap\u2014the Quran. She is surrounded by black except light emanates from the book on her lap, illuminated her figure and face. This light is meant to represent knowledge and enlightenment to the word of God. The word of God is said to be Light and this image literally captures that idea. Michael Sells book Approaching the Qur\u2019an <\/em>inspired this image. The discussion that surrounded the book within class emphasized the different role the Quran plays for Muslims around the world. The one idea I found to be universal however, was that o the Quran as Light. No matter the interpretation taken to the holy scripture, whether devote or a source of musical inspiration, the book is illuminating. In the image the light from the Quran mainly affects the face of the woman, symbolizing the direct power of the scripture on the mind and life of humanity.<\/p>\n The Sufi practice of Sam\u0101, its mystical nature and controversial practice inspired a piece of artwork that questions what Sam\u0101 may actually accomplish (Week 8). In reading Leonard Lewisohn\u2019s \u201cThe Sacred Music of Islam: Sama\u2019 in the Persian Sufi Tradition,\u201d I learned about the purpose of Sufi practice but also began to question it. At first, Lewisohn expresses the act of Sam\u0101 as a religious practice, a kind of meditation that brings an individual closer to god. However, even as a spiritual event, the parameters surrounding the act are extremely metered. Lewisohn\u2019s shows that there are four distinct steps that must be followed; this element of the Sam\u0101 changes how it is understood. I created this digitally manipulated image to depict the many sides of Sam\u0101 as well as the most fundamental meaning behind the act: oneness with god. The image is a self-portrait with a repeated image of myself digitally altered in a variety of ways. The background is a blend of colors\u2014neither appealing nor unappealing\u2014to signify its relative unimportance in the Sam\u0101 process. The purpose of the altered images of myself is to symbolize the many things Sam\u0101 can be, even for the same person. I chose to exhibit the more mystical side of the practice in this way and therefore promote the Sam\u0101 as meditation rather than as an action.<\/p>\n Conference of the Birds, <\/em>the epic narrative poem by Farid Attar was the inspiration for my fifth portfolio installment (Week 10) . The meaning of Attar\u2019s poem is clear by the end of the story, however the severity with which one takes their interpretation varies. The poem is often seen as a religious narrative that emphasizes the role of self in finding god. Each of the thirty birds whom take the journey to find the simorgh<\/em> (the king of birds) holds a deeper meaning as well as a character flaw that must be explored and remedied before the journey itself can begin. In this way, the epic serves as a personal guide to the reader, identifying their flaws and offering the moral solution for it in order to guide one closer to god. It is the conclusion of the story that truly inspired me and I like to interpret the ending in less of a religious light in order to identify with it. The thirty birds accomplish their journey and travel far to reach the lake where the legendary simorgh <\/em>lives, but when they get there, all there is a lake, and looking upon it they see their own, thirty reflections\u2014a pool of thirty birds, which translates into Persian as s\u012b morgh. Attar plays a trick on the reader and I believe it is what defines the story. From a religious point of view, we may conclude that the King of the Birds\u2014metaphorically humans\u2014is not a living entity but our own selves and the life inside us: God. In looking at our own reflections, we are parts of god and should therefore rule ourselves in the proper and best way possible. The nonreligious side to this theme is the exact same without the emphasis on god. It is an idea that is easily translated into a non-religious context and perhaps, for this reason it truly spoke to me. I created a calligraphy pen drawing to represent what I gained from the epic. I drew the phrase \u201cthirty birds\u201d in Persian in a shape like that of a bird. Within the black outlines of this calligraphy, I used color to rewrite the Persian word for \u201cbird.\u201d The one bird is therefore made up of many, like the point of Attar\u2019s story. The world is made of many and the best ruler this world can have is when all act as one. The poem speaks of the basic nature of humanity and the complexity from which we act.<\/p>\n The last installment in my portfolio was inspired by Marjane Satrapi\u2019s graphic novel Persepolis<\/em> and speaks for my family\u2019s personal heritage (Week 12). The piece is a digitally altered image of myself: two self-portraits, one with hijab one without, superimposed upon each other. The end result is a complicated, graphic looking self-portrait\u2014the hijab maintains a key focus. Persepolis was an unusual choice for the purposes of this course, however I am lucky to say it was included. It is a novel that examines the significance of Islam in a life as well as the political function a religion can play. For Satrapi, as a young child in revolutionary Iran, religion held little importance until it was imposed. After which, her character poses as an outspoken child, wearing hijab but on her own terms. I found it easy to identify with Satrapi through my own experiences in post-revolution Iran. Her focus on the veil in her book brought out my own thoughts on the matter, and I found they were positive. Unlike Satrapi, although the veil was an imposition, it became a relative positive for me. The hijab as a blessing is not thoroughly analyzed in this portion of Satrapi\u2019s tale but it was a opinion I have recognized. The image I created was my effort to embody and show what the hijab actually is, that is, a piece of cloth. With the two images on top of each other, the distinction between them is hard to define and I meant for it to be that way. A person with or without hijab is the same\u2014in Iran and around the world. In a way, I have used this piece to proclaim my own political message. Women in Iran are not defined by the hijab and neither am I. The image is my proof and my stand. Satrapi\u2019s emphasis on the veil is from the point of view of a child; she is witty and harsh. I built off of what Satrapi offered the reader to form my own opinion and understand my own feelings towards the hijab from my own experiences.<\/p>\n This portfolio offers many ideas on a variety of elements within Islam and Islamic culture. As a nonreligious person, my perspective is very different than those of others and I hope to offer a critical, illuminating eye from this point of view. Islam is beautiful; it is both a religion and an art. And, like others of its kind, it is many things to many Muslims. Exposure to the many facets within Islam brings about new ideas and new questions, and I look forward to continuing my exploration of Islam\u2014more than a faith.<\/p>\n Asani, Ali. \u201cDefining Islamic values and ideals.\u201d Infidel of Love: Exploring Muslim \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Understandings of Islam. <\/em>54-104. Print.<\/p>\n Asani, Ali. \u201cFollowing God\u2019s Beloved: Prophet Mohammad as the ideal Muslim.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Infidel of Love: Exploring Muslim Understandings of Islam. <\/em>105-153. Print.<\/p>\n Attar, Farid. The Conference of the Birds<\/em>. New York: Penguin Books, 1984. Print.<\/p>\n Lewisohn, Leonard. \u201cThe Sacred Music of Islam: Sam\u0101\u2019 in the Persian Sufi Tradition.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 British Journal of Ethnomusicology <\/em>Vol. 6 (1997): 1-33. Print.<\/p>\n Satrapi, Marjane. Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood. <\/em>Paris: Pantheon Books, 2003. \u00a0 Print.<\/p>\n
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