Islamic culture
Islamic culture describes the historical and current culture in areas with a predominantly Islamic population. With the emergence of Islam in Arabia in the 6th century, the early forms of Muslim culture were predominantly Arab . With the rapid Islamic expansion , the Muslims adopted diverse traditions of the conquered peoples and adopted elements of the Persian , Turkish , Mongolian , Indian , Malaysian and Indonesian cultures as their own.
Conceptual problems
The term Islamic culture itself is controversial. Muslims live in many different countries and societies, and it is sometimes difficult to determine what is common Islam in the various contexts. As a result, certain religious Muslims deny the existence of Islamic cultures, claiming that only the Islamic religion exists. However, an academic approach cannot share such an exclusive view, since it understands religion as an aspect of cultural anthropology and history .
The renowned Islam historian Marshall Hodgson described this tension between religious versus secular-academic use of terms such as “Islamic” and “Muslim” in his three-volume work Das Wagnis des Islam . He suggested that these terms should be reserved for religious phenomena only, and suggested the term "Islamicate" to describe the cultural aspects of the historical Muslim peoples. However, this distinction has not caught on, which is why a certain blurriness remains in the use of these terms.
Religious practice
Islamic culture generally includes all the practical expressions of life that have developed around Islam . In this respect it encompasses numerous aspects of the worship of conservative Muslims, as well as the veneration of the Sufi masters (Persian Pir ), the sheikhs or Sufi teachers Murschids . In South Asia , their worship played an important role, as the bhakti practice of the native Hindus and the spiritual devotion to the guru suggested connections. This similarity encouraged the emergence of syncretic forms of a cult that combined Hindu and Islamic elements, such as the Bengali Baul tradition, and thus facilitated the peaceful conversion of most Bengalis.
Language and literature
Arabic
Early Muslim literature is written in the language of the communities of Muhammad in Mecca and Medina , Arabic . Since the early history of the Muslim community was directed towards the establishment of Islam, its literary products were essentially religious in nature. See the articles Koran , Hadith and Sira , the earliest literature of the Muslim community.
With the establishment of the Umayyad Empire , secular Muslim literature developed. See 1001 nights . The Arabs spread this secular genre of literature without any particular religious content over their entire empires and thus it became part of a widespread culture.
Persian
During the Abbasid rule , Persian became a major language in Muslim culture; a large part of the most important Muslim literature is consequently Persian literature . See The Conference of Birds or the Seals of Rumi .
Turkish
With the advance of Islam into Central Asia, the anecdotes of Nasreddin spread . Although primarily of a secular nature, the Sufis sometimes used these as examples in teaching their students.
South asia
In Bengal , the Baul tradition of folk music created a syncretic poetry that unites Sufism with numerous local as well as Hindu ideas. The most important poets were Hason Raja and Lalon .
For early Muslim feminist literature, see Rokeya Sakhawat Hussain .
The modern
Today the classification of writers by language has become increasingly meaningless. The works of Nobel Prize winners Nagib Machfus and Orhan Pamuk have been translated into many languages and are read worldwide. Other writers such as Hanif Kureishi and Salman Rushdie write directly in English.
Holidays
art
The in art history usual term Islamic art refers to the areas with predominantly generally Islamic spawned population and related reference to Islam art . It is often characterized by geometric and floral arabesques and calligraphic patterns. Unlike the powerful tradition of depicting the human body in Christian art , portrayal of human beings is avoided in Islamic art. The lack of images is due, among other things, to the fact that, according to the Hadith literature, Mohammed and the original Islam saw idolatry in the depiction of people .
In consideration of the avoidance of images in Islam and out of respect for the Qur'an, Islamic artists developed Arabic calligraphy into an art form. The calligraphers created copies of the Qur'an or religious quotes in Arabic script of the highest artistic quality in order to express the beauty perceived in the verses of the Qur'an.
architecture
Islamic style elements
Islamic architecture is characterized by stylistic elements that were adopted from the first mosque built by Mohammed in Medina, as well as by other pre-Islamic features from churches or synagogues. These include
- Large courtyards often combined with a central prayer hall (originally a feature of the Al-Nabawi Mosque ).
- Minarets or towers (originally used as torch-lit watchtowers, for example in the Umayyad mosque ; hence derived from the Arabic word manāra ( meaning “place that gives light”, “lighthouse”)).
- Mihrab (niche) in an inner wall, shows the direction to Mecca. Speculations suggest Thoranic in synagogues or haikal in Coptic churches as a model.
- Domes . (earliest Islamic use in the mosque of Medina (8th century) ).
- Use of ivans as an intermediary between different sections.
- Use of geometrically constructed shapes .
- Use of decorative calligraphy .
- Use of symmetry .
- Fountain for ritual ablutions .
- Use of light colors.
- Focus on the interior of a building rather than the exterior.
meaning
Islamic architecture is widely interpreted as
- the idea of Allah's infinity and power is conveyed through the structural patterns of repetitive themes.
- Human and animal figures are rarely depicted in the decorative arts, as the work of Allah is incomparable. Foliage, on the other hand, is a common motif, often stylized or simplified.
- Calligraphy is used to emphasize the value of the interior of the building by depicting quotations from the Quran.
- Islamic architecture is also called "architecture of the veil" because the beauty lies in the inner rooms (courtyards and rooms) and is not visible from the outside on the street side.
- The use of impressive shapes such as domes and high minarets used to serve as a demonstration of power and are now used purely to embellish the mosque, which means they no longer serve as a symbol of power.
music
Islamic music is the religious Muslim music that is sung or played in public services or during private prayers. Arabia and the Middle East , North Africa , Egypt, Iran , Central Asia, North India and Pakistan are considered to be the classic heart of Islam . But because Islam is a multicultural religion, its musical forms of expression are extremely diverse.
The traditional musical styles of the indigenous peoples of the respective Islamic areas have shaped the religious music that is heard and performed by Muslims today:
The Seljuks , a nomadic tribe who converted to Islam, who conquered Anatolia (now Turkey) and established the caliphate and the Ottoman Empire , also exerted a great influence on Islamic music.
Sub-Saharan Africa , Indonesia, Malaysia , and the southern Philippines also have high Muslim populations, but these areas have had less of an impact than the Arab center of the diverse traditions of Arabic music.
Trade links existed with all of these regions long before the Islamic conquests from the 7th century. Probably the musical styles took the same routes as the commodities. However, one can only speculate about their performance practice. Islam must have exerted a strong influence on music, uniting considerable areas under the first caliphs and facilitating trade between distant lands. Undoubtedly the mystical Sufi orders ( Tariqas ) spread their music widely.
further reading
- Elger, Ralf / Friederike Stolleis (eds.): Small Islam-Lexicon. History - Everyday Life - Culture , Munich: Beck 2001
- Hagemann, Ludwig / Oliver Lellek (ed.): Lexicon of Islamic culture . Darmstadt: Scientific Book Society 1999
- Islam . Journal of the History and Culture of the Islamic Orient. Trade journal of the German Oriental Society. ISSN 0021-1818
- Lawrence Rosen: The culture of Islam: changing aspects of contemporary Muslim life , University of Chicago Press, 2004
- Aziz Ahmed: Studies in Islamic culture in the Indian environment , Oxford India Paperbacks, 1999.
See also
Web links
- Cultural Studies Institute, Essen: Islamic Culture ( Memento from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
- Islamic Heritage Project , Harvard University Library
music
- Official Cat Stevens / Yusuf Islam Site
- Official Dawud Wharnsby Ali Site
- African Muslim music and jazz
literature
- Islamic Literature at Cornell University.
art
- Islamic culture
- The culture of Islam: changing aspects of contemporary Muslim life , by Lawrence Rosen (University of Chicago Press, 2004)
- Current art from Islamic countries and regions
- Introduction to Islamic art from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
