Calligraphy demonstrates Islamic beliefs

By Katie Williams
Collegian Editor
February 14, 2007

Ever wondered about the art of Islamic calligraphy? What does it mean? What does it symbolize? Well, wonder no more, because Feb. 15, from 12:30-2 p.m., there will be an Islamic calligraphy workshop held in the Renaissance Gallery of the La Salle Art Museum. Sponsored by the Diplomat-in-Residence Program, the Department of Religion and the Art Gallery, this event will be presented by Elinor Aishah Holland. Spotlight! caught up with Dr. Cornelia A. Tsakiridou, director of the Diplomat-in-Residence Program, to find out more about this event.

Spotlight!: What should students expect at this event?

Cornelia Tsakiridou: Miracles. Well, they should expect to better understand calligraphy and what it means for Muslims. It is the art of copying the Koran, so there is a sacred element in that.

S: Will it be a demonstration or a workshop?

CT: It is a demonstration of calligraphy. You will see her at work copying the text, just as monks in the medieval period would copy sacred texts and the Bible. There will be a question and answer session following the demonstration. This event is in preparation for our program “Muslims in America: Life in a Post-9/11 World,” which will be coming up soon.

S: How did this workshop get started?

CT: It was the suggestion of Dr. Vivienne Angeles, who is a teacher of Islam in the Religion Department. She also suggested that we get Elinor Aishah Holland to participate, and we were delighted to have her.

S: What can you tell us about the presenter?

CT: Elinor Aishah Holland is a student of the renowned calligrapher Mohamad Zakariya. She has been studying the Ottoman Hattat method of calligraphy for 20 years. Holland has been teaching calligraphy for 13 years and has taught at places like The Smithsonian Institute and the Sultan Qaboos Cultural Center. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies from Temple University, as well as studied Arabic at the University of Pennsylvania.

S: What do you hope will be the result of this event?

CT: I hope that students will get a better understanding of the richness of the Islamic faith, as well as the importance of the written word, especially the word of the Holy Koran. This is the age of the keyboard, so little attention is paid to the art of writing beautifully. It’s an outdated art, but it’s still a beautiful one. It shows reverence to take time to write these scripts. It also takes devotion: writing is devotion. For Muslims this is a very spiritual devotion, because they’re not just writing anything, they’re writing words from the Koran. In Islam, they don’t have images, so whereas in Christianity one can paint to show devotion, in Islam they use calligraphy.

williamsk1@lasalle.edu