Beauty and Belief

I really liked the exhibit. It was fascinating, and I actually learned so many things about Islamic art and culture that I thought I already knew. I had previously been at the temple doing baptisms for the dead with my roommates, so I was dressed up and I felt very sophisticated, which made the experience seem a little more profound. The art was in many ways very similar to the kinds of things we see in Western Culture. The thing that I found to be the most different was the calligraphy. The words flowed so much more than our style of writing. In comparison, our writing looks blocky and awkward. The writing (according to one of the plaques) in Islamic culture is one way they put their faith into their artwork. Apart from putting scripture, teachings of the prophets, prayers, and psalms directly on their artwork, I learned that they also put a lot of work and though into developing the style of writing itself. They believe that when writing the things of God, one should make it as beautiful as possible.
Another way that they manifest their faith through their artwork is in the use of mythical creatures. Apparently, in Islamic culture they find mythical creatures to be just another proof of the existence of God. This doesn’t really fit well with classic Christian thought, and this is especially evident in the examination of the two types of art. Islamic art is full of representations of animals, as a tribute to the beauty of the creations of God, and this includes mythical creatures. Christian art not only lacks mythical creatures, there is not a lot of art including animals of any kind (at least in art that is directly religious).
This observation brings me to my last thought. In another one of the plaques describing Islamic culture and religion, there was a quote from the Qur’an. It read, “God is beautiful and loves beauty.” This statement not only helped me to better appreciate the Islamic art, but it also rang true to me on a personal level. Some people think that art is an inefficient use of time, but I wholeheartedly disagree, and now I know a simple sentence that describes my feelings. God is beautiful, and He appreciates beauty just like we do. In fact, He probably has an even greater appreciation for beauty. He created this Earth, and this Earth is perfectly beautiful. If we, as we learn in the Church, are going to be creating our own worlds one day, then it is vitally important that we learn to create and appreciate beautiful things as well.