Art

This paper is a discussion about Islamic art in the United Kingdom. It includes a number of articles, which tries to answer the question Is there a place for Islamic art in a British home

Is There a Place for Islamic Art in a British Home

Introduction

During the Crusades, Christians all over Europe, including England, have fought with the Muslim soldiers over the Holy Land. Since then, discrepancy between Christians and Muslims started to establish itself in society up to the present day.

This paper discusses the aspects of the relationship of Islamic Art to Britain, and how Muslim art is perceived by British people today.

What is Islamic Art

Art is a representation of culture. It consists of artifacts that preserve the traditions and cultures of a certain population, to be observed by future generations. In Islam, art is sacred. It is the Muslim expression of religiosity and respect for the spiritual realm, the universe, life, and the relationship of the parts to the whole (Siddiqui, n.d.). The Muslim people love art. It is because they believe that Allah is a lover of beauty. It is thus important, to them that they beautify their mosques and everything that is related to their work. In Britain, one of the most prized works of art made my Muslims is the tiles. This was very evident during the 19th century (Browne, n.d.).

Recent Events in Islam Art in Britain

One way to establish of Islamic Art in Britain is to study recent events that happened in relation to this topic. It is important to know how the British people perceive Islamic art and how they respond to their perceptions of it.

In news article dated October 31, 2008, Sarah Maple, a Muslim artist, faced death threats and violence as she unveiled her works at SaLon gallery on October 16. The artists works consisted of her own self portraits wearing a headscarf posing in provocative ways. According to Ejaz Aslam of the Muslim Cultural Center, the paintings were highly offensive to Muslims (Muslim Artists, n.d).

Another news article written by All Web shows misunderstanding between British and Muslim cultures as Tate Britain Museum suddenly pulled back a work of religious art from an exhibition because of fear that it might offend the Muslims. This decision was based on the July 7, 2005 suicide bombings that killed 52 passengers on three subway trains and a bus. The artist who created the work of art was John Latham. It featured copies of the Koran, Bible, and the Judaic, Talmund (2005).

Islamic Art in a British Home

At present, the Muslim world is still far from being understood by Christians. It is this misunderstanding that makes a bridge between cultures hard to construct. However, there are efforts as to how to educate people into understanding the true principles behind Islamic art.           Thus, museums have a critical role to portray in the understanding of Muslim culture and art. In an article by Robert Lewis, he reports that the Freeport Arts Center has displayed Islamic art, which consists of textile and decorative ceramic tiles. According to Jessica Caddell, the collections manager, this display works well in explaining the culture that we are struggling to understand (n.d.).

As of now, the question of whether there is a place for Islamic art in a British home seems to be inconclusive based on the news articles mentioned. For the last 1,350 years, the relationship of the Muslim world to Europe was not stable, especially in England, unlike other European countries such as Spain, France, and Denmark.

Fortunately, there are those who contribute in the promotion of mutual understanding and appreciation of Islamic art, as the number of Muslims grows in European countries. These individuals would pave the way to breaking the boundaries between the Muslim world and Britain, hopefully ending the thousand year record of rough engagements once and for all.