The Muslim Artist’s Conflict:Figurative prohibition in Islam
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
In most Muslim societies today, artists practice figurative art. However, figurative prohibition in artistic representations has been also debated. Personal choices will differ based on understandings of Koran, Hadiths and Tafsirs. However, some religious scholars argue that figurative representations are prohibited not only in Islamic way of life but also in art based on Hadiths, although there is no direct reference in Koran itself. This view suggested that taking a perspective based on only Koran,and permitting the use of figurative representations is not appropriate in Islamic tradition. Because for a normative Muslim, there are multiple sources, such as Hadiths, Sunnah and Tafsir; one has to follow when taking action based on Islamic belief system.This article investigates conflicted views regarding art especially figurative prohibition based on primary and secondary sources of Islam.The purpose of this paper is neither defending nor refuting figure prohibition observed in Islamic belief, but articulating various and sometimes conflicting views of the phenomenon in its context.
Keywords: figurative prohibition; art in Islam; Islamic Art; Aniconism in Islam.
Downloads
Article Details
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).