Altered Perceptions? Also, Architecture is a Metaphor. But Actually, I think this is a Post about Journals. Maybe. Or maybe I just want you to think. Enlighten me.

I really don't know what happened...

I'm always so stuffy in my blogposts. In my attempts to sound scholarly or academic or professional or whatever it is I try to sound like in my blogposts, I sometimes lose myself. No, I almost always lose myself. I could even say I always lose myself. This is a tragedy.

So what does this have to do with written knowledge, architecture, or anything worth noting? Well, as I was contemplating how to write this blogpost, I got thinking about all the different voices we use in writing. There's our personal voice, our formal voice, our persuasive voice, our objective voice -- so many voices! Then comes the editing. Think of how much we edit our thoughts as we create the final product (Even as I attempt to type this I'm editing like crazy, and I was trying so hard to just speak my mind!).

Q & A with Dr. Toronto: A discussion on Written Knowledge

This past week I was able to interview Dr. James A. Toronto about the significance of written knowledge in the Middle East. Dr. Toronto has a Ph.D from Harvard in Islamic Studies and currently teaches at BYU. 

Calligraphy: The Highest Art of Islam

'Āli `Imrān 3:48 states, "And He will teach him writing and wisdom and the Torah and the Gospel." As Islam's "highest form of art," calligraphy's main role in society has been one of religious duty. Developed and molded to record the words of Mahammed in the Qu'ran, it has undergone several transformations over the course of several centuries. Calligraphy has "capacity to be both decorative and a conveyor of knowledge, spiritual and secular", thus complimenting nearly every other form of Muslim art from jewelry, to architecture, even to weapons.In a region where religion means everything to its people, calligraphy serves as Muslims' primary artistic reminder of their faith, devotion, and love for Mahammed.

Islam, Oral Knowledge, and Thoughts in Between



UPDATE FOR OUR PROFESSORS: I would have done an interview-based post during this unit; however, the professor I was going to interview has been ill and thus unable to meet with me. I hope to hold that interview soon though and post about it ASAP. Now, unto today's post!

Carving of Arabian Musicians

As we conclude our unit on Oral Knowledge, I would like to discuss the discoveries I have made so far by examining what I have learned about Islamic Culture, particuarly with reference to the Umayyad Dynasty. By touching on the significance of music and drama in Islamic culture, I have come realize that art is essential to keeping a culture alive. If utilized, music and drama will enhance a culture's history, by providing a way to preserve it, as evidenced by the traditional performance of Ta'ziyeh. Not only that, but the language and important texts will better be remembered as shown through Cairo's use of song to teach the Qu'ran during the time of the Umayyads.

The tradition of performing arts help maintain history. Because of the story-telling and ritualistic side of drama and music, a civilization like the Islam can retain knowledge of its forefathes, who had no written form of communication, through performance. However, if a civilization that depends heavily on oral knowledge does not strive to preserve its performing arts, a very vital aspect of and potentially the entire culture could be lost, thus unveiling oral knowledge's greatest flaw.

Ta'ziyeh

Islam: the religious faith of Muslims, based on the words and religious system founded by the prophet Muhammad and taught by the Koran, the basic principle of which is absolute submission to a unique and personal god, Allah.

Drama: a composition in prose or verse presenting in dialogue or pantomime a story involving conflict or contrast of character, especially one intended to be acted on the stage; a play.

When I think of Islam, the last thing I would associate it with is drama. However, Shakespeare called all the world a stage. Therefore, drama is history. History is drama. Life is drama. "And the life of this world is nothing but play and amusement. . ." (Al-An am 6:32)

As oral knowledge developed in the Middle East, drama became a means by which Muslims could commemorate one of the greatest martyrs during Umayyad Dynasty. What began as a way to preserve the history of one single war has now become the great "Islamic Drama." It is ritualistic. It is powerful. It is Ta'ziyeh.

Language and Music

"One aspect of unity in Arab music is the intimate connection between the music and the Arabic language."

-Ali Jihad Racy, Ph.D

The boundaries of the Islamic Empire during
 the height of the Umayyad Dynasty

A time of extensive expansion, the Umayyad Dynasty laid the foundation for the process by which modern classic Arab music has formed. As Umayyads sought to increase the incredible size of the already massive Islamic Empire, a fusion of cultures and ethnicities began that included both poetry, language, and song. It was during this time that Muslims started to gain an appreciation for music, an appreciation which to this day continuously shapes and reshapes the world's perception of Muslim music.