Film Provides a Glimpse of Islamic Art

By Sayed Zafar Hashemi - Scripps Howard Foundation Wire - 1090 Vermont Ave. N.W. - Suite 1000 Washington, D.C. 20005 /
Republished in Kansas City infoZine - Kansas City,MO,USA
Saturday, January 20, 2007

The Brooking Institutions hosted Wednesday's screening of "Islamic Art Glories," the three-part television program Ahmed made for Britain's Channel 5, which aired it in the fall.

Ahmed is the chair of Islamic Studies at American University here and a non-resident senior fellow at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution. He is a former Pakistani high commissioner to the United Kingdom.

The hour-long documentary displays Islamic art and history, mainly focusing on the significance of the Islamic world. It also gathers art and art devotees using architecture, history and the beauties of Islamic art with a goal of reducing the gap between the Islamic world and the non-Islamic world.

"For Muslims like me, Islam means more than a religion," Ahmed says at the start of the film.

Islamic architecture has encompassed a wide range of both secular and religious styles from the foundation of Islam to the present day. The film shows the principle Islamic architectural types: the mosque, the tomb, the palace and the fort. From these four types, the vocabulary of Islamic architecture is derived and used for buildings of lesser importance such as public baths, fountains and domestic architecture, which are all shown in Ahmed's documentary.

Ahmed took the opportunity at the screening to explain his vision for Islam. He repeated some of the facts from his personal Web page that he said the non-Islamic world needs to know:

about 1.3 billion Muslim live in 57 countries, one of which has a nuclear bomb. One-third of the world's Muslims live in non-Muslim countries, with about 25 million in the West, including 7 million in the United States. And finally, he noted that Muslim nations are indispensable in American foreign policy.

The documentary was filmed in the historic cities of Istanbul, Turkey; Damascus, Syria, and Cairo, Egypt. It examines achievements from the earliest Islamic art and delves into Islam's respect for knowledge and the more spiritual Islamic tradition of Sufism.

The final part of the program deals with the last great Islamic dynasty, the Ottomans, and their great capital at Istanbul.

This episode also looks at calligraphy, the Islamic art-form that grew out of the careful copying of the word of God.

Following the film, there was a panel discussion.

Pakistani Ambassador to the United States Mahmud Ali Durani said this is the proper time for the film because of the sensitive incidents happening around the world. He called Islam the religion of humanity and harmony, which asks for unity, love for mankind and acceptance of beliefs and other prophets.

Cynthia P. Schneider, a former U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands, a professor at Georgetown University and a non-resident senior fellow of foreign policy at Brookings, said the gathering was tremendous opportunity for Islamic scholars and scholars of other religions to talk about art, Islam and religion in general.

The series was a hit in the UK, Ahmed said he and his team hope it will be aired globally.

Original source: http://www.shfwire.com/story/film-provides-a-glimpse-of-islamic-art

See also: http://sufinews.blogspot.com/search?q=Islamic+Art+Glories

"Glories of Islamic Art"

Brookings Institution - PRNewswire/USNewswire - NY,NY,U.S.A.
Monday, January 8, 2007

The following is being issued by the Brookings Institution:
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Film Screening: 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Discussion: 7 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Reception: 7:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

The Brookings Institution
Falk Auditorium
1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW
Washington, DC

As events in the Middle East dominate the attention of U.S. policymakers, many Americans view Islam with a great deal of suspicion.

Indeed, it may be safe to argue that Islam is among the most misunderstoodand controversial religions in the world.

On Jan. 17, the Saban Center for Middle East Policy will host a screening and discussion of noted Islamic scholar Akbar Ahmed's documentaryfilm "Glories of Islamic Art."

To explain Islam's rich history, customs andbeliefs, Ahmed, a Brookings non-resident senior fellow, traveled throughout the Middle East with United Kingdom channel 5 film crew.
The result ofAhmed's travels is a striking film that uses art and architecture toportray the depth and beauty of Islam.

Panelists will include His Excellency Mahmud Ali Durrani, Ambassador from Pakistan to the UnitedStates.

Akbar Ahmed, non-resident senior fellow, Saban Center for MiddleEast Policy, will provide introductory remarks and moderate the paneldiscussion.

Using the historic cities of Istanbul, Damascus and Cairo as visualchapters, Ahmed's film connects religious, historic and artistic themes ofIslam.
The film examines the achievements of the first Islamic dynasty, delves into Islam's respect for knowledge and explores Sufism's balance ofmeditation and passion.

The film has received acclaim throughout the UnitedKingdom with The News (London) writing, "Channel 5 should be congratulatedfor giving us something refreshingly different ... The series moves at afast pace ... whetting ones appetite to pack up at once and head for Muslimlands."

After the screening, panelists will take audience questions.

Moderator:
Ambassador Akbar Ahmed
Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies, American University
Non-resident Senior Fellow, Saban Center for Middle East Policy
The Brookings Institution

Panelist:
H.E. Mahmud Ali Durrani
Ambassador to the United States
Embassy of Pakistan
R.S.V.P.: Please call the Brookings Office of Communications,+1-202-797-6105
or register online at http://onlinepressroom.net/brookings/.

The Legacy Continues

The Malaysian Star - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Monday, November 11, 2007

Dewan Filharmonik Petronas presents a rare offering of Pakistan’s vibrant qawwali music on Nov 20 and 21

Under its “Celebration Series”, the performances will be presented by Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwali as a tribute to the legendary Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.

When he died in 1997, Nusrat Fateh left a musical vacuum into which stepped his two teenage nephews, who formed the group Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwali.

Despite their youth, they were determined to continue their uncle’s pioneering efforts to transcend cultural, language and religious barriers and bring to the world the devotional qawwali vocal music of the Sufi mystics of Islam.

The word qawwali simply means “utterance” and the music and style of performance it describes has been a feature of Islamic culture since the 12th century. It is religious music that uses the human voice as a vehicle for enlightenment.

Due to its strong folk and classical traditions, qawwali has evolved and become one of the great classical musical genres of world music.

The group’s third album, Day of Colours, finds them coming into their own with new-found maturity in their voices and approach. Not only does it maintain a family tradition but it also demonstrates their identity as singers and breathes fresh life into a centuries-old style which has become one of the glories of modern world music.

Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwali inventively reinterprets spiritual love songs based upon classical Islamic and Sufi texts.

The two brothers who lend their name to the group, Rizwan Mujahid Ali Khan and Muazzam Mujahid Ali Khan, come from a direct line of qawwali singers that can trace its pedigree back over five centuries. Their grandfather was an uncle of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, who taught him the art of qawwali vocal music.

They themselves studied under their father and were tutored by Nusrat. A decade into their career, the musicians of Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwali are already proving to be masters of Sufi devotional music.

The broadening of qawwali’s appeal was central to Nusrat’s mission and it is an approach shared by the group. Its debut album, Sacrifice to Love, released in 1999, was an entirely traditional album. So was its 2001 follow-up, A Better Destiny. It has also released a remix fusion album with Temple of Sound.

The group is a mainstay on Peter Gabriel’s influential Real World record label.

Rizwan and Muazzam lead five back-up singers in repeated chanting, usually to the accompaniment of rhythmic handclapping, percussion and harmonium music.

The lead singer adds elaborate vocal lines, and the tempo and volume are gradually increased with each singer trying to outdo the other in terms of vocal acrobatics as the piece progresses to a heightened trance-like state.

Tickets are priced from RM25 to RM95. Call the box office (tel: 03-20517007) / fax bookings (tel: 03-20517077) / e-mail: dfp_boxoffice@petronas.com.my.