Islamic Aesthetics: An Introduction (New Edinburgh Islamic Surveys) - Softcover

Leaman, Lecturer In Philosophy Oliver

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0748617353 ISBN 13: 9780748617357

Publisher: Edinburgh University Press, 2004

Synopsis

“This is a useful and imaginative project . . . Leaman is an accomplished and productive author and the book will be of genuine and considerable interest.” —Lenn E. Goodman, Vanderbilt University It is often argued that a very special sort of consciousness went into creating Islamic art, that Islamic art is very different from other forms of art, that Muslims are not allowed to portray human beings in their art, and that calligraphy is the supreme Islamic art form. Oliver Leaman challenges all of these ideas, and argues that they are misguided. Instead, he suggests that the criteria we should apply to Islamic art are identical to the criteria applicable to art in general, and that the attempt to put Islamic art into a special category is a result of orientalism. Leaman criticizes the influence of Sufism on Islamic aesthetics and contends that it is generally misleading regarding both the nature of Islam and artistic expression. He discusses issues arising in painting, calligraphy, architecture, gardens, literature, films, and music and pays close attention to the teachings of the Qur’an. In particular he asks what it would mean for the Qur’an to be a miraculous literary creation, and he analyzes two passages in the Qur’an—those of Yusuf and Zulaykha (Joseph and Zuleika) and King Sullayman (Solomon) and the Queen of Sheba. His arguments draw on examples from history, art, philosophy, theology, and the artefacts of the Islamic world, and raise a large number of difficulties in the accepted paradigms for analyzing Islamic art.

About this title

About the Author:

OLIVER LEAMAN is professor of philosophy at the University of Kentucky.

Review:

"This is certainly an important and thought-provoking work, one of the few that is willing to treat seriously the topic of aesthetics in Islam. As such, this book provides an important corrective to much of what has been written about art in various Islamic contexts over the past century."—The Journal of Religion

About this edition

• Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0748617353
• ISBN 13: 9780748617357
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 216