The growing interest and wider prevalence of Islamic art in non-Muslim countries is the focus of a panel discussion by international specialists at the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair this week.
Valerie Gonzalez, a French expert on Islamic art history and visual culture, and a tutor on Islamic studies at the Leighton House Museum in London, will lead the discussion about the subject of Islamic aesthetics in the West.
“The interest in Islamic art in the non-Muslim world is an interest that has evolved very steadily since the colonial period and has not stopped,” says Gonzalez. “The dynamic of the education and research in this topic is always growing and even though the political situation became a factor, it was always evolving in a positive sense.”
Gonzalez will open the debate about Islamic aesthetics – the discipline of studying the context of art rather than just the content – as well as the pressing debate among western scholars at the moment, which is questioning the very existence of Islamic art.
“The big question these days is, is there Islamic art at all?” she says. “It has become very politically correct not to even use the term Islamic art and instead to use Islamicate, which circumvents the topic of religion. I am a counter-current on this topic and many others, but I am also open to discussion.”
Joining Gonzalez at the book fair are Souraya Noujaim, an Islamic art historian and lecturer, specialising in Arabic epigraphy and paleography; Alikber Alikberov, the head of the Centre for Central Asian, Caucasian and Volga-Urals Studies at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences; and Moustafa Fahour, the founder and director of the Islamic Museum of Australia.
Fahour, who is based in Dubai, last year oversaw the opening of the museum in Australia, which aims to celebrate the history of Islamic heritage but also to act as a platform for emerging artists. For the discussion at the book fair, he says he plans to use examples of contemporary Muslim artists to show that art is not only beautiful, but can be educational and informative.
“The idea for the museum first came about as a question about how to unite people,” says Fahour. “I wanted to look for ways to educate and inform people about other cultures and histories, because with knowledge you can dissipate fear.”
The museum is the first of its kind in Australia and Fahour says that more than half of the visitors are non-Muslim. “People want to know more about Islam and it is important to bring transparency to factual information. We want to celebrate the aesthetic value of the art as well as show its ability to contribute to society.”
• Islamic Art in the Western World is at Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, Adnec, on Tuesday, May 12 from 5.30pm to 6.15pm
aseaman@thenational.ae
