Аrt of the islamic world-2012

The birth of Islam is marked by the first revelation conveyed to the Prophet
Muhammad by God (in Arabic, Allah), which occurred in the seventh
century near the city of Mecca on the Arabian Peninsula. Islam emerged in
a polytheistic environment; although there were notable Jewish and
Christian communities, most people living on the Arabian Peninsula
believed in multiple gods. In contrast, the fundamental tenet of Islam was
monotheism—the belief in one God alone. What began as a religious
movement soon took on a political dimension and Islam spread quickly
throughout the Middle and Near East. The fall of the Sasanian empire in
Persia and Byzantium’s weakening control of its eastern territories in the
seventh century provided fertile ground for this expansion, and within
a hundred years of the Prophet’s death the new leaders of the Islamic
community (umma), the caliphs, controlled lands reaching from Spain to
present-day Pakistan. The spread of the faith stimulated new architecture
and the production of other arts in territories with rich and well-established
cultural and artistic traditions. Mosques were built for growing Muslim
communities and religious texts about Islamic belief and practice were
written and decorated. Works that functioned in or responded to Islamic
religious life continued to be produced over the centuries in every region in
which Islam is practiced. This unit examines such works and provides an
introduction to the beliefs and early history of Islam.