Art: A Means of Adoration or Association?

Iffat Mirza, Cambridge

The Medici family, rulers of Florence during the European Renaissance period, left their mark in every cobblestone of the city, and in the very spirit of art across Europe for the next five centuries. Their influence cannot go unnoticed and whether we like it or not, their role in patronising and commissioning art was a revolutionary turn in the art world and set a precedent that has still not wholly disappeared.

But what fascinates me most about this family and their role in the production of art was how and why the Catholic Church was central to it. Given their background as being bankers, they built their fortune through usury – a grievous sin according to the New Testament. It is said that Cosimo de’ Medici had anxieties about being locked out of the gates of heaven for this very reason and as such commissioned not only the building of churches, but also religious art, as a way to perhaps compensate for his immoral breadwinning means.[1]

The intersections of art and religion has always fascinated me, being a Muslim and the daughter of an artist. I’ve heard theories that mimetic art is frowned upon, if not prohibited in Islam. Though for me art in the broader sense has always been a means to worship the Creator. The Qur’an tells us that much of Allah’s creation serves an aesthetic purpose as well as a practical one. God states about cattle ‘And in them there is beauty for you when you bring them home in the evening, and when you drive them forth to pasture in the morning.’[2] I believe appreciating this and trying to approach our existence with the intention to continue to beautify the world in our own humble ways is a form of worship as it aligns with God’s desire for a beautiful world. Perhaps in the same way Cosimo de’ Medici intended. It is a way to recognise and study the beauty of this world, and perhaps continue to adorn the world with further beauties as we progress and develop as a society.

Though Islam is, of course, very clear on the grievous sin of associating partners with God. The very kalima, the testimony one bears as one enters the fold of Islam ‘There is none worthy of worship except Allah, and Muhammad is His messenger,’ declares we must renounce all partnership with God. It is here, where, at a first glance we may not think much of art but as it turns out, art has always trodden a very thin line between adoration and association. By taking the liberties to recreate the holy personage of Jesus (on whom be peace) or Moses (on whom be peace) or Noah (on whom be peace) or Krishna (on whom be peace) we have highly politicised religion, and used it as a defence of some of humanity’s most heinous crimes. We have given such holy personages features that we find desirable and made them aesthetically pleasing according to societal standards, rather than appreciating the teachings of such figures. It is when we begin to take their physical appearances into our own hands we inevitably take it a step further and ascribe other attributes and flaws to such figures. Man takes it upon himself to become his own god and corrupt the pure teachings of religion with far reaching consequences. Let us take the simple example of the reproductions of Jesus (on whom be peace), popularised as an Aryan man, his holy image has been warped owing to racial prejudice despite it being very clearly written in the Bible that Jesus (on whom be peace) was a Middle Eastern man.[3] The reproduction of religious figures and events with the intention of furthering inequality and injustice is a grave attack on the purity of both religion and art itself.

It is, therefore, not without reason that Muslims have the right to not only be offended by, but also be weary of the implications of cartoon competitions such as the one Geert Wilders has encouraged, to caricaturise the Holy Prophet of Islam (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). It is not just to protect the honour of the Holy Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) – though that in itself is more than enough reason, but it also because Islam recognises the dangers of taking the physicality of such holiness into our own hands.

This is, of course, not to say that art should be condemned in Islam but the beauty of Islam is that it allows art to be celebrated whilst maintaining the sanctity of religion. Islamic art, known for its geometrical patterns, its focus on the natural world, and the beautification of language through calligraphy, limits man’s temptation to flit towards associating partners with God and as such maintains the indisputable power of God and the honour that we must devote to Him. One need only to meander through the palaces of Granada or through the streets of Istanbul to see the beauty that Islam has brought to the world, not just in terms of morality but also aesthetically speaking.

[1] The Medici: Makers of Modern Art by Andrew Graham-Dixo

[2] Holy Qur’an 16: 7

[3] Matthew 2:1 ‘Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,’