For #InternationalWomensDay we are celebrating 50 trailblazing women visual artists, creating work inspired by Islamic tradition
These incredible women artists on baytalfann.com are redefining Muslim culture & imagining a new future for Islamic art #IWD2023
A thread…
1/ Japanese artist Yukiko Futamura has a passion for Islamic art & illumination. She studied calligraphy & manuscript illumination under artist Miwako Kawaminami for nearly 2 decades. Her work is influenced by Islamic cultures #IWD2023
3/ London based artist Mobeen Akhtar, specialises in the traditional arts. Her work takes you through a journey of colour and meticulous detail heavily inspired by traditional Islamic art #IWD2023
4/ Canadian artist @salwanajmart is a contemporary realist & calligraphy painter
With an admiration of Islamic history & architecture, her detailed paintings pay homage to magnificent Muslim cultural heritage throughout the centuries… #IWD2023
5/ Digital Artist @StinaTree is a historian, a storyteller, and a voice for communities. She uses her work as a tool to celebrate Black American Muslim and recently launched her first collection of Islamic art NFT’s #IWD2023
6/ Iranian artist, Anahita Alavi specialises in Persian Miniature & Islamic Illumination. She trained in the art of traditional painting under the supervision of a number of great masters in Iran #IWD2023
7/ For visual artist Margi Lake, the beauty, mystery & genius of Islamic geometric patterns is timeless & universal. They express the principles & realities that govern the cosmos, the natural world & human nature #IWD2023
8/ Artist @_99khxn has a passion for Islamic architecture, history & heritage. She explores this in her magnificent paintings of Mosques from around the world #IWD2023
10/ Shaimaa Osman is a Dutch-born, North African Sudanese junior doctor & artist based in Devon
Interested in the universal & personal connections found in maps, she takes a creative approach to Islamic art, exploring calligraphy & collage #IWD2023
11/From the Hejaz in Saudi artist @saralabdali views herself as a caretaker of the region’s culture. Her appreciation for the land, architecture & heritage of her home is a recurring theme & she illustrates the changing local Islamic architecture #IWD2023
12/ UK based artist and educator @samira_mian has a distinct passion for Islamic geometry. A teacher of mathematics with Islamic Geometry, she has created a contemporary take on tradition, promoting her art both in the U.K & internationally #IWD2023
14/ Naseeba Khader is a Mississauga based artist whose passion is Islamic art & architecture. She is on a quest to absorb & learn as much as possible, & to translate that knowledge with her pen or paintbrush #IWD2023
15/ Based in London @ArtofthePen is an internationally renowned classically trained calligrapher. Her work pushes the boundaries of what is expected from this traditional art form. Soraya was awarded the sought-after icazetname from Istanbul #IWD2023
16/ Artist @kellyizdihar uses her art to express the social issues that she is passionate about. The visual arts are a great vehicle for social change, & through her work she’s been able to facilitate difficult but necessary discussions #IWD2023
17/ Known for her ingenious use of colour & mastery of Islamic geometry, biomorphic patterns & illumination @EsraAlhamalArt is an artist & researcher based in London. Her work reinterprets traditional practices in contemporary ways #IWD2023
18/ U.K based artist @fzhassan is an expert miniature painter trained in traditional Indo-Islamic, Mughal & Persian painting. Taking a modern twist on this tradition, she teaches & exhibits her work in galleries & museums #IWD2023
19/ Known for her minimalist, abstract, artworks that draw together elements of language, spirituality and traditional Islamic art, artist @Lulwah_AlHomoud uses calligraphy & mathematical processes to form her own visual language #IWD2023
20/ UK based educator and mixed-media artist @handofayesha work is focussed on modern Arabic lettering and abstract art, which she uses to showcase beauty, and express her love for the written word #IWD2023
21/ Bangladeshi-born British textile artist and designer @ReziaWahidWeave is passionate about the traditional craft of weaving, which she relates Islamic art through seeking to capture the divine light #IWD2023
22/ Artist @elisadeaneart is a painter who uses traditional techniques to make work with an entirely contemporary aesthetic. Her use of colours & brushwork are inspired by Islamic geometry & the miniature painting traditions of India & Iran #IWD2023
23/ Artist @shaheenkahmed has a passion for Islamic art. She explores social justice through her work & empathy is central to her practice. Shaheen uses maps as a tool for conversation #IWD2023
24/ Saudi/Egyptian artist @ShahadNazer work makes you stop, take notice and reflect.
Her digital collage artworks contemplate social messages, highlight feminist issues, and raise ideas that concern the youth, particularly young women #IWD2023
25/ Artist @zahragulraizart uses Arabic Calligraphy in her own bold and distinctive style to spread positive energy into people’s surroundings. Along with her striking use of colours, she focuses around quotes that uplift and inspire #IWD2023
26/ UK based artist @jennifa_nahar is fascinated by Islamic patterns. Through her work she challenges the possibilities of print and textiles. She is an experienced printed textile practitioner, & has an interest in origami and paper sculptures #IWD2023
28/Bryn Edmonston is a self-taught artist specializing in colorful geometric layered paper cutouts, putting a contemporary twist on an ancestral art form. Her work is inspired by the tiling and plaster carvings of Southern Spain #IWD2023
29/ Aziza Iqbal is an Indian Islamic visual artist based in Doha, Qatar>A passion for sacred geometry, Aziza uses both traditional & digital media to create vibrant, contemporary geometric compositions, drawn & painted using classical techniques #IWD2023
30/ Tasneem Afaneh is a Palestinian self-taught artist who lives in Jerusalem. It has always been her aspiration to create art, and her heritage is a key influence in her work #IWD2023
31/ Maryam Souza is a Brazilian Muslim Islamic artist. She lives in São Bernardo do Campo, where one of the largest Muslim communities in Brazil is located. Her work is inspired by her Brazillian heritage, Islamic illumination & Qur'anic verses #IWD2023
32/ Artist Sara Choudhrey explores themes of space and place in her work through shapes and pattern. Sara’s practice involves the construction & application of patterns, where geometry & natural forms are reference points to the cosmos & universe #IWD2023
33/ Born in Pakistan, raised in the Middle East & having lived & worked in North America and Europe, Sara Mir, is an Islamic artist with a mystic soul who believes that everything in creation is interconnected and a sign of Divinity #IWD2023
34/ Artist @halimacassell is one of the UK’s most distinctive, & dynamic ceramicists & sculptors. Her work is instantly recognizable due to her bold designs, crisp carving & intuitive understanding inspired by geometry, architecture & nature #IWD2023
35/ Lieve Oudejans was born and raised in the Netherlands where she works as a PhD student in the field of cancer biology. Since 2019 she has been practicing Islamic geometric art and is continuously learning #IWD2023
36/ Sandy Kurt's passion for Islamic geometry began in 2016 with an online course, an old compass and some cheap watercolours. An educator & artist, her complex geometry has inspired thousands of artists to get started #IWD2023
37/ Fatima Taher Jewad is an ink artist & Arabic calligrapher, originally from Iraq & raised in the UK. She creates unique, vibrant and soothing ink artwork with Islamic calligraphy as a form of therapy #IWD2023
38/ Farzaneh Ebadifard is a Persian miniature painter based in Germany. Farzaneh has painted professionally since 2000, working with diverse materials. Farzaneh has exhibited in Iran & Germany & teaches Persian miniature painting #IWD2023
39/ Born in Tehran & based in the USA, Behnaz Karjoo In 2011, is a master in Illumination. Behnaz believes that illumination, although a traditional art, is open to expansion. She strives to portray this art in new ways #IWD2023
40/ Siddiqa Juma is a critically acclaimed, multi-award-winning contemporary Islamic artist, graphic designer and publisher. Siddiqa believes the purpose of her art is to unite people - regardless of creed or colour #IWD2023
41/ @Haneefah is a self taught contemporary artist living & working in Nigeria. Her work reflects issues of identity, culture & representation. She captures experiences by utilizing both traditional & unconventional mediums to tell her stories #IWD2023
42/ @shreedaisy is a painter and translator of Hindi and Urdu literature, living in northern New England. She paints under the takhallus, or alias, Lapata (pronounced ‘laapataa’), which is Urdu for “missing,” or “absconded.” #IWD2023
43/ Natalie Fisher is a self-taught needlepoint artist from Sydney, Australia. Her work has been exhibited in galleries and museums but also in non-traditional spaces like Persian Rug showrooms, mosques & Islamic arts festivals #IWD2023
44/ Samra Bashir is a Pakistani artist based in Chicago, Illinois. She specialises in glass as her creative medium, and her exquisite glass paintings depict stunning Islamic art while shining a spotlight on Pakistan's rich and diverse culture #IWD2023
45/ Ayesha Gamiet is an artist, illustrator and art educator, living and working in the South East of England. @handofayesha work is inspired by traditional arts of the world and the beauty of nature #IWD2023
46/ Raanaz Shahid is a multi-award-winning artist from the United Kingdom. Her work is heavily influenced by her British, Asian and Islamic roots, which have allowed her to create a style and aesthetic that is entirely unique and entirely her own #IWD2023
47/ Tehreem Pasha was born in Karachi and now lives in Dubai. A passion for the Islamic Arts and everything to do with it, she went from graphic design to learning about Islamic traditional arts. Tehreem is a geometer and a trained calligrapher #IWD2023
48/ Shafina Ali is a versatile creative Islamic artist who designs hand-painted modern and traditional Islamic art on canvas and specialised paper. Her paintings are primarily based off the masterpieces of Islamic history #IWD2023
49/ Saudi artist Ghada Al Muhammedi tells her version of the history of Arab culture & architecture by expressing its rich symbolism through her art. Her paintings exude romance & poetry relating to the unique journeys of the modern Arabian woman #IWD2023
50/ Nagihan Seymour is a British Turkish artist specialised in Tezhip, the art of illumination & sacred geometry. Although originally a materials engineer @NagihanSeymour has been interested in art since her university years, studying traditional arts in her hometown of Istanbul
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Arabic is one of the most romantic languages. It has at least 11 words for love and each of them conveys a different stage in the process of falling in love.
For Arabic Language Day, a thread on expressions of love in Arabic…
1/ Habibi or Habibti (حبيبي/حبيبتي)
In Arabic, habibi (masculine) and habibti (feminine) means “my love”. Arabs use this as the most common expression of love - for friends, family, and sometimes, even strangers.
#ArabicLanguageDay
2/ Rohi (روحي)
Rohi means “my soul mate”. So calling someone rohi means you’ll love them a lot longer than your life - for eternity
Khalil Gibran (1881-1931) is a Lebanese-American poet, writer, and philosopher, who bridged the soul’s longing for truth with the world’s eternal search for wisdom.
Born in what is now modern-day Lebanon, Gibran moved to the United States as a young man, where he became an influential voice in both Eastern and Western literary traditions. His most famous work, The Prophet (1923), is a collection of 26 poetic essays that explores timeless themes such as love, freedom, work, and spirituality. Written in a lyrical, mystical style, The Prophet has been translated into more than 100 languages and remains one of the most widely read and beloved books of the 20th century. Gibran’s blend of Eastern mysticism and Western romanticism appealed to readers seeking spiritual and philosophical guidance.
Gibran’s impact on global literature and philosophy is immense, as his works transcend cultural and religious boundaries. His ideas about the interconnectedness of all humanity, the pursuit of personal freedom, and the power of love resonated with readers from diverse backgrounds. Gibran’s writings have influenced spiritual movements, literary circles, and even political discourse, especially in the Arab world where he is considered one of the most influential writers of modern Arabic literature. His philosophy emphasizes the universality of human experience, bridging the gap between East and West, and his poetic vision continues to inspire generations of thinkers, artists, and spiritual seekers worldwide.
Mariam Astrulabi was a pioneering female Muslim scientist & astronomer, born in Syria during the 10th century. She is known for developing Astrolabes, an ancient astronomical computer for solving problems related to time & position of the sun & stars
A thread on Mariam Astrulabi
1/ Mariam al Astrulabi's remarkable contribution to the art of astrolabes has largely been ignored by the world. What she achieved in the 10th century consequently helped several generations of scientists to explore the concept of time and space.
Astrolabe @HSMOxford
@HSMOxford 2/ Astrolabes were beneficial in determining the position of the sun, moon, stars & the planets. They were used in astronomy, astrology & horoscopes. Muslims would specifically use it to find the Qibla, determine prayer times & the initial days of Ramadan and Eid
Did you know Mosque ceilings are designed to reflect the magnificence of the universe?
Here are spectacular details of 24 Mosque ceilings from around the world…
A thread…
1/ Jami Mosque, Andijan, Uzbekistan
The construction of the madrasah began in 1883 and lasted for 7 years. It has a gorgeous fretwork of wooden columns supporting a ceiling decorated with bright patterns made of a combination of geometrical ornaments & vegetal elements
Construction of the mosque started in 1603 and was finished in 1619. Built by the chief architect Mohammadreza Isfahani, during the reign of Shah Abbas I of Persia. Beautiful interior dome details
Ever wondered who paved the way for the age of algorithms?
It was a 9th-century Muslim genius, mathematician, geographer & astronomer, Abu Abdallah Muhammad ibn Musa Al-Khwarizmi - also known as the Father of Algebra
A thread on the incredible Muhammad ibn Musa Al-Khwarizmi…
1/ Even the term algorithm is Al-Khwarizmi translated into Latin!
The scientist and mathematician Muhammad ibn Musa Al-Khwarizmi lived from 780 to 850 AD in Persia and Iraq.
2/ Al-Khwarizmi's most significant contribution to mathematics was the development of algebra. His book, "Kitab al-Jabr wal-Muqabala" (The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing), introduced systematic methods for solving linear and quadratic equations.
Did you know that the Persian scholar of medicine, Ibn Sina (980-1037) suspected some diseases were spread by microorganisms.
To prevent human-to-human contamination, he came up with a method of isolating people for 40 days.
A thread on Ibn Sina & his impact on modern science…
1/ Ibn Sina, also known to the Latin West as Avicenna, was a Persian polymath and one of the most influential Islamic philosophers, physicians, and scientists of the medieval period. He was born in 980 CE in present-day Uzbekistan and passed away in 1037 CE in Iran.
2/ Ibn Sina's medical works had a profound impact on European medicine. His most renowned work in medicine is "The Canon of Medicine" (Al-Qanun fi al-Tibb), considered one of the most influential medical texts in history. It consists of five books & covers a range of medical topics