bismillahir rahmanir rahim

It is Allah Who made your habitations

Homes of rest and quiet

For you; and made for you,

Out of the skins of animals,

Tents for dwellings, which

Ye find so light and handy

When ye travel and when

Ye stop in your travels,

And out of their wool,

And their soft fibres

Between wool and hair,

And their hair, rich stuff

And articles of convenience

To serve you for a time.

---

“Although the flatweaving of rugs pre-dates the coming of Mohammed, the Islamic religion has given nomads and villagers a system of existence that, far from suppressing the believers’ artistry, has unleashed a flood of creativity in their arts and crafts ...The sophistication of the decorative arts of the Muslim world is reflected in the colours and the patterns of the kilims .... they represent the work and wealth of communities living humble lives in harsh conditions.” 

(Hull & Luczyc-Wyhowska p 8)

Within the western market for oriental carpets, Moroccan rugs are apparently not valued in the same way as work from Turkey, Iran or Afghanistan. Hull & Luczyc-Wyhowska consider Moroccan textiles to be “less significant”  (3) - a statement which would appear to warrant some explanation. Perhaps their designs are less floral and organic than their eastern counterparts; they are more African and consequently less “antique”; they then fit more comfortably into the idea that African art is somehow more pagan, more functional, more backward looking than its Middle Eastern and European equivalents.

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, our eyes educated by Gaugin, Matisse, Delacroix and Picasso, we ought to be in a better position to view the arts of the world with a less orientalist or anthropological caste.

Delacroix, Moroccan interior

It upsets the western historical narrative if we must acknowledge that the European Renaissance would not have been possible without the high art, science and learning passed to it by the muslim libraries of Toledo and Baghdad; that the renaissance would have been less likely had the rulers of Europe succeeded in obliterating the muslim heritage.

This ambivalence was and is evident in the western appreciation of the Alhambra as a “pleasure palace”. To the minds of some westerners it was inconceivable that the splendour of these courtyards could serve any religious purpose; if Washington Irving can be said to have paid an important role in preserving the Alhambra it was done by titillating the readers imagination with stories of luxury and passion.

But today, the millions of people who visit the Palace easily understand the objectives of the muslims and return home to their own gardens inspired to create small havens of peace and contemplation.

Islamic art is a trojan horse in the midst of western society, it is neutralised by regular and ritualistic assaults upon the ideas behind it; we are allowed to appreciate the decoration of the Alhambra (with verses from the Qu’ran) but our guides do not trouble us with the meanings of these words and allow us instead, flights of fancy.

And whilst the renaissance is partly seen as a triumph of reason over religion, how can Europeans accept that the fruits of Islamic learning were obtained by a totally different path or that the Christian churches were in some way regressive whereas Islamic society nurtured the intellect?

The western historical narrative rests upon the idea that progress comes from a separation of Church and State and from this will follow democracy, freedom of the individual, freedom of speech, primacy of law and science ....... in this view, (as recently expressedby Sr Berlusconi), Islam cannot be right because it is medieval in its insistence upon the unity of state and religion.

When we look at these textiles we must resist any temptation to look down upon the society which produced them and put aside a purely western interpretation of history. Instead of idealising pastoral societies we can examine and learn the values of these communities through their art and religion.