We often think of writing and art as two separate mediums, but can’t handwriting itself be an art form? Younasse Tarbouni, associate professor of Arabic at the University of Washington, led a workshop on Arabic calligraphy, a style of expression that brings art and writing together to meet at an expertly harmonious intersection, Thursday and […]
Students in Tamil and Mandarin schools can choose to study khatt. The Ministry of Education wanted to make it compulsory in elementary schools. Critics had accused the government of trying to “Islamize” education. Identity politics play an important role in the country. Kuala Lumpur (AsiaNews/Agencies) – The Malaysian authorities have backtracked Mandatory Khatt calligraphy in […]
The Khalil Agha School, Egypt’s oldest specialized institute of Arabic calligraphy, is struggling to survive as fewer and fewer people are interested in learning calligraphy. Many calligraphy institutes have already closed their doors. “The numbers are decreasing every year due to the lack of available job opportunities, the rise of technology and the labor market […]
Algeria’s Supreme Islamic Council, considered the country’s highest religious authority, has sparked national controversy over its attempt to enshrine Berber languages in Arabic letters. The Amazigh tribes, who have lobbied for their languages to be recognized as official, have expressed strong objection to their dialects being written in Arabic letters, saying they want Latin inscriptions […]
JEDDAH: The Kashidah Project offers Arabic calligraphy lessons to help resolve the current disconnect with Arabic language culture that many young people experience. Kashidah offers a three-month course to teach Arabic calligraphy to children and adults, as well as a creative calligraphy toolkit to help students learn. From the steps to sharpen the pen to […]
Ayet El-Korsy (The Throne Verse) from the Holy Quran drawn with horse-shaped Arabic calligraphy – photo courtesy of flickr CAIRO – February 14, 2018: The Arabic language is an ancient strong language that is used by millions of human beings and also one of the most expressive languages in literature, but the artistic value of […]
DOHA: The Qatar Islamic Cultural Center (Fanar) of the Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs is set to offer Arabic courses for non-speakers at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, in accordance with the center’s partnerships with a number of city universities of education. Fanar has signed an agreement with CMU-Q that will allow the center’s […]
Several general points should be noted:Arabic is written from right to left, unlike English.One thing you have to get used to in Arabic script is that short vowels, for example a, i, or u (as opposed to the long vowels aa, uu, and ii), are not displayed in the script. For now, get used to […]