Inspired by the East: When you cannot escape the discourse of Orientalism! 2

The Prayer 

Zeinab Abdelhamed

In this part, I would like to look at one of the examples that the exhibition had. The Prayer (see figure 1) by Frederick Arthur Bridgman. An American, who was celebrated for his use of detail, such as here the carpet and shoes, and respect for Islam. Indeed you can clearly see the details of this work of art. My quest was to what extinct this painting represents in any way the Islamic world or culture the co-curator talked about. From the first look, one can notice the influence of Christian art in the depiction of Jesus on the position of the main figure. On the contrary to the prayer position in Islam. (See figure 2).

Figure 1 ( The Prayer)

               A great number of Orientalists for nearly a century applied themselves to the study and the scrutiny of Islamic art and architecture. They did a magnificent job regarding classification such as place of origin, the period of production, styles, and so on and so forth. This was a great achievement, but it has drastically undermined the wider understanding and discourse of Islamic art and architecture-- especially in terms of the connections of Islamic art and architecture to Islam as a religion. Islam, the world's third monotheistic faith, was born and developed in the Arabic Peninsula in the seventh century. Islam is not only a religion but a way of life; Islam fostered the development of a distinctive culture with its own unique artistic language that is reflected in art and architecture throughout the Muslim world. Mainly, Islam bears witness that there is no God but God, “Tawhid,” and attributes everything and anything to him and him alone. This, of course,  includes all art and architecture. This fundamental idea was omitted in the classification discourse that was defined by Western art and architectural historical approach with severe limits of knowledge about the language, culture, and religion of the East. The unfortunate outcome of this bias was a forcible compression of Islamic art and architecture with Christian art and architecture in the massive catalogs and classifying materials that were produced.

figure 2 ( praying positions in Islam)

Towards a new perspective

In his article, Grabar, mentioned that “The views and opinions which are here expressed were developed as a Western observer sought to understand art. They do not derive from a Muslim experience, and it is indeed a problem faced by nearly all scholars in the field…

By the implication from this, there is a sense that deep Muslim experience is necessary in order to fully understand the Islamic art and architecture.

To conclude, in a post-colonial phase, scholars of Islamic Art and Architecture should bring a critical eye to the study of the Orientalists’ methodology and statements.My recommendation as a student and future scholar who will write in this domain is to take into consideration the achievements of the medieval Muslim world and its identity as shaped by Islam, and the essentiality of liberating Islamic art and architecture from the ill-informed confines of the Orientalist construct. This new perspective should include critical analysis of classification methodology elements that have been deeply entrenched in generations of discourse on Islamic Art and Architecture.

P.S. Thank you, Suzy! 

Reference:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g56M4dDOde4

• Said, Edward W. 1978. Orientalism. New York: Pantheon Books.
• Grabar, Oleg. "What Makes Islamic Art Islamic?" In Islamic Art and Beyond, volume III, Constructing the Study of Islamic Art. Hampshire: Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2006. First published in AARP, 9 (1976)