The Mesmerizing Architecture of Mosques (2014)
medium.com
medium.com
Arabic Calligraphy is central to Islamic Art, and usually verses from Qur'an are intricately carved out on the walls and doors. Islamic architecture also has subtle hints-- like 5 windows might represent the infallible 5 of Shi'a Islam; or a 100 pillars might represent the 100 exalted names of God. There's a lot of thought that goes into those patterns as well as choice of Qur'anic verses, and placement of decorations.
My favourite books on the topic are analysis of two Grand Mosques built in Fatimid Architectural style, by an Indian scholar:
1 A Living Testimony to the Fatemiyeen: https://amzn.com/0953927008
2 A Vision of the Fatemiyeen: https://amzn.com/0953927016
So far, Iranian mosques take the cake for me - often inside they make their mosaics from mirrors. The effect is startling - the reflections are nothing short of dazzling, you have the feeling to be in an Escher arrangement. The 'best' part, is that in photographs, the effect is totally lost.
Very recently, I traveled across China, and specifically to its muslim regions. What was fascinating was the variety and beauty of their mosques. It's totally crazy to see minarets built in a Chinese temple style.
For those interested: http://imgur.com/a/AXhma
I was under the impression (very possibly mistaken) that you couldn't depict human or animal forms in Islamic Art/Architecture and hence the prevalence of amazingly intricate geometry and calligraphy adorning Mosques.
However I see some elaborate murals with human and animal depictions in the 5th and 9th photos in the article.
Am I mistaken in my assumption? Are there restrictions on what can or cannot be depicted in Islamic Art?
By contrast, Shi'a Islam tends to take a much more lenient view on this issue. In Sunni Islam, making images of Muhammad is considered gravely wrong, whereas many Shi'a authorities consider it permissible so long as the image is made out of respect and devotion.
Much of Sufism also takes a more lenient view of religious iconography.
I remember that when I was in elementary school my class had a teaching intern who was an observant Muslim woman and consistently wore a hijab. Our regular teacher told us that we students should refrain from drawing pictures of the intern out of respect to her religious beliefs (this being the 1980s, the prospect of taking cell phone camera photos didn't really come up). I never found out whether this request was something that she specifically asked for, or something that the teacher had assumed or guessed at.
1 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chehel_Sotoun 2 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vakil_Bath 3 - http://metro.co.uk/2016/04/09/25-incredible-photos-that-show...