: The role of Art, Architecture, and Women in the Islamic World ?In many countries, Islamic women are educated, socially active, and pursue careers of their choosing, whereas other Muslim women are oppressed and denied not only basic human rights, but also the rights accorded to them by their faith and holy teachings. Islam came into being in a world where the most basic needs of women were consistently subjugated.
Prior to the introduction of Islam, women were subordinate to men, in almost every way, regardless of the region or faith. The Quran condemned female infanticide, required that women give consent to marriage and rights to divorce and provided women with the right to own and manage their own property. The Quran also expresses two main views on the role of women. It both stresses the equality of women and men before God in terms of their religious duties.The roles and rights of women as set out in the Quran were innovative, providing clear legal protections for women and setting out guidelines and responsibilities for their spouses, including fair treatment, adequate financial support and even sexual compatibility.
Moreover, the two genders were clearly equals in the eyes of Allah, both in the creation story and elsewhere in the Quran. While men and women have different roles within Muslim society, they are not inherently unequal ones.The introduction of the Quran brought about revolutionary changes in the daily lives of women. While motherhood and the role of women in the home are respected, women in Islam have often had very public roles.
The Quran requires that daughters be educated, and historically, Muslim women have been political leaders, scholars, teachers and doctors. The local culture may have more impact on the roles of Muslim women in public than their faith. ?There is a saying of the Islamic "God is Beautiful and Loves Beauty".The architecture and visual arts of the populations that adopted Islam from the 7th century. Islamic visual arts are decorative, colorful, and generally nonrepresentational; the characteristic Islamic decoration is the arabesque.
From 750 CE to the mid-11th century, ceramics, glass, metalwork, textiles, illuminated manuscripts, and woodwork flourished; lustered glass became the greatest Islamic contribution to ceramics. Manuscript illumination became an important and greatly respected art, and miniature painting flourished in Iran after the Mongol invasions (1220 – 60).Calligraphy, an essential aspect of written Arabic, developed in manuscripts and architectural decoration. Islamic architecture finds its highest expression in the mosque and related religious buildings.
Early Islamic religious architecture drew upon Christian architectural features such as domes, columnar arches, and mosaics, but also included large courtyards for congregational prayer. Religious architecture came into its own in the period of the caliphates with the creation of the hypostyle mosque in Iraq and Egypt.
