Oleg Grabar

the nation based approach of the arts. However, this is not the only reason they didn’t use the concept of a holistic Islamic art, for it can have certainly have to do with the nation that this unity in Islamic art, and the whole term of Islamic art, is a Western construction of a concept. This thesis will not cover the motivations and reasons for the nation based approach, but will touch the subjects since it covers the construction of terms and unity. Not all motives for seeing Islamic art as a unity were constructed in a European past; when looking at visual aspects, some scholars see the resemblances, although acknowledging the differences as well. Oleg Grabar wrote that “…[A]ll of them [Islamic art objects] possess what is called in French an “air de famille”, a relatable series of formal and other characteristics.” (Grabar, 1993, p. xx). Director of the David Collection in Copenhagen Kjeld von Folsach said there are a couple of “unifying elements” that justify the “fairly homogeneous phenomenon” of Islamic art (Folsach, 2001, p. 17). Not all elements he provides are legit reasons however. He gives the climate as a unifying factor but the climates “Islamic art” has been produced in stretches from snowy mountains to sandy deserts. The catalogue from/of the Islamic Art Museum in Doha mentions that “The differences … were united by a force of spirit with its own distinctive visual expression, through rich variations also flourished ...” (Khemir, 2006, p. 11). This…

Canada’s South Asian population engages in Islamic celebration to contribute to Muslim identity as it helps them reassert their identity as a Muslim within Canada. Amongst the South Asian Muslim population in Urban Canada, there is a strong sense of community. South Asian Muslims particularly standout as Canada is a popular immigration location for middle and upper class families. This is likely due to the fact that they have access to French and English institutions, are successful in entering…

certain writers like Massignon and his distaste for others. A more hostile critique comes from Lewis who critiques Said for focusing narrowly on British and French imperialism, in which Lewis believes, is “arbitrary.” Lewis then continues to state that Said had displayed a general lack of knowledge of what scholarship was that he bogged readers down with repetitive synonyms. Lewis continues that discuss how he believed that Said had rearranged history and added in texts from different sources…