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76-571: The museum is particularly noted for its collection of Islamic art from the 8th to the 19th century, which is one of the largest in Northern Europe. The museum also holds fine and applied art from Europe in the 18th century and the Danish Golden Age as well as a small collection of Danish early modern art. All the works of art in the collection of Danish early modern art were acquired by C. L. David himself. From 2006 to 2009

152-729: A prayer rug , which would provide a clean place to pray). They have been a major export to other areas since the late Middle Ages, used to cover not only floors but tables, for long a widespread European practice that is now common only in the Netherlands . Carpet weaving is a rich and deeply embedded tradition in Islamic societies, and the practice is seen in large city factories as well as in rural communities and nomadic encampments. In earlier periods, special establishments and workshops were in existence that functioned directly under court patronage. Very early Islamic carpets, i.e. those before

228-527: A Muslim is a person who has dedicated his worship exclusively to God, for just as we say in Arabic that something is ‘ salima ’ to a person, meaning that it became solely his own, so in the same way ‘ Islām ’ means making one's religion and faith God's alone. In several places in the Quran , the word muslim conveys a universal meaning, beyond the description of the followers of Muhammad , for example: "Abraham

304-411: A cup seated upon a lion throne, similar to that of Solomon. A late 12th–13th century bowl depicts an enthroned Seljuk ruler with messengers to either side and headed winged jinn . Other usage of early figurative arts are illustrations of animal fables. Many of them are of Sanskrit origin and translated into Middle Persian in the sixth century for delight, ethical discussion, and political edification. In

380-424: A design may have figurative painting of animals or single human figures. These were often part of designs mostly made up of tiles in plain colours, but with larger fully painted tiles at intervals. The larger tiles are often shaped as eight-pointed stars, and may show animals or a human head or bust, or plant or other motifs. The geometric patterns, such as modern North African zellij work, made of small tiles each of

456-485: A large and widespread village and nomadic industry producing work that stayed closer to traditional local designs. As well as pile carpets, kelims and other types of flat-weave or embroidered textiles were produced, for use on both floors and walls. Figurative designs, sometimes with large human figures, are very popular in Islamic countries but relatively rarely exported to the West, where abstract designs are generally what

532-498: A major refurbishment and rearrangement of the collections. It reopened on 15 May 2009. The architect Carl Petersen was responsible for the first rebuilding of the top floor, where the roof was given a steeper pitch so as to create adequate space for two large, skylighted rooms. This rebuilding was completed around 1920. Part of the top floor was made into three rooms, finished in neo-classical style with partly coffered ceilings , tall panels , and patterned parquet floors . Two of

608-551: A person. Among Asharites , it is also seen as a sign of humility and the individual's longing to improve, because the creature has no assurance of their own state (of belief) until the end of life. The Qur'an describes many prophets and messengers within Judaism and Christianity , and their respective followers, as Muslim. Some of those that were mentioned are: Adam , Noah , Abraham , Ishmael , Jacob , Moses , and Jesus and his apostles are all considered to be Muslims in

684-499: A person. Fellow Muslims can only accept the personal declaration of faith. Only the Khawārij developed an understanding of Muslim identity based mainly on the adherence to liturgical and legal norms. When asked about one's beliefs, it is recommended to say the Istit̲h̲nāʾ , for example, " in-sha'allah I am Muslim a believer" (so God will, I am Muslim), since only God knows the future of

760-453: A rich tradition, especially in Persian , Mughal and Ottoman painting . These pictures were often meant to illustrate well-known historical or poetic stories. Some interpretations of Islam, however, include a ban of depiction of animate beings, also known as aniconism. Islamic aniconism stems in part from the prohibition of idolatry and in part from the belief that creation of living forms

836-431: A show of humility by artists who believe only God can produce perfection, although this theory has also been disputed. East Persian pottery from the 9th to 11th centuries, decorated only with highly stylised inscriptions and called "epigraphic ware", has been described as "probably the most refined and sensitive of all Persian pottery". Large inscriptions made from tiles, sometimes with the letters raised in relief , or

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912-704: A significant influence on Islamic painting, pottery, and textiles. From its beginnings, Islamic art has been based on the written version of the Quran and other seminal religious works, which is reflected by the important role of calligraphy, representing the word as the medium of divine revelation. Religious Islamic art has been typically characterized by the absence of figures and extensive use of calligraphic , geometric and abstract floral patterns. Nevertheless, representations of human and animal forms historically flourished in nearly all Islamic cultures, although, partly because of opposing religious sentiments, living beings in paintings were often stylized, giving rise to

988-494: A single colour but different and regular shapes, are often referred to as " mosaic ", which is not strictly correct. Muslims Muslims ( Arabic : المسلمون , romanized :  al-Muslimūn , lit.   'submitters [to God ]') are people who adhere to Islam , a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran , the foundational religious text of Islam, to be

1064-482: A single colour that are either cut to shape or are small and of a few shapes, used to create abstract geometric patterns. Later large painted schemes use tiles painted before firing with a part of the scheme – a technique requiring confidence in the consistent results of firing. Some elements, especially the letters of inscriptions, may be moulded in three-dimensional relief , and in especially in Persia certain tiles in

1140-514: A strict aversion to depiction of God throughout Islamic tradition. No Islamic artistic product has become better known outside the Islamic world than the pile carpet, more commonly referred to as the Oriental carpet ( oriental rug ). Their versatility is utilized in everyday Islamic and Muslim life, from floor coverings to architectural enrichment, from cushions to bolsters to bags and sacks of all shapes and sizes, and to religious objects (such as

1216-447: A variety of decorative figural designs. Both religious and secular art objects often exhibit the same references, styles and forms. These include calligraphy, architecture, textiles and furnishings, such as carpets and woodwork. Secular arts and crafts include the production of textiles, such as clothing, carpets or tents, as well as household objects, made from metal, wood or other materials. Further, figurative miniature paintings have

1292-685: Is "Muslim". For most of the 20th century, the preferred spelling in English was "Moslem", but this has now fallen into disuse. That spelling and its pronunciation was opposed by many Muslims in English-speaking countries because it resembled the Arabic word aẓ-ẓālim ( الظَّالِم ), meaning "the oppressor". In the United States, the Associated Press instructed news outlets to switch to the spelling "Muslim" in 1991, making it

1368-651: Is God's prerogative. Although the concept of "Islamic art" has been put into question by some modern art historians as a construct of Western cultural views, the similarities between art produced at widely different times and places in the Muslim world, especially in the Islamic Golden Age , have been sufficient to keep the term in wide use as a useful classification since the late 19th century. Scholars such as Jacelyn K. Kerner have drawn attention to its wide-ranging scope referring to more than 40 nations and to

1444-436: Is a part of Islamic culture and encompasses the visual arts produced since the 7th century CE by people who lived within territories inhabited or ruled by Muslim populations. Referring to characteristic traditions across a wide range of lands, periods, and genres, Islamic art is a concept used first by Western art historians in the late 19th century. Public Islamic art is traditionally non- representational , except for

1520-637: Is meant to include "all of the arts produced by Muslim peoples, whether connected with their religion or not." Calligraphic design is omnipresent in Islamic art, where, as in Europe in the Middle Ages , religious exhortations, including Qur'anic verses, may be included in secular objects, especially coins, tiles and metalwork, and most painted miniatures include some script, as do many buildings. Use of Islamic calligraphy in architecture extended significantly outside of Islamic territories; one notable example

1596-422: Is no god [worthy of worship] except Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah." In Sunni Islam , the shahada has two parts: la ilaha illa'llah (there is no god but Allah ), and Muhammadun rasul Allah ( Muhammad is the messenger of God), which are sometimes referred to as the first shahada and the second shahada . The first statement of the shahada is also known as the tahlīl . In Shia Islam ,

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1672-399: Is the active participle of the same verb of which islām is a verbal noun , based on the triliteral S-L-M "to be whole, intact". A female adherent is a muslima ( Arabic : مسلمة ) (also transliterated as "Muslimah" ). The plural form in Arabic is muslimūn ( مسلمون ) or muslimīn ( مسلمين ), and its feminine equivalent is muslimāt ( مسلمات ). The ordinary word in English

1748-549: Is the use of Chinese calligraphy of Arabic verses from the Qur'an in the Great Mosque of Xi'an . Other inscriptions include verses of poetry, and inscriptions recording ownership or donation. Two of the main scripts involved are the symbolic kufic and naskh scripts, which can be found adorning and enhancing the visual appeal of the walls and domes of buildings, the sides of minbars , and metalwork. Islamic calligraphy in

1824-585: The Shahada in front of Muslim witnesses, one of the Five Pillars of Islam , a declaration of faith and trust that professes that there is only one God ( Allah ) and that Muhammad is God's messenger. It is a set statement normally recited in Arabic: ašhadu ʾan-lā ʾilāha ʾillā-llāhu wa ʾašhadu ʾanna muħammadan rasūlu-llāh ( أشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وأشهد أن محمداً رسول الله ) "I testify that there

1900-492: The Abbasid Caliphate (c. 749–1258). Prior to the early 14th century, a halo was a common symbol to designate rulers. Under Asian influence, the halo as a symbol of sacredness was replaced by a flame. Reminiscent of the Islamic prophet Solomon, rulers were often depicted as sitting on a throne endowed with religious symbols. An ivory casket carved in early eleventh century Cordova shows a Spanish Muslim ruler holding

1976-709: The Americas . Additionally, in subdivided geographical regions, the figure stands at: 91% of the Middle East–North Africa , 90% of Central Asia , 65% of the Caucasus , 42% of Southeast Asia , 32% of South Asia , and 42% of sub-Saharan Africa . While, there are several Islamic schools and branches , as well as non-denominational Muslims , the two largest denominations are Sunni Islam (75–90% of all Muslims) and Shia Islam (10–20% of all Muslims). By sheer numbers, South Asia accounts for

2052-401: The Five Pillars of Islam : the declaration of faith ( shahadah ), daily prayers ( salah ), almsgiving ( zakat ), fasting during the month of Ramadan ( sawm ), and the pilgrimage to Mecca ( hajj ) at least once in a lifetime. The majority of theological traditions of Islam accept that works do not determine if someone is a Muslim or not. God alone would know about the belief of

2128-488: The Persianate world, especially for poetry, and Turkish , with Urdu appearing in later centuries. Calligraphers usually had a higher status than other artists. For a long time, Islam was considered aniconic. Existing pictures among the Muslim royalty have been described as an "aberration" by Thomas Walker Arnold and ascribed to only a later Persinate and Turkic cultural period. However, figurative arts existed since

2204-464: The Reconquista . Armenian carpet -weaving is mentioned by many early sources, and may account for a much larger proportion of East Turkish and Caucasian production than traditionally thought. The Berber carpets of North Africa have a distinct design tradition. Apart from the products of city workshops, in touch with trading networks that might carry the carpets to markets far away, there was also

2280-614: The Tawrat ( Torah ) to the prophets and messengers amongst the Children of Israel , the Zabur ( Psalms ) to David and the Injil ( Gospel ) to Jesus, who are all considered important Muslim prophets . The most populous Muslim-majority country is Indonesia, home to 12.7% of the world's Muslims, followed by Pakistan (11.0%), Bangladesh (9.2%), Nigeria (5.3%) and Egypt (4.9%). About 20% of

2356-696: The 13th century, strongly influencing the Ottoman miniature of Turkey and the Mughal miniature in India. The term "Persian miniature" refers whereby to the language used to decorate the images, and should not obscure its ties to Arabic imagery. Siyah Qalam (Black Pen), frequently depicts anecdotes charged with Islamic imagery about the animal souls ( nafs ) and the " ruling soul " ( rūḥ ). Most human characters are clothed like dervishes and bearded like ascetics in Islamic tradition. Animals often feature as symbol of

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2432-409: The 16th and 17th centuries are still produced in large numbers today. The description of older carpets has tended to use the names of carpet-making centres as labels, but often derived from the design rather than any actual evidence that they originated from around that centre. Research has clarified that designs were by no means always restricted to the centre they are traditionally associated with, and

2508-549: The 16th century, are extremely rare. More have survived in the West and oriental carpets in Renaissance painting from Europe are a major source of information on them, as they were valuable imports that were painted accurately. The most natural and easy designs for a carpet weaver to produce consist of straight lines and edges, and the earliest Islamic carpets to survive or be shown in paintings have geometric designs, or centre on very stylized animals, made up in this way. Since

2584-620: The 21th century, iconophobic followers of various Islamist groups , such as the Taliban , aim to destroy forms of Islamic figurative depictions. Motivated by Saudi mentors ( Wahhabism ), the Taliban launched an attack on arts in March 2001 in Afghanistan . The religious justification derives from a hadith mentioned by Sahih Bukhari . Others see the rejection of iconography as rooting in

2660-450: The 8th century, they were translated into Arabic. Although there has been a tradition of wall-paintings, especially in the Persianate world, the best-surviving and highest developed form of painting in the Islamic world is the miniature in illuminated manuscripts , or later as a single page for inclusion in a muraqqa or bound album of miniatures and calligraphy . The tradition of the Persian miniature has been dominant since about

2736-551: The 8th century, under Egyptian influence, but most of the best production was much later, by potters presumed to have been largely Muslim but working in areas reconquered by the Christian kingdoms. It mixed Islamic and European elements in its designs, and much was exported across neighbouring European countries. It had introduced two ceramic techniques to Europe : glazing with an opaque white tin-glaze , and painting in metallic lusters . Ottoman İznik pottery produced most of

2812-666: The 8th century. Another significant contribution was the development of stonepaste ceramics , originating from 9th century Iraq. The first industrial complex for glass and pottery production was built in Raqqa , Syria , in the 8th century. Other centers for innovative pottery in the Islamic world included Fustat (from 975 to 1075), Damascus (from 1100 to around 1600) and Tabriz (from 1470 to 1550). Lusterwares with iridescent colours may have continued pre-Islamic Roman and Byzantine techniques, but were either invented or considerably developed on pottery and glass in Persia and Syria from

2888-569: The 9th century onwards. Islamic pottery was often influenced by Chinese ceramics , whose achievements were greatly admired and emulated. This was especially the case in the periods after the Mongol invasions and those of the Timurids . Techniques, shapes and decorative motifs were all affected. Until the Early Modern period Western ceramics had very little influence, but Islamic pottery

2964-575: The Americas (5.2 million or 0.6%), Australia (714,000 or 1.9%) and parts of Europe (44 million or 6%). A Pew Center study in 2016 found that Muslims have the highest number of adherents under the age of 15 (34% of the total Muslim population) of any major religion, while only 7% are aged 60+ (the smallest percentage of any major religion). According to the same study, Muslims have the highest fertility rates (3.1) of any major religious group. The study also found that Muslims (tied with Hindus ) have

3040-554: The Qur'an. The Qur'an states that these men were Muslims because they submitted to God, preached His message and upheld His values, which included praying, charity, fasting and pilgrimage. Thus, in Surah 3:52 of the Qur'an, Jesus' disciples tell him, "We believe in God; and you be our witness that we are Muslims ( wa-shahad be anna muslimūn )." In Islamic belief, before the Qur'an, God had given

3116-548: The West to India in the East and dating from the 7th to the 19th centuries. The European and Danish collections include: and paintings by: Islamic art Features Types Types Features Clothing Genres Art music Folk Prose Islamic Poetry Genres Forms Arabic prosody National literatures of Arab States Concepts Texts Fictional Arab people South Arabian deities Islamic art

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3192-672: The background cut away, are found on the interiors and exteriors of many important buildings. Complex carved calligraphy also decorates buildings. For most of the Islamic period the majority of coins only showed lettering, which are often very elegant despite their small size and nature of production. The tughra or monogram of an Ottoman sultan was used extensively on official documents, with very elaborate decoration for important ones. Other single sheets of calligraphy, designed for albums, might contain short poems, Qur'anic verses, or other texts. The main languages, all using Arabic script , are Arabic , always used for Qur'anic verses, Persian in

3268-406: The background, with recession (distance from the viewer) indicated by placing more distant figures higher up in the space, but at essentially the same size. The colours, which are often very well preserved, are strongly contrasting, bright and clear. The tradition reached a climax in the 16th and early 17th centuries, but continued until the early 19th century, and has been revived in the 20th. Since

3344-426: The best work in the 16th century, in tiles and large vessels boldly decorated with floral motifs influenced, once again, by Chinese Yuan and Ming ceramics. These were still in earthenware; there was no porcelain made in Islamic countries until modern times, though Chinese porcelain was imported and admired. The medieval Islamic world also had pottery with painted animal and human imagery. Examples are found throughout

3420-454: The collection was closed to the public while the premises underwent a major refurbishment and rearrangement. When it reopened on 15 May 2009, it was described as "the most exclusive museum in Denmark" in national Danish newspaper Politiken . In 1917, David re-acquired the building that had once belonged to his grandfather. He took up residence in it but also made his collection available to

3496-491: The exhibition cases were manufactured in Rudolf Rasmussen's workshop . The rooms and the exhibition cases are still in use, but now exclusively for the Islamic collection. The current rebuilding of the museum, lasting until 15 May 2009, is undertaken by Wohlert Arkitekter. The collection is most noted for its collection of Islamic art and contains works from almost the entire Islamic cultural sphere, from Spain in

3572-544: The flowing loops and curves of the arabesque are central to Islamic art, the interaction and tension between these two styles was long a major feature of carpet design. There are a few survivals of the grand Egyptian 16th century carpets, including one almost as good as new discovered in the attic of the Pitti Palace in Florence, whose complex patterns of octagon roundels and stars, in just a few colours, shimmer before

3648-471: The form of painting or sculptures is sometimes referred to as Quranic art . The various forms of traditional Arabic calligraphy and decoration of the manuscripts used for written versions of the Qur'an represent a central tradition of Islamic visual art. The arabesque is often used to symbolize the transcendent, indivisible and infinite nature of God. Mistakes in repetitions may be intentionally introduced as

3724-630: The formative stage of Islam. Such arts have been boasted by Arabic speaking caliphats of Baghdad, Cairo, and Cordova, inspired by Sasanid and Byzantine models. Figurative arts enjoyed prestige among both orthodox Sunni circles as well as Shia Muslims. The disappearance of royal-sponsored figurative arts in Arabic-speaking lands at a later period is best explained by the overthrow of their ruling dynasties and reduction of most their territories to Ottoman provincial dependencies, not by religious prohibition. Another drawback for Arnold's argument against

3800-417: The foundation acquired the adjacent property, 32 Kronprinsessegade, where the architect Vilhelm Wohlert , also known for the design of Louisiana Museum of Modern Art , designed a whole new gallery for the expanding collection of Islamic miniatures in 1990. Further rebuildings have gradually included more rooms and improved facilities. In 2006 the museum was temporarily closed to the public when it embarked on

3876-625: The growing public interest both in Western as well as, more recently, in Muslim societies. Further, the List of Islamic museums bears witness to this art historical term having found wide acceptance. The Encyclopædia Britannica defines "Islamic arts" as including visual arts, literature, performing arts and music that "virtually defies any comprehensive definition". In a strict sense, the term might only refer to artistic manifestations that are closely related to religious practice. Most often, however, it

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3952-437: The involvement of designers used to the latest court style in the general Persian tradition. These use a design style shared with non-figurative Islamic illumination and other media, often with a large central gul motif, and always with wide and strongly demarcated borders. The grand designs of the workshops patronized by the court spread out to smaller carpets for the merely wealthy and for export, and designs close to those of

4028-522: The largest portion (31%) of the global Muslim population. By country, Indonesia is the largest in the Muslim world , holding around 12% of all Muslims worldwide; outside of the Muslim-majority countries, India and China are home to the largest (11%) and second-largest (2%) Muslim populations, respectively. Due to high Muslim population growth , Islam is the fastest-growing religion in

4104-449: The lower and untaimed self. The abstract forces to tame the physical body are depicted in the forms of demons ( dīv ) and angels . Chinese influences included the early adoption of the vertical format natural to a book, which led to the development of a birds-eye view where a very carefully depicted background of hilly landscape or palace buildings rises up to leave only a small area of sky. The figures are arranged in different planes on

4180-469: The lowest average levels of education with an average of 5.6 years of schooling, though both groups have made the largest gains in educational attainment in recent decades among major religions. About 36% of all Muslims have no formal schooling, and Muslims have the lowest average levels of higher education of any major religious group, with only 8% having graduate and post-graduate degrees. Muslim culture or Islamic culture are terms used to describe

4256-512: The majority, while 25.9% of the world's Muslim population lived in countries where Muslims are in the minority. A Pew Center study in 2010 found that 3% of the world's Muslims population live in non-Muslim-majority developed countries . India's Muslim population is the world's largest Muslim-minority population in the world (11% of the world's Muslim population). Followed by Ethiopia (28 million), China (22 million), Russia (16 million) and Tanzania (13 million). Sizable minorities are also found in

4332-489: The market expects. Islamic art has very notable achievements in ceramics, both in pottery and tiles for walls, which in the absence of wall-paintings were taken to heights unmatched by other cultures. Early pottery is often unglazed, but tin-opacified glazing was one of the earliest new technologies developed by the Islamic potters. The first Islamic opaque glazes can be found as blue-painted ware in Basra , dating to around

4408-738: The medieval Islamic world, particularly in Persia and Egypt . The earliest grand Islamic buildings, like the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem , had interior walls decorated with mosaics in the Byzantine style, but without human figures. From the 9th century onwards the distinctive Islamic tradition of glazed and brightly coloured tiling for interior and exterior walls and domes developed. Some earlier schemes create designs using mixtures of tiles each of

4484-584: The mid-20th century following the departure of the Dutch colonialists, several Indonesian painters combined Abstract Expressionism with geometric forms, Indonesian symbols and Islamic calligraphy , creating religiously influenced Abstract Art . The spiritual centre of this movement is the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), with leading teachers such as A.D. Pirous , Ahmad Sadali , Mochtar Apin and Umi Dachlan as their main representatives. In

4560-665: The most common spelling thereafter. The last major newspaper in the United Kingdom to use the spelling "Moslem" was the Daily Mail , which switched to "Muslim" in 2004. The word Mosalman or Mussulman ( Persian : مسلمان , romanized :  mosalmân , alternatively musalmān ) is a common equivalent for Muslim used in Central and South Asia . In English it was sometimes spelled Mussulman and has become archaic in usage; however, cognates of this word remain

4636-636: The origin of many carpets remains unclear. As well as the major Persian, Turkish and Arab centres, carpets were also made across Central Asia, in India, and in Spain and the Balkans. Spanish carpets, which sometimes interrupted typical Islamic patterns to include coats of arms , enjoyed high prestige in Europe, being commissioned by royalty and for the Papal Palace, Avignon , and the industry continued after

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4712-480: The population in the Middle East identify as either Sunni or Shi'a, a significant number of Muslims identify as non-denominational . With about 1.8 billion followers (2015), almost a quarter of earth's population , Islam is the second-largest and the fastest-growing religion in the world , primarily due to the young age and high fertility rate of Muslims, with Muslims having a rate of (3.1) compared to

4788-439: The public on the upper floors of the building. On 12 December 1945 , the collection, along with the building which houses it, became the independent institution the C. L. David Foundation and Collection, and the museum opened in 1948. Over the years, the exhibition space was continuously expanded and rebuilt as the collections grew. In 1960, on the death of its founder, the foundation became the sole heir to his fortune. In 1986,

4864-484: The religious value of figurative arts in Islamic culture is, that a sizable number of rulers ordering figurative arts in the 14th-17th century, were religious zealots proclaiming to spread and enforce the laws of the sharia. Although not many early examples survived, human figurative art was a continuous tradition in Islamic lands, notably several of the Umayyad Desert Castles (c. 660–750), and during

4940-505: The rooms also had skylights since these rooms were used as galleries. The woodwork still attracts much attention. The wood comes from the King Christian VI 's dock, which was broken up in 1918. The darker or lighter colour of the oak depends on the time it has spent in the water. In 1928, the architect Kaare Klint designed two exhibition rooms for the growing collection of porcelain. The walls are covered with Douglas fir and

5016-402: The shahada also has a third part, a phrase concerning Ali , the first Shia Imam and the fourth Rashid caliph of Sunni Islam : وعليٌ وليُّ الله ( wa ʿalīyyun walīyyu-llāh ), which translates to "Ali is the wali of God". In Quranist Islam , the shahada is the testimony that there is no god but Allah ( la ilaha illa'llah ). The religious practices of Muslims are enumerated in

5092-533: The standard term for "Muslim" in various other European languages. Until at least the mid-1960s, many English-language writers used the term Mohammedans or Mahometans . Although such terms were not necessarily intended to be pejorative , Muslims argue that the terms are offensive because they allegedly imply that Muslims worship Muhammad rather than God. Other obsolete terms include Muslimite and Muslimist . In Medieval Europe, Muslims were commonly called Saracens . The Muslim philologist Ibn al-Anbari said:

5168-463: The teachings and practices attributed to Muhammad ( sunnah ) as recorded in traditional accounts ( hadith ). With an estimated population of almost 1.9 billion followers as of 2020 year estimation, Muslims comprise around 25% of the world's total population. In descending order, the percentage of people who identify as Muslims on each continental landmass stands at: 45% of Africa , 25% of Asia and Oceania collectively, 6% of Europe , and 1% of

5244-652: The verbatim word of the God of Abraham (or Allah ) as it was revealed to Muhammad , the main Islamic prophet . Alongside the Quran, Muslims also believe in previous revelations , such as the Tawrat ( Torah ), the Zabur ( Psalms ), and the Injeel ( Gospel ). These earlier revelations are associated with Judaism and Christianity , which are regarded by Muslims as earlier versions of Islam. The majority of Muslims also follow

5320-669: The viewer. Production of this style of carpet began under the Mamluks but continued after the Ottomans conquered Egypt. The other sophisticated tradition was the Persian carpet which reached its peak in the 16th and early 17th century in works like the Ardabil Carpet and Coronation Carpet ; during this century the Ottoman and Mughal courts also began to sponsor the making in their domains of large formal carpets, evidently with

5396-761: The widespread use of plant forms, usually in varieties of the spiralling arabesque . These are often combined with Islamic calligraphy , geometric patterns in styles that are typically found in a wide variety of media, from small objects in ceramic or metalwork to large decorative schemes in tiling on the outside and inside of large buildings, including mosques . Other forms of Islamic art include Islamic miniature painting, artefacts like Islamic glass or pottery , and textile arts, such as carpets and embroidery . The early developments of Islamic art were influenced by Roman art , Early Christian art (particularly Byzantine art ), and Sassanian art, with later influences from Central Asian nomadic traditions. Chinese art had

5472-432: The world average of (2.5). According to the same study, religious switching has no impact on Muslim population, since the number of people who embrace Islam and those who leave Islam are roughly equal. As of 2010, 49 countries countries in the world had Muslim majorities, in which Muslims comprised more than 50% of the population. In 2010, 74.1% of the world's Muslim population lived in countries where Muslims are in

5548-463: The world's Muslims live in the Middle East and North Africa. Non-majority India contains 10.9% of the world's Muslims. Arab Muslims form the largest ethnic group among Muslims in the world, followed by Bengalis , and Punjabis . Over 75–90% of Muslims are Sunni . The second and third largest sects, Shia and Ahmadiyya , make up 10–20%, and 1% respectively. While the majority of

5624-521: The world. Muslims have experienced persecution of varying severity, especially in China, India, some parts of Africa, and Southeast Asia. The word muslim ( Arabic : مسلم , IPA: [ˈmʊslɪm] ; English: / ˈ m ʌ z l ɪ m / , / ˈ m ʊ z l ɪ m / , / ˈ m ʊ s l ɪ m / ( MUZZ -lim, MUUZ -lim, MUUSS -lim ) or moslem / ˈ m ɒ z l ə m / , / ˈ m ɒ s l ə m / ( MOZ -ləm, MOSS -ləm ) )

5700-413: Was not a Jew, nor a Christian, but he was a true Muslim [مُّسۡلِمࣰا], and he was not a polytheist." -- Quran 3:67 "Then when Jesus perceived their disbelief he said, 'Who will be my helpers of God.' The disciples said 'We will be the helpers of God; we believe in God and bear witness that we are Muslims [مُسۡلِمُونَ].'" -- Quran 3:52 To become a Muslim and to convert to Islam, it is essential to utter

5776-611: Was very sought after in Europe, and often copied. An example of this is the albarello , a type of maiolica earthenware jar originally designed to hold apothecaries' ointments and dry drugs. The development of this type of pharmacy jar had its roots in the Islamic Middle East. Hispano-Moresque examples were exported to Italy, stimulating the earliest Italian examples, from 15th century Florence. The Hispano-Moresque style emerged in Al-Andalus - Muslim Spain - in

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