Islamic Influences on American Architecture « Al Mihrab: The Place of War

LUMA Loyola University Museum of Art. Saturday, May 21  Everyday Art: The Islamic Impact on American Arts  3:00 p.m.  Free with museum admission  American popular culture reflects the cultural diversity of the American people and helps to shape the way Americans understand themselves. Perhaps the least understood of these influences is the cultural impact of the various Muslim communities that have settled in the United States. The tapestry of influences that converge in popular music, architecture, and literature-the arts we engage with every day-bears witness to the presence of Muslims in America. In this richly illustrated talk, Dr. Hussein Rashid…

Muslim playwright returns to high school stage – chicagotribune.com. As a teenager, Rohina Malik went to great lengths to hide her Muslim heritage.  While some girls her age chose to wear the traditional headscarf, she opted against it. And when teachers read “Rohina” at roll call on the first day of school, she asked them to call her Mariam, her less Muslim-sounding middle name.  Unable to hide her caramel skin or overcome her shyness, the aspiring actress and playwright didn’t audition for a role until her senior year at Niles North High School. She was astounded when she landed the…

Blurring of Cultures at Louvre's Islamic Art Wing – NYTimes.com. Other Arab bronzes with inscriptions in Arabic and Latin conjure memories of places where East and West met.  A ewer from Arab Spain in the shape of a peacock carries an Arabic signature identifying it as “the work of the Christian King’s slave.” Underneath, an inscription in Roman capitals proclaims “Opus Salomonis Erat” naming the artist, probably called Sulayman, the Arabic form of the biblical name.