The Thinking Behind Abstraction; Tessellated Transcendence and the Philosophy of Islamic Filigree

Thinking behind Abstraction;  Tessellated Transcendence and the Philosophy of Islamic Filigree

This paper examines the similarities and differences between Platonic Pythagoreanism(1) and Abrahamic(2) Pythagoreanism within the art and doctrine of Islam, Judaism and Christianity with particular reference to Islamic Art. 

Introduction

In 1969 an Australian religious fanatic set alight the mosque of al-Aqsa in Jerusalem. The tragic consequence of this saw the loss of the eight hundred year old Minbar(3) of Saladin.  When the royal family of Jordan saw to its reconstruction they soon discovered just how difficult this task was going to be. 

“The finished product took four years to complete and involved 16,000 handcrafted pieces. [...] Scholars, artists and architects from around the world were invited to help unravel its mysteries. The process of resurrection would take 30 years.”(4) 

The Minbar’s resurrection would revive interest in Islamic visual art not only in its cosmological geometry but also in its’ mystic secrets. 

Since the Islamic Religious Revolution(5) of 1978-1979 conflicts between east and west have intensified—culminating in the explosive attack on New York’s World Trade Centre by Islamic terrorists. In today’s climate the mere mention of Islam gives cause for temperatures to rise.  An example of this can be seen in the heated controversy surrounding the building of a Muslim mosque within two blocks of the terrorist attack. It was proposed by a group called the Cordoba Initiative inspired by and in sympathy with Moorish(6) thinking (711-1492 CE).  While Europe suffered through the Dark Ages, the Arabic provinces experienced a period of deep intellectual growth and spiritual development. Tolerance existed between the Muslims, Jews and Christians for this was a time of relative peace where different cultures shared not only their vast knowledge and skills but also their beliefs and potentially opposing ideals.  Today this is often referred to as the Andalusian Paradigm(7).

Pythagoras (c.570—c.495 BCE)

Historians have long known of the sacred geometric complexities of Islamic art and that a direct line can be drawn from it to Pythagoras.  It is through Pythagoras, and later Plato (427—347 BCE), set to the melodic chanting of the celestial spheres the philosophical tradition begins.  Fascination and frustration transfix the minds of deep thinkers struggling for answers to the riddles of our universe.  In this vein Pythagoras immortalized his theorem: 

“The square of the longest side of a right-angled triangle (hypotenuse) is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides.”  

This equation (a2 + b2 = c2.8) brought to light irrational numbers and formed what is known as the golden ratio,(9) an irrational mathematical constant. It can be seen throughout the ages in all cultures; in the Pyramids and Parthenon, gothic cathedrals and mosques, Mandalas and the Jewish Tree of Life, the Christian crucifix, even within the layout of the Qur’an(10) and Kabbala(11).  It has been well known to painters and sculptors throughout the ages, perhaps even instinctively. This was particularly evident during the Renaissance(12). 

Pythagoras, and Plato, believed understanding the analogous patterns within geometry and musical tone could provide intellectual and spiritual magnificence. 

“Moral order in the soul and justice in the state were both thought of in Platonic circles as analogous modes of attunement through the introduction of the required ratios and proportions.”(13) 

Pythagoras had an inventive mind and some may be disappointed to learn it was he who invented the Lost City of Atlantis, he meant it as a metaphor for all lost civilizations.(14) Plato would later pick up on Atlantis(15), however his interest was purely academic and it is through geometry he begins search and maps out, by degrees, the right angled triangle of Pythagoras, when placed in a grid (Fig 4), behold Atlantis appears.

Plato 

“Plato hopes to awaken us to that which is more than we can comprehend.”(16) 

 
He continues where the Pythagoreans left off and proclaims the study of music to be the ultimate and attributes tonal arrangements to his five regular solids.(17)

Plato describes the binding importance of geometry in the creation of the universe.  He relates the Creation to geometry, numbers and proportions ruling everything from the planets to the human body. Geometry was one of the ‘Seven Liberal Arts’ studied in Plato’s Academy and, until relatively recently, was considered to be vitally important in the education of those who sought knowledge.  

Though guided primarily by his teacher Socrates (c.469–399 BCE) Plato was influenced by many great thinkers including the mystic musical musings of Pythagoras and Greek mythology.(18) Plato knew the myths (muthos) had powerful appeal and he often used elements of it allegorically to present his template for good behavior and personal fulfillment.  Plato postulates the big questions by way of dialectic, astronomy and mathematics, and it is through geometry he philosophically questions existence.  The Monotheists too are searching for enlightenment.

There was much in Plato and his student Aristotle (384—322 BCE)(19) that appealed to the first Islamic and Christian philosophers.   Yet, there are no traces of a “God” in the monotheistic sense in Plato, but there are stirrings of a concept. (Plato, Book X of the Laws, and the Timaeus.) 

Plato’s god is the “Demiourgos” the manifestation of perfection that crowns his tripartite system.  Plato’s triangular view of the world is consistent with an ordered universe, and within it he describes levels of reality and levels of perfection all pointing toward pure blinding excellence. He strongly believes appetite (materialism) belongs to the lowest level of his tripartite system for these empty desires offered transitory fulfillment or happiness.  The uncensored imitative arts belong in that realm.

“Then the mimetic art is far removed from truth, and this, it seems, is the reason why it can produce everything, because it touches or lays hold of only a small part of the object and that a phantom, as, for example, a painter, we say, will paint us a cobbler, a carpenter, and other craftsmen, though he himself has no expertise in any of these arts but nevertheless if he were a good painter, by exhibiting at a distance his picture of a carpenter he would deceive children and foolish men, and make them believe it to be a real carpenter.” (Plato, Republic X, 598 BCE)

Plato’s distrust of the arts (poetry, painting, sculpture) is legendary,(20) he believes them to be misleading, yet he does encourage the noble lie and was not above inventing his own to promote good behavior.  Plato acknowledges there are truths to be found in the myths and the gods are representative of human archetypes.  Myth offers answers to the unexplainable and contains moral lessons.  Plato believes they should be censored. An example of his censorship, or appropriation of myth can be seen throughout his dialogs and it is by no accident Plato’s divine craftsman resembles Zeus, albeit, considerably restrained, for that matter Plato’s creator in the Timaeus also resembles the Abrahamic one. Plato reinvents traditional myth, and religious scripture.  He gives his characters a revised role to play.  Plato also borrows from the Greek Tragedies to further engage an audience accustomed to the verbal relaying of stories, he knew his audience well.

It was not out of a nothingness the world was created – to the logics of the Greek, the making of something out of nothing, creatio ex nihilo, would be hard to argue for.  The benevolent creator had something to work on.

This differs considerably to the Monotheists. 

The Monotheists

For Jew, Christian, and Muslim alike, God is the supreme artist, for Plato God is the intellectual force behind universal order, the architect of the grand design. 

The Monotheists believe God is an actual being who dwells in the heavens above, they devote themselves to the word of their God in similar ways, and all three promote love and compassion. Paradoxically history reveals periods of passionate uprising all in the name of the Lord, Allah and Yahweh. 

    "After these things God tested Abraham, and said to him, ‘Abraham!’ He said, ‘Here am I.’ He said, ‘Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains of which I shall tell you." (Genesis 22:1-2.) 

Religion is all about devotion, faith, the testing of it, sacrifice and life after death. 

Sacred Geometry and Islamic Art

Professor Keith Critchlow is an expert in the field of Sacred Geometry and Islamic visual art, his points out the universal geometric interconnectedness of all things; 

“The circle is a ‘symbol par excellence for the ‘origin’ and ‘end’ of both geometric and biomorphic form.  At the same time all those rhythms in flowing line that we recognize as the intervals in everyday life—breathing, blinking, heartbeat, digestion and so on—reflect our intimate connection with the cosmic rhythms of day, month and year.  The circle is also, then, the primary cosmological symbol, one of wholeness and unity.”(21)

Islam is bound in its own Sacred Geometry yet as musician and academic Ernest McClain points out,

“It is curious Islam’s most sacred symbol is its Holy Mosque in Mecca known as the Ka’ba, [...] a cube which is not a cube and yet which stands as the holiest possession of a geometrically minded people is a paradox inviting explanation.”(22)

 On every scale everything conforms inevitably to one or more geometric shape. Sacred Geometry has sought to explore and explain the energy patterns that create and unify all things, and so it is in Islam.

Interest in this area has been revived in modern times, however it has existed throughout the ages in various cultures. In his book Harmony: A New Way of Looking at Our World, HRH Prince Charles highlights a "Sacred Geometry" which stands in sharp contrast to the hectic and scattered appearance of modern life. He argues that such principles are not archaic but are highly relevant to solving many of the world's current problems. He looks at the Chartres Cathedral(23) in Paris and suggests the genius is in its’ geometry which he relates to the rediscovery of classical knowledge.(24)

Sacred Geometry is seen as the genesis of all forms by Islam whose roots are firmly embedded in it, particularly in Sufism(25)—the mystical tradition of Islam dedicated to experiencing Allah as the epitome of divine love.  

The most famous of these orders is the Mevlevi tradition associated with the poet and mystic, Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi(26). The Mevlevi are mainly known as Whirling Dervishes, due to their unique style of dancing dhikr(27). The purpose of the whirling dance is to practice dhikr: the achievement of nearness to God, while the constant spinning in repetitive circles imitates the movements of the planets in the Solar System as they orbit the sun.

 Is it because the Qur’an warns against the portrayal of human and animal forms that it has evolved to such a sophisticated level of intricate abstraction?  Are the repetitive geometric patterns of Islamic art a method for coating architectural surfaces, or didactics for meditative contemplation?  The most coherent answer connects directly with their faith and is about creating an environment conducive to uninterrupted worship. 

“There is within the spiritual universe of Islam a dimension which may be called ‘Abrahamic Pythagoreanism’ or a way of seeing numbers and figures as keys to the structure of the cosmos and as symbols of the archetypal world.”(28)

    Apart from miniatures, the art of Islam obeys the Qur’an’s decree absolutely.   The elegant tessellated filigrees, calligraphy’s, tiled mosaics and endless arabesques encapsulate the very crystallization of Islamic spirituality. 

    “Islamic art is predominantly a balance between pure geometric form, [...] the facets of a jewel, the purity of the snowflake and the frozen flowers of radial symmetry, [...] the glistening flank of a perspiring horse, the silent motion of a fish winding its way through the water, the unfolding and unfurling of the leaves of the vine and rose.”(29)

Christian Art

 
  It could be fair to say the history of Western art largely parallels the history of Christian art and has to a large extent, dictates the West’s overarching aesthetic hierarchy of accepted taste and morality. Neoplatonism(30) has played a significant part also and even though it disappeared for several centuries, until the Renaissance at least, this tradition remained in Arabic culture.  Arabic philosophers had an indirect affect on Christian theologists such as St. Thomas Aquinas (1225—1274)(31) and St. Augustine of Hippo (354—430) who like them, united Neoplatonism with their own beliefs.

The Abrahamic faiths give us diverse examples of religious art.  The paintings and sculptures from Christendom tell a unique story that captures their unique obsession with free will, original sin and redemption.  They also have a different interpretation of Idolatry and their art shows this. Except for various Iconoclastic(32) periods throughout Christianity, paintings and sculptures of the human figure are predominant, venerated and even glorified. This reverence is not considered Idolatry in the Judaic or Islamic sense.  St. John of Damascus(33) (c.675 - c.749) argued because Christ was incarnated into human flesh, he and other Holy subjects could be represented.  God had revealed his form.(34)

The church would use this to their advantage to further their cause, to spread the word and to increase their flock. Throughout its history Christian religious art has inspired and strengthened the faith of a largely illiterate mass gazing upon decorated altar pieces, frescos, stained glass windows, and other icons of religious worship.  Artists, employed in the services of the church were instructed to search the scriptures and reflect upon the heavens for the ascension of Christ. 

Jewish Art
 

Do Jews believe in heaven and hell? In angels or the devil? What happens to the Jewish soul after death and what is the nature of God and the Judaic universe? The answers to questions like these define most religions. Yet in Judaism, most of these cosmological issues are wide open to personal opinion. Except in the case of the Second Commandment(35), Jewish exegesis on Idolatry is explicitly clear and prohibits a great deal of visual art that would qualify as graven images. 

It is forbidden to engage in any activity that even resembles such behavior. In a Western sense there has been a greater tradition in music and theatre than in Jewish visual arts.  The Judaic scripture is bound in God’s presence, it remains eternal and protective, rendering image-making obsolete.
Recently there has been a steady rise in the Jewish Mysticism of Kabbala. Mysticism and mystical experiences have been a part of Judaism since the earliest days.(36) A symbol often used in Judaism is the Tree of Life showing the ten emanations of Gods essence, known as the Ten Sefirot.
 

The Translations
    

It is well documented the Ancient Greek texts were intensely studied and translated by Arabic scholars around the time of the sixth century. 
   

“An Islamic center of intellectual inquiry developed in Bagdad where scholars translated many of the Greek works into Arabic. The Islamic scientists and philosophers made a number of important contributions to our understanding as well as preserving older work.”(37)
    

The outcome produced deep penetrating insight and the beginning of the classical, or formative period of Arabic philosophy known as al-falsafa. From 710 until 1492, the Iberian Peninsular was partially or wholly under Muslim rule.
   

“All the philosophy and science of the Greeks had not merely found a new home in Islam but, by the tenth century A.D., had been carried to new levels of achievement.  Music flourished, mathematics had revived, astronomy had advanced, chemistry was aborning, literature was evolving new forms, and philosophy was exploring new insights.”(38)
   

In keeping with that simplicity Neoplatonism spoke volumes to the Arabic scholars such as al-Kindi (c. 801–873 CE), al-Fārābī (c. 872 – c.951 BCE), Averroes (1126 –1198), and Avicenna (c. 980 - 1037), the principles of which were aligned with the teachings of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad (c. 570 – 632).  Al-falsafa would acquire an autonomous life quite uniquely its’ own.
   

“How ironic it is western science, awakened from its long slumber by contact with Islam, should owe so much to Islamic faith in invariance, in causality, and in a Prime Mover.  Christendom fastened on these same ideas but waited for Islam to show it how to resume the old “Pythagorean” study of mathematics, music and astronomy which had helped to shape Semitic monotheism from the dawn of recorded history.”(39)

The Alhambra

The Nasrid(40) dynasty (1238 to 1492) saw the formative beginnings of the incredible Arabic fortress known as the Alhambra.  Construction continued under various Caliphates until 1358. UNESCO has listed the Alhambra as a World Heritage Site. The architecture of the Alhambra is a mixture of the earlier Arabic style and the later Christian modifications making it a microcosm of Spanish history. It is within the multi layered honeycombed cupola ceilings, especially in the Sala de Las Dos Hermanas (Hall of the Two Sisters), that the infinite becomes visible.

“The original cupola ceiling of the Partal Palace's Torre de Las Damas shows an inventive transformation from a square to an octagon and from an octagon to a 16-sided figure, culminating at the crown of the roof in a 16-pointed interlaced star, with stalactites, or muqarnas, forming a cupola within the octagon. Marquetry, or taracea inlay work, was used for decoration throughout the period of Islamic Spain.  The superb cabinet doors from the Palacio de Los Infantes in Granada have their entire surfaces, inside and out, inlaid with silver, precious woods and green and natural colored bone in an intricate design of stars and wheels framed by hexagons, all within rectangular double guilloches, or twisted bands. A dazzling constellation in silver, they are a final accolade to the astonishing art of Islamic Spain.” (41)

     It is in the year 1492 CE at the moment he must deliver the key of Granada to Spain’s Catholic Monarchs, Boabdil (Abu Abdullah) the last Moorish King of Granada, breaks down and cries.  His mother says to him; 

    "Do not cry like a woman for that which you have not known to defend like man."(42) 

Upon visiting the Alhambra it is easy to understand the torture(43) of Boabdil for it is a heaven on earth where luscious gardens give life to Washington Irving’s (1783 – 1859) Tales of The Alhambra and of his Arabic Princesses dreaming of escape with handsome Spanish cavaliers.
 

Conclusion
 

Jewish, Christian and Islamic visual art give us a rich and diversely dazzling example of the power of faith and devotion.  They have traveled multiple paths that often converged and never more so than during the Moorish occupation of Al-Andalus. 
 

The Abrahamic faiths present a testament to humanities’ artistic bent with each faith evolving according to their own theological exegesis, and despite warnings of Idolatry and subsequent censorship, we can read between the brush strokes and symbolism to arrive at the heart (or point) of each belief system.  In the case of Islamic art deciphering its simple yet complex repetitive geometric patterns is an exercise in pure Platonic-Pythagoreanism, proving humanities' inexhaustible quest for order out of chaos.

    “When contemplating the heavens at first this happy man feels awe, and then he conceives an Eros for learning as much as is possible for mortal nature, believing that in this way he will spend his life in the happiest way and that he will go, when he dies, to regions that are fitting for virtue.  And, having been truly and really initiated and achieving perfect unity, he will partake of a wisdom that is unitary and will continue for the rest of time to be a theoros of the most beautiful things, so far as sight will allow.” (Plato, Epinomis, 986)

Essay by Liana Vargas (2010)
Art History3
Lecturer; Professor Jack Cross

  ______________

Footnotes:


1 “Pythagoreanism is the philosophy of the ancient Greek philosopher Pythagoras (ca. 570 – ca. 490 BCE.), which prescribed a highly structured way of life and espoused the doctrine of metempsychosis (transmigration of the soul after death into a new body, human or animal).[...]Plato's and Aristotle's ideas are viewed as derived from Pythagoras, with the mediation of other early Pythagoreans. (Carl Huffman, Pythagoreanism <http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2010/entries/pythagoreanism/>)

2 Judaism, Christianity and Islam are collectively called the "Abrahamic religions" because they trace their history to the covenant God made with Abraham (1813 - 1638 BCE).  All three religions do not dispute this fact. The Muslims disagree with Judaism and Christianity on the identity of the sacrificial child. Muslims feel that Ishmael was the one offered up by Abraham. 

3 “Minbar of Saladin is an extraordinary piece of craftsmanship.  The Minbar, or pulpit, had been installed by Saladin in the mosque on his triumphant recapture of Jerusalem from the Crusaders in 1187. Made of 16,000 pieces of intricately carved wood, adorned with ivory and ebony, it was widely acknowledged as a pinnacle of Islamic design and woodcarving.” (Lynette Singer, The Minbar of Saladin, Reconstructing a Jewel of Islamic Art. Thames & Hudson 2008. Quote is from book description. <http://www.amazon.com>)

4 “In 1994 an international competition to rebuild the Minbar was announced. The eventual winner was Minwer al-Meheid a devout civil engineer who had once chanced upon British lecturer Keith Critchlow's book Islamic Patterns in Damascus.”[...]In the 1980s Critchlow began to teach a course in Islamic art at London's Royal College of Art. His interest led to a book, Islamic Patterns, which discussed the art of sacred geometry in detail. A new school was established in London and Jordan to teach and preserve Islamic and Eastern art, and a new generation of artisans trained in traditional skills began to emerge.” Lost skills revived to replicate a medieval minbar.”<http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/arts/lost-skills-revived/story-e6frg8n6-1111117996300>)

5 Islamic Revolution saw the toppling of a corrupt monarchy accused of acting in the interests of western capitalism and America domination. This was a theological revolution that wanted to replace the modernizing monarchy with Muslim theocracy. <http://www.iranchamber.com/history/islamic_revolution/islamic_revolution.php>)

6 “The Moors were the medieval Muslim inhabitants of al-Andalus (the Iberian Peninsula including present day Spain and Portugal) as well as the Maghreb and western Africa, whose culture is often called Moorish. The word was also used more generally in Europe to refer to any one of Arab or African descent, sometimes called Blackamoors.”<http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Moors>)

7 “What has been described as the Andalusian Paradigm suggests that conflict and rivalry is not inevitable for plural societies, that people of different faiths can co-existence and enjoy creative intellectual and cultural exchange.” (Ibid., <http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Moors>

8 It is argued the Indian, Greek, Egyptian, Chinese and Babylonian mathematicians had this knowledge previously, but it was Pythagoras who proved the theorem.

9 Approximately 1.6180339887. There are many different names for the golden ratio; The Golden Mean, Phi, the Divine Section, The Golden Cut, The Golden Proportion, The Divine Proportion. <http://jwilson.coe.uga.edu>)

10 “The Qur’an, literally the recitation, is the central religious text or Scripture of Islam. Muslims believe the Qur'an to be the book of divine guidance and direction for mankind(sic) and consider the text in its original Arabic to be verbatim the word of Allah, revealed to Muhammad by Gabriel over a period of 23 years between 610 and 632 CE. Qur’anic calligraphy and recitation are major art forms in Islam.” <http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Quran_%28Koran%29?oldid=945624>.)

11 “Kabbala, received tradition, refers to an esoteric collection of Jewish mystical doctrines about Yahweh (God) and God's relationship to Creation. Kabbalists believe that the Torah ("Divine Law") contains deeper, hidden truths, which only the spiritually developed person can decipher. The Torah is said to be couched in symbolic language with an inner meaning that reveals a blueprint for the universe, and esoteric knowledge concerning God, the human being and the relationship between them. “ <http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Kabbala?oldid=939433>.

12 Leonardo da Vinci’s (1452 –1519 CE) devotion to this principal is evident throughout his works.  An example of this can be seen in the Mona Lisa's face which fits perfectly into a golden rectangle, and rest of the painting is structured around similar rectangles.  Even the image of Christ on the Shroud of Turin adheres to the same proportions as the Mona Lisa, they match perfectly. 

13 Ernest G. McClain, Pythagorean Plato, (Nicolas-Hays Inc.) p183

14 What is interesting about Atlantis is within it we discover all the fields of Pythagorean interest, as mentioned above, working in perfect harmony.  “If we consider every line to be a geometric progression, every intersection to be a number, and that every number has two musical meanings.”  (Ibid., p183)

15 Since Plato first recorded the myth of Atlantis in his two dialogues, the Timaeus and Critias, the question of the tale's meaning has been fiercely debated. Aristotle, Plato's Academic successor, is said by Strabo to have stated categorically that the legend had no historical basis. (Ian Driscol, Egypt and the Enduring Mystery of Atlantis, A New Approach) <http://www.world-mysteries.com/pex_IDriscall1.htm>.

16 Mark Vernon, The pull of love – or why music can be a quasi-spiritual practice. <http://www.guardian.co.uk,>

17 The Platonic Solids: “The tetrahedron, the octahedron and the icosahedron together with the cube and the dodecahedron make up the five regular solids known as the Platonic Solids. [...] The figures were regarded as one basis for the structure of the universe. The tetrahedron represented the molecule of fire, the octahedron the molecule of air, the icosahedron the molecule of water and the cube the molecule of earth, while the dodecahedron represented the all-containing ‘ether’ or the heavens. [...] So called not because they were discovered by Plato but because of the special emphasis he placed upon them in expounding the Pythagorean cosmology in the Timaeus.” (Keith Critchlow, Order In Space, Thames and Hudson, 1987. p.16)

18 “Prior to the appearance of philosophers, myth explained the circumstances of human life. When people wondered about where they came from, why and how evil came into existence, why there was fortune and misfortune in life, and how they could attain peace and happiness, they found an answer in mythology.”<http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Pre-Socratic_philosophy>

19 “Aristotle is a towering figure in ancient Greek philosophy, making contributions to logic, metaphysics, mathematics, physics, biology, botany, ethics, politics, agriculture, medicine, dance and theatre. He was a student of Plato who in turn studied under Socrates. He was more empirically minded than Plato or Socrates and is famous for rejecting Plato’s theory of forms.” <http://www.iep.utm.edu/aristotl/>

20 “In many dialogues he condemns the use of images in knowing things and claims that true philosophical knowledge should avoid images. He would have had strong reasons for avoiding the use of myths: they are not argumentative and they are extremely visual (especially those he invented, which contain so many visual details as if he would have given instructions to an illustrator).” (Catalin Partenie, Plato's Myths, <http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2009/entries/plato-myths/>)

21 Keith Critchlow, Islamic Patterns (Inner Traditions, Vermont, 1999), p.8

22 Ernest McClain, Meditations on the Qur’an, (Nicolas-Hays, Inc. Maine) p.73

23 “Cathédrale Notre Dame de Chartres is located in the medieval town of Chartres, about 50 miles from Paris”. <http://www.sacred-destinations.com>

24 “The geometry of the entire building is derived from a circle. Its floor plan is contained within the proportions of a vesica. Quite clearly not an inch of this entire building is left to chance. Every angle and position conveys symbolic meaning. The medieval Christian architects who designed such a breathtaking structure were following the teachings of the mystics of their age and created what seems to me to amount to a profound prayer to all of creation. [...] No sense here of being a disconnected observer in a dead and mechanical universe.” (Book review by Huffington Post) <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/14/prince-charles-excerpt_n_794614.html>

25 “Sufism emerged during the eighth century C.E. in the Middle East. Sufis believe that excessive rationalism blocks human understanding of God's immersive and loving nature. Consequently, they focus on directly experiencing God through ecstatic practice to efface the obstructing self. Sufis have endured persecution over the years due to their unconventional and controversial approach to Allah, which has been perceived by some to be blasphemous”. <http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Sufism?oldid=725354>

26 “Mawlānā Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī (1207 - 1273 C.E.) Known to the English-speaking world simply as Rumi, his first name Jalalu'ddin has the meaning Majesty of Religion, was a mystical thirteenth century Persian Sufi poet, jurist, and theologian”. <http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Rumi?oldid=687571>

27 ”Dhikr is the remembrance of God commanded in the Qur'an for all Muslims. To engage in dhikr is to have awareness of God according to Islam. Dhikr as a devotional act includes the repetition of divine names, supplications and aphorisms from hadith literature, and sections of the Qur'an. More generally, any activity in which the Muslim maintains awareness of God is considered dhikr.” <http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Sufism?oldid=725354>

28 Op. cit., Critchlow, Islamic Patterns. From introduction by Seyyed Hossein Nasr, p6.

29 Ibid., p8

30 “Neoplatonism is a modern term used to designate the period of Platonic philosophy beginning with the work of Plotinus and ending with the closing of the Platonic Academy by the Emperor Justinian in 529 CE. This brand of Platonism, which is often described as ‘mystical’ or religious in nature, developed outside the mainstream of Academic Platonism.” <http://www.iep.utm.edu/neoplato/>

31 “Saint Thomas Aquinas was a Catholic Priest in the Dominican Order and one of the most important medieval philosophers and theologians. He was immensely influenced by scholasticism and Aristotle and known for his synthesis of the two aforementioned traditions.” <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14663b.htm>.

32 “Major reforms in Christianity took place during the time of Constantine the Great due to his conversion to Christianity.  During his reign as Emperor of Rome (c. 272 – 337) there existed a saint like adoration of their leader, made visible through its religious art and until the Christian iconoclastic periods strong objections to some forms of religious images began to emerge. No doubt the conquering Arabic armies played a role in the reevaluation amongst Christians.” <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04295c.htm>.

33 “St, John declared; "But I also venerate the matter through which salvation came to me, as if filled with divine energy and grace." He includes in this later category the ink in which the gospels were written as well as the paint of images, the wood of the Cross, and the body and blood of Jesus. St. John lived under Muslim rule away from the Byzantine emperor and could write freely.” <http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/johndam-icons.html>

34 “A number of defenses of Icons were made: based on the existence of divinely approved images in nature and Scripture; based on the reality of the incarnation; and based on a Platonic metaphysics of ascending images which participated in the prototype.” (Ibid: http://www.fordham.edu)

35 “The Ten Commandments are a special set of spiritual imperatives (laws) that the LORD Himself wrote on two stone tablets (luchot) that Moses brought down from Mount Sinai (Ex. 31:18). <http://www.hebrew4christians.com>

36 “The Torah contains many stories of mystical experiences, from visitations by angels to prophetic dreams and visions. The Talmud considers the existence of the soul and when it becomes attached to the body. Jewish tradition tells that the souls of all Jews were in existence at the time of the Giving of the Torah and were present at the time and agreed to the Covenant. There are many stories of places similar to Christian heaven and purgatory, of wandering souls and reincarnation. The Talmud contains vague hints of a mystical school of thought that was taught only to the most advanced students and was not committed to writing”.  <http://www.jewfaq.org/kabbalah.htm>

37 Lewis, Bernard, Islam and the Arab World, (American Heritage Publishing Co. Inc.) p200

38 Op. cit., McClain, Meditations on the Qur’an, p22.

39 Ibid., p23.

40 “The Nasrid dynasty was the last of the Muslim dynasties in Spain and rose to power following the defeat of the Almohads, at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212. The first Nasrid ruler, Muhammad I al-Ghālib (d. 1273), a tributary vassal of the Christian King Ferdinand III of Castile and later of Alfonso X, began the construction of the Alhambra and laid the basis of Granada’s prosperity by welcoming Muslim refugees from Sevilla (Seville), Valencia, and Murcia.” <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/404016/Nasrid-dynasty>.

41 Patricia Jellicoe: <http://www.islamicspain.tv/Arts-and-Science/the_art_of_islamic_spain.htm>

42 <http://www.alhambra.org>

43 “It is said that Muslims annually mourn the loss of Granada, with its beautiful Alhambra Palace and Gardens. In Spain, annual festivals commemorate the victory. 1492 was a significant year not only for Spain, but globally. It marked the end of Muslim rule in Andalusia, the expulsion of Jews and Christians and the voyage to the Americas of Christopher Columbus. In his diary, Columbus himself placed his 'venture in the context of the conquest of Muslim Granada by his patrons' [23]. It is argued that the Spaniards success in what they saw as a crusade against Islam provided stimulus and impetus for their conquest of the New World, which they did so ‘with sword in one hand and Bible in the others fresh from the triumph over the Muslims’.” <http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Moors?oldid=702129>.
___________________________________________________

Figure List

Figure 1.  Example of Islamic Mosaic from the Al Alcazar Palace, Seville. Image source: <http://sdelbiombo.blogia.com>
 
Figure 2.  Minbar of al-Aqsa in the Old City of Jerusalem (photo c.1914). “The original Minbar before it was destroyed by an Australian fanatic in 1969”, Matson Collection. Image source: <http://majestad.wordpress.com>

Figure 3.  Vitruvian Man (The Man in Action).  Leonardo da Vinci in 1490. “We can draw many lines of the rectangles into this figure. Then, there are three distinct sets of golden rectangles: each one set for the head area, the torso, and the legs.” Wilson, J, Mathematics Education, Georgia University: Accessed 05 Oct 2010. http://www.jwilson.coe.uga.edu 


Figure 4.  Canals in the Atlantean Plain by Robert Brumbaugh. McClain, Ernest G, Pythagorean Plato, Prelude to the Song Itself, page 183, Figure 57, (Nicolas-Hays Inc.,) Maine, 1984. Accessed 02 Nov 2010, 10:45 <http://www.ernestmcclain.net/>

Figure 5.  Kepler's Platonic solid model of the solar system from Mysterium Cosmographicum (1596). Image source: <http://schools-wikipedia.org>

Figure 6. The Ancient of Days (1794) William Blake.  Image source: <http://www.william-blake.org>

Figure 7.  Lastman, Pieter: Le sacrifice d'Abraham, 1616 Wood, 36 x 42 cm. Image source: Lessing Photo Archive <http://www.lessing-photo.com>

Figure 8.  Chartres Cathedral, Paris: French High Gothic style. The current cathedral, mostly constructed between 1193 and 1250. This image shows a labyrinth containing non-verbal, implicate geometric and numerological prompts that create a multi-dimensional holographic field. These unseen patterns are referred to as sacred geometry. They reveal the presence of a cosmic order as they interface the world of material form and the subtler realms of higher consciousness.” Crystal Links, Accessed 20 Nov 2010, 20:30. <http://www.crystalinks.com/labyrinths.html>

Figure 9. The Whirling Dervishes by Jean-Leon Gerome, 1899. Image Source: <http://www.orientalistart.net/Page3.html>

Figure 10. The Creation of Adam, Michelangelo Buonarroti (6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), The Sistine Chapel.  Fresco c. 1511. 480 cm × 230 cm. "God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him" (Genesis 1: 27). Image source: <http://www.abcgallery.com/M/michelangelo/michelangelo33.html>

Figure 11. Notre Dame de Chartres Cathedral — rose window, France. Early 13th century. Image Source: <http://www.flickr.com/photos/ru_boff/520066529/>

Figure 12.  Tree of Life.  An 1847 depiction of the Norse Yggdrasil as described in the Icelandic Prose Edda by Oluf Olufsen Bagge. Image source: <http://priestnovykh.wordpress.com> “The Kabbalah is one of the most grossly misunderstood parts of Judaism. It has been described as evil or black magic. These misunderstandings stem largely from the fact that the teachings of Kabbalah have been so badly distorted by mystics and occultists. Kabbalah was popular among Christian intellectuals during the Renaissance and Enlightenment periods, who reinterpreted its doctrines to fit into their Christian dogma. In more recent times, many have wrenched kabbalistic symbolism out of context for use in tarot card readings and other forms of divination and magic that were never a part of the original Jewish teachings. Today, many well-known celebrities have popularized a new age pop-psychology distortion of kabbalah. It borrows the language of kabbalah and the forms of Jewish folk superstitions, but at its heart it has more in common with the writings of Deepak Chopra than with any authentic Jewish source.” Judaism 101 Website, <http://www.jewfaq.org> [Accessed 15 Dec 2010 16:20]

Figure 13: Aristotle pictured in an Arabic Translation. From: Seyyed Hossein Nasr (1976). Islamic Science: An Illustrated Study. Image Source: <http://esfltwu.pbworks.com>

Figure 14: Honeycombed cupola ceiling of the Alhambra Palace, Granada, Image Source: <http://www.spainthenandnow.com>

Figure 15: Eduard Gerhardt, (1813-1888), La Sala de Las Dos Hermanas, painted 1850, Image source: <http://www.reproarte.com>
    “Perhaps the most extraordinarily sumptuous and elaborate of all the rooms in the Alhambra. Called the Hall of the Two Sisters (Sala de las Dos Hermanas) after the plain twin slabs of marble on the floor, this two-storied hall is breathtaking. its walls are totally covered: bright azulejo tiles running along the bottom to waist level, and then upwards floral and vegetal motifs in endless permutations, and multisided stars, all interspersed with calligraphic borders. What is remarkable is the change from the basic square to an octagonal shape about half way up thanks to the intricate play of muqarnas that overhang the corners and line the walls. These honeycomb cells, in turn, prepare us for the climax of the room, the muqarna dome, the cells of which --there are said to be over 5000 burst out from a central star and hang, suspended, in the ring of light that filters through 16 latticed windows at the base of the octagonal dome. Looked at from the tiny fountain sunk into the floor directly below, the dome looks like a giant exploding star, whose downward movement pauses at the light from the windows before finally cascading down in one last burst via the muqarnas lining the walls and corners, extraordinarily poetic image in plaster of the heavens caught in a moment of creative activity. Here, perhaps, is Islam’s answer to those heaven-storming Gothic cathedrals.” Spain Then and Now Website. <http://www.spainthenandnow.com> [Accessed 25 Nov 2010 07:20]

Fig. 16: School of Athens, Rafael (Scuola di Atene), 1509–1510, Fresco, 500 cm × 770 cm (200 in × 300 in) Image source: Vatican Museum <http://mv.vatican.va>

    “The most famous philosophers of ancient times move within an imposing Renaissance architecture which is inspired by Bramante's project for the renewal of the early Christian basilica of St Peter. Some of these are easily recognizable. In the centre Plato points upwards with a finger and holds his book Timeus in his hand, flanked by Aristotle with Ethics; Pythagoras is shown in the foreground intent on explaining the diatesseron. Diogenes is lying on the stairs with a dish, while the pessimist philosopher, Heracleitus, a portrait of Michelangelo, is leaning against a block of marble, writing on a sheet of paper. Michelangelo was in those years executing the paintings in the nearby Sistine Chapel. On the right we see Euclid, who is teaching geometry to his pupils, Zoroaster holding the heavenly sphere and Ptolemy holding the earthly sphere. The personage on the extreme right with the black beret is a self-portrait of Raphael.” (Vatican Museum Website) <http://mv.vatican.va> [Accessed 15 Dec 2010, 04:07]
 
______________________________________________








Work Cited 
 
Aristotle. (2001) Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. <http://www.iep.utm.edu/aristotl/> [Accessed 05 Oct 2010, 20:22]  

Chartres Cathedral. Sacred Destinations.<http://www.sacred-destinations.com> [Accessed 25 Nov 2010, 11:50]
Critchlow, Keith. (1976) Islamic Patterns, An Analytical and Cosmological Approach.  This edition published by Inner Traditions, Vermont 05767, 1999. Originally Published by Thames and Hudson, London
 

Critchlow, Keith. (1987) Order in Space, a Design Source Book. Thames and Hudson, New York 10110

New World Encyclopedia (2008) <http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Sufism?oldid=725354> [Accessed 20 Nov 2010, 00:44]

Driscoll, Ian and Kurtz, Matthew. (2009) Egypt and the Enduring Mystery of Atlantis, a New Approach. New York <http://www.world-mysteries.com/pex_IDriscall1.htm> [Accessed 02 Nov 2010, 09:40]

Educational and Cultural Association of the Alhambra. =<http://www.alhambra.org> [Accessed 10 Nov 2010, 12:30]

Encyclopaedia Britannica. 2010. Encyclopaedia Britannica On line. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/404016/Nasrid-dynasty>. [Accessed 10 Dec 2010, 12:55] 


Hebrew for Christians <http://www.hebrew4christians.com> [Accessed 10 Oct 2010, 12:40]
Judaism 101 <http://www.jewfaq.org/kabbalah.htm> [Accessed 10 Nov 2010, 10:50]


Herbermann, C., & Grupp, G. (1908). Constantine the Great. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. From New Advent: <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04295c.htm> [Accessed 10 Oct. 2010, 02:45]

Huffington Post, (2010) Review of Harmony: A New Way of Looking at Our World by The Prince Of Wales.  <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/14/prince-charles-excerpt_n_794614.html> [Accessed 20 Oct 2010, 00:36]

Huffman, Carl. (2010) Pythagoreanism. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Edward N. Zalta (ed.) <http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2010/entries/pythagoreanism/> [Accessed 20 Oct 2010, 11:50]

Jellicoe, Patricia. The Art of Islamic Spain. <http://www.islamicspain.tv/Arts-and-Science/the_art_of_islamic_spain.htm> [Accessed 25 Oct 2010, 10:40]

 Islamic Revolution of Iran. Iran Chamber Society, <http://www.iranchamber.com/history/islamic_revolution/islamic_revolution.php> [Accessed 19 Nov 2010, 22:17]

Kabbala. New World Encyclopedia. (2009) <http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Kabbala?oldid=939433> [Accessed 19 Nov 2010, 22:45]

Kennedy, D. (1912). St. Thomas Aquinas. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. From New Advent. <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14663b.htm> [Accessed 10 Oct. 2010, 02:40]


Lewis, Bernard. (1976) Islam and the Arab World. American Heritage Publishing Company Incorporated, New York, p200.


McClain, Ernest G. (1984) Pythagorean Plato, Prelude to the Song Itself. Nicolas-Hays Inc. Maine, USA <http://www.ernestmcclain.net/> [Accessed 02 Nov 2010, 10:45]
 
McClain, Ernest. (1981) Meditations on The Qur’an, Tonal Images in an Oral Culture, Nicolas-Hays Inc. Maine, USA <http://www.ernestmcclain.net/> [Accessed 10 Nov 2010, 15:40]

Medieval Sourcebook: John of Damascus and In Defense of Icons, c. 730. Trans S.D.F. Salmon in John of Damascus, Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, in Nicene and Post Nicene Fathers, 2nd Series, (repr. Grand Rapids MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1955), Vol IX, p. 88. Fordham University, Jesuit University of New York. <http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/johndam-icons.html>

Neoplatonism. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.<http://www.iep.utm.edu/neoplato/> [Accessed 12 Oct 2010, 02:40]

New World Encyclopedia (2008) Moors. <http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Moors?oldid=702129> [Accessed 19 Nov 2010, 20:53]

Partenie, Catalin. (2009) Plato's Myths. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Edward N. Zalta (ed.) <http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2009/entries/plato-myths/> [Accessed 19 Oct 2010, 18:40]

Pre-Socratic Philosophy. (2008) New World Encyclopedia.  <http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Pre-Socratic_philosophy?oldid=795024> [Accessed 20 Dec 2010, 00:03] 

Rumi. From the New World Encyclopedia. (2008) <http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Rumi?oldid=687571> [Accessed 20 Dec 2010, 00:49]

Singer, Lynette. (2008) The Minbar of Saladin, Reconstructing a Jewel of Islamic Art. Published by Thames & Hudson, United Kingdom. <http://www.amazon.com> [Accessed 15 Nov 2010, 16:30]

Sufism. New World Encyclopedia. (2008). <http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Sufism?oldid=725354> [Accessed 20 Dec 2010, 00:39]

Vernon, Mark. (2010) The pull of love – or why music can be a quasi-spiritual practice. <http://www.guardian.co.uk> [Accessed 02 Nov 2010, 10:30]

Wilson, Ashleigh. (2008) Lost skills revived to replicate a medieval minbar. The Australian. <http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/arts/lost-skills-revived/story-e6frg8n6-1111117996300> [Accessed 20 Dec 2010, 18:36]

Wilson, J. (2001) Mathematics Education, Georgia University, USA <http://www.jwilson.coe.uga.edu> [Accessed 05 Oct 2010]

_______________

Further Reading

Adamson, Peter and Taylor, Richard C. (2004) The Cambridge Companion to Arabic Philosophy. The Cambridge Companion to Arabic Philosophy. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge Collections Online. Cambridge University Press. [Accessed 22 December 2010]

Ciholas, Paul. (1979) Plato: The Attic Moses? Some Patristic Reactions to Platonic Philosophy. The Classical World. Vol. 72, No. 4. Published by Classical Association of the Atlantic States. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4349036> Pp.217-225.

Colmo, Christopher. (1992) Theory and Practice: Alfarabi's Plato Revisited, The American Political Science Review. Vol. 86, No. 4. Published by American Political Science Association. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/1964348> Pp.966-976.

D'Ancona, Cristina. (2009) Greek Sources in Arabic and Islamic Philosophy. <http://www.seop.leeds.ac.uk/entries/arabic-islamic-greek/> 

George, Alain Fouad. (2003) The Geometry of the Qur’an of Amajur: A Preliminary Study of proportion in early Arabic Calligraphy. Source: Muqarnas, Vol. 20.  <http://www.jstor.org/stable/1523324> Pp.1-15.

Gocer, Asli. (Oct. 1999) A Hypothesis Concerning the Character of Islamic Art. Source: Journal of the History of Ideas, Vol. 60. No. 4. Published by: University of Pennsylvania Press. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/3654114> Pp.683-692

Grabar, Oleg, et al. Islamic Art, §II, 6: Architecture, c 1250–c 1500, Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. <http://www.oxfordartonline.com/subscriber/article/grove/art/T041771pg9>

Grist, Stan. (2001) Fibonacci Numbers and Golden section in Nature.  World Mysteries. <http://www.world-mysteries.com/sci_17.htm>

Huffman, Carl. (2010) Pythagoreanism, from the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Edward N. Zalta (ed.) <http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2010/entries/pythagoreanism/>

Jowett, Benjamin. (2004) Translation, Plato, The Republic. From eBooks Adelaide <http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/p/plato/p71r/complete.html>

Jowett, Benjamin. (2004) Translation, Plato, The Timaeus. From the Internet Classics Archive. <http://classics.mit.edu//Plato/timaeus.html>

Kraut, Richard. (2009) Plato. From the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy , Edward N. Zalta (ed.) <http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2009/entries/plato/>

Moore, John S. Plato, Christianity and World Politics. <http://www.mith.demon.co.uk/Christianity.htm>

Mullett, Margaret, Early Christian and Byzantine Art. Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. <http://www.oxfordartonline.com/subscriber/article/grove/art/T024432pg1> [Accessed 13 Nov. 2010]

Nasr, Seyyed Hossein. (1968) Science and Civilization in Islam. New American Library. NY. Introduction. <http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/med/nasr.html>

Pappas, Nickolas. (Fall 2008 Edition) Plato's Aesthetics. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Edward N. Zalta (ed.), <http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2008/entries/plato-aesthetics/>

Ridling, Zaine. (2001) Then and Now, a Look Back at 26 Centuries of Ideas That Have Shaped Our Thinking. From Access Foundation. <http://www.spiritual-minds.com>

Stapleton, H. E. (1958) Ancient and Modern Aspects of Pythagoreanism. Source: Osiris, Vol. 13. Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of The History of Science Society. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/301641>, pp.12-53 

Pappas, Nickolas. (2008) Plato's Aesthetics, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Edward N. Zalta (ed.),<http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2008/entries/plato-aesthetics/>.

Russell, Bertrand. (1945) History of Western Philosophy, and its Connection with Political and Social Circumstances from the Earliest Times to the Present Day. Simon and Schuster, New York.

Wild, John. (1949) Plato and Christianity, a Philosophical Comparison. Source: Journal of Bible and Religion. vol.17. No.1. Published by: Oxford University Press: <http://www.jstor.org/stable/1456728>, pp.3-16

Zeyl, Donald. (2009) Plato's Timaeus, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Edward N. Zalta (ed.), <http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2009/entries/plato-timaeus/>

______________