Islamic calligraphy

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Islamic calligraphy is the artistic practice of penmanship and calligraphy, in the languages which use the Arabic alphabet or the alphabets derived from it. It is a highly stylized and structured form of handwriting that follows artistic conventions and is often used for Islamic religious texts, architecture, and decoration. It includes Arabic, Persian, Ottoman, and Urdu calligraphy. It is known in Arabic as khatt Arabi (خط عربي), literally meaning "line", "design", or "construction". The development of Islamic calligraphy is strongly tied to the Quran, as chapters and verses from the Quran are a common and almost universal text upon which Islamic calligraphy is based. Although artistic depictions of people and animals are not explicitly forbidden in the Quran, Islamic traditions have often limited figural representation in Islamic religious texts in order to avoid idolatry. Some scholars argue that Kufic script was developed by the late 7th century in Kufa, Iraq, from which it takes its...

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