Fine romances – the art of illustration in 15th-century Herat
As two of the British Library’s most beautiful manuscripts show, the art of illustration hit new and extraordinary heights in 15th-century Herat
Damascene conversion – the knotty religious history of the Umayyad Mosque
Built to rival the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, the great mosque in Damascus has always been claimed by rival faiths
Cultural evolution – ‘Epic Iran’ at the Victoria and Albert Museum, reviewed
A whirlwind journey through 5,000 years of Iranian civilisation charts change and continuity in a culture that has absorbed all manner of influences
Model buildings – when European architects looked to the Middle East
Diana Darke’s new book makes the case for the widespread influence of Islamic architecture on European buildings. But how convincing are her claims?
Eye of the beholder – how the Prophet Muhammad has been depicted through the centuries
Museums have avoided displaying images of the Prophet in recent years – but might this not do a disservice to the heritage of Islam?
What the world looked like to a mapmaker in medieval Cairo
The discovery of an important manuscript reshapes our understanding of early Islamic culture
This majestic mosque stands out in the city of a thousand minarets
The ancient mosque of Ahmad ibn Tulun deserves to be much better known
A great 16th-century Qur’an gets the attention it deserves
A meticulous study of the Chester Beatty Ruzbihan Qur’an does justice to the ingenuity of its calligrapher
Pilgrims and parrots in Jordan’s city of mosaics
Madaba preserves traces of the ancient Greek-Christian culture of the Middle East
A comparative approach to religious art
An ambitious, if limited, exhibition compares the early traditions of five faiths
Puppet master: an interview with Wael Shawky
The Egyptian artist Wael Shawky talks to Apollo about his animated versions of the Crusades
Letter from Jerusalem
The Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem is not a mosque, but a shrine. But a shrine to what?
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Making art behind bars can be its own form of release