by : Sharon Albert REL227-Fall 2019

Understanding Muhammad as a multi-faceted man

Ernst suggests that Muhammad is widely known for being a man of many different skills and modes of connection with his followers. For example many Muslims in the region of Southeast Europe describe Muhammad as a devotion aid and they do this through an artistic mode of calligraphy. From your understanding of the different roles and understandings of Muhammad, what is an example you’ve come across in the text that has stood out to you, in accordance with Muhammad and his followers.

Sarah, Kennedy, and Lizzy

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by : Sharon Albert Reading-related (F19)

A Picture of Muhammad

On page 76-79 in Ernst, we learn that Muslims generally consider it inappropriate to depict Muhammad in picture form. Instead, some Muslims would hang artful papers with calligraphy describing the physical appearance of Muhammad from the way his face shines to his eloquent speech (page 77).

The descriptions I read in the book reminded me of a video I saw on YouTube where a Muslim teacher describes what it would be like to meet Muhammad. I discussed this video with my group, and how it is a different picture of devotion from what I would normally expect. If you are interested, it is embedded below. In your opinion, do you think words or pictures are more powerful when it comes to aiding religious devotion? And do you think the answer could vary depending on the person, religion, and/or culture? Lastly, what role, if any, do you think that Arabic plays into the conception of Islam’s religious artifacts?

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