424productsworks ofart;theyaregoodartistsand artifactsdepending uponwhether therequiredskill wasforthcoming.InparallelfashionMuslimsdonotdistinguishbetweenfine artsand minorarts.Thewell-propor-tioned and well-carvedmihrabisjustasmucha workofart as thewhole well-donemosque;theexpertlywovenrugas much awork of artas thewell-designedand executedmadrasahorpalace.Moreover,inIslamicartthereis nodistinction betweenfineartsand decorativearts. Decorationis fundamental to allart;it isneversomethingaddedas aflourish.3Theinfinitepattern,thearabesque,stylizedkuficandnakshscript,andstylizedfloralandvegetal patternsall haveintegralsymbolicfunctions wherevertheyoccur,betheywroughtincoloredtilesonthe domeof amosque,cutor moldedintothe stoneorstuccowallsofamosque,carvedinto the sidesof themihrab,orwoveninto apatternedrug.Decorationbecomesmerelyornamentonlywhenits communalsymbolismhas been lost.To theoutsider it becomesperipheral,ormerelyornamental,becausethepointof itwithin the framework thatgivesitmeaninghas beenlost.It is acorollaryof these viewsthat thetraditional Muslim artistrejectsthe Western"museum"' viewofart. Artobjectsarenotthingssetapartfromeverydayaffairsto becollectedtogetherin aspecial placebut arepartandparcelof theeverydaylifeofthecommunityand the individual.Artobjectsare foundintheordinaryroundsoflife: themosqueandmihrab,public gardensandfountains,rugson thefloor of themosqueandhouse,thedrinkingglassonthetable,theilluminations of thebookbeingread,andsoon. Tobesure,thereis aMuseumofIslamicArt inCairo,but Muslimsdo not often fre-quentit.Itismainlyfor the useof Westerntourists and arthistorians.Whyshould aMuslimgotheretoseerugs,fountains,sec-tionsof carvedceilings,tilework,mosqueimplements,and accoutrementswhen he seesthesethingsin hisdailyroundofliving?It istruethatifheisinterestedin historicalorperiodpieces,ifhewantstosee anexampleofaFatamidglass carving,an Abbasidtapestry,or anOmayyadfountain,the MuslimwillgototheMuseumofIslamicArt. In thiscase,however,he realizesthatheis interestedin
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someaspectofthehistoryofart ratherthanrespondingto the artifactsperse.TheMus-lim,likeanypersoninanytraditionalsociety,doesnotconfuseknowledgeabout art withwhat art is about.4
II.
Without theforegoingwe cannot understandthe natureofIslamicart;it isnecessaryforanyadequatecharacterization.Itisnot,how-ever,sufficientfor such a characterization.What we have writtenistrueof alltraditional,communal,religiousart-ofHindu, Buddhist,Byzantine,and Western MedievalChristianart as well asofMuslim art.What we neednow is a delineationof those beliefsand com-mitmentswhich form thedistinctivelyIslamiccommunal frameworkand which are re-flectedinthe dominantartistic motifsofMuslim art.Islam isat oncevery straightforwardandyetcomplex.The fivepillarsof thefaitharethese:beliefinAllahas the one andonlyGod;fivedailycommunionswith,orprayersto,Allah;benevolentcareof theneedyanddis-advantaged; fastingduringthedaylighthours of themonth ofRamadan;and apil-grimage,ifpossible,oncein aperson'slife-time to theholy cityof Mecca.Islam is com-plexbecausefromthemain,orthodox Sunnitradition,there havesplinteredoff anumberofsmaller,competingtraditions:Kharijite,Shia, Ismaili,andDruze,to nameonlythemostimportant.Most of thesesplinter groupsareto be accountedfor onpersonalandpoliticalgrounds,at leastat theirinception,thoughdoctrinal differencealsoemergedeventually.Within the Sunnitraditionitselfcomplica-tionsarose,the main onebeinga tensionbetweenthelegaltraditionalists,who em-phasizedthesufficiencyof theKoran and theHadith(recordedtraditionsof what theProphetandtheCompanionssaid anddid),and theSufimystics-themselvesquitediverseandcomplex.MysticslikeAl-Ghazaliempha-sizedthatlegalismmust besupplementedwith apersonalcommunionwithAllah andthatthe law must notbe followedblindlybutfrompropermotives.(Certainly manyofthelegalistsincludedthesenotionsfromthebeginning.)ManySufimysticsweremore
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