Islamic Studies Resources: Audio-Visual Material

(Socrates and his students, ca.13th c., Saljuqi period.)

BBC 4's Science & Islam Series by the British scientist Prof. Jim al-Khalili has three episodes:

• The Language Of Science

• The Empire of Reason

• The Power of Doubt

BBC Radio 4 broadcasts accessible and fun talks with experts in the field of Islamic Studies on various related themes, concepts, thinkers and politics.

• People:

al-Kindi (d.873)

Ibn Sina (Avicenna) (d.1037)

al-Biruni (d.1048)

Ibn Rushd (Averroes) (d.1198)

Maimonides (d.1204) (the Jewish philosopher)

Ibn Khaldun (d.1406)

• Works:

Shahnameh of Ferdowsi (d.1020)

The Arabian Nights 

The Translation Movement (Classical Greek ideas in the Arabic and the Islamic world) 

• Concepts:

Islamic Law and its Origins

Sunni and Shia Islam

The Silk Road

• Politics:

Muslim Spain

The Spanish Inquisition

Genghis Khan

The Arab Conquests

The Safavid Dynasty

The Abbasid Caliphs

The Mughal Empire

Mercan Dede: Mercan Dede is a Turkish-born and Montreal-based contemporary Sufi musician. His albums are available on his webpage as well as his artworks, videoclips, interviews, etc. His album "800" was produced in 2007, and its title is an allusion to 800th anniversary of Rumi's birthday. The album was selected as the Best Album of 2008 by Womex, and one of the top-3 records of 2008 within 913 nominated records by World Music Charts Europe.

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One of the most important living Turkish musicians, Erkan Oğur plays the stringed instruments.

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The words uttered in the music below are from the Qur'an (Q:2.138): "(We take our) colour from Allah, and who is better than Allah at colouring. We are His worshippers." (M. Pickthall translation.)

Ulaş Özdemir is a Turkish musician, who is conversant with the Alevi-Bektashi tradition.

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To watch a 40-minutes performance of the great Egyptian musician Umm Kulthum (d.1975) with the English subtitles, click on the image (source: The National - UAE):

Yansımalar is composed of Aziz Şenol Filiz and Birol Yayla who play the reed-flute and tanbour in Turkish style.

Their official Youtube webpage contains great examples of their music.

Mohammad-Reza Shajarian is an internationally and critically acclaimed Persian traditional singer and composer of Persian music. He has been called "Iran's greatest living master of traditional Persian music."

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• The Aga Khan Museum - Aga Khan Development Network

The Aga Khan Museum, in Toronto, Canada, is dedicated to the acquisition, preservation and display of artifacts – from various periods and geographies – relating to the intellectual, cultural, artistic and religious heritage of Islamic communities. Its webpage contains links to its collections, exhibitions, and links to other resources.

Arts of the Book: Illustrated Texts, Miniatures Arts of the Book: Manuscripts, Folios, Bindings Carpets and Textiles Ceramic, Mosaic Glass, Rock Crystal and Jade Ivory and Mother-of-pearl Marble and Stucco Metalwork Paintings Wood and Lacquer

One can also limit the results in terms of the region, dynasty and art form, and look at the related pieces of art!

Two excellent exhibitions, titled "Treasures of the Aga Khan Museum," contain valuable material on Islamic art and related scholarly information.

* Its 376-page first volume catalogue can be dowloaded for free, and is available here.

* The 292-page second volume of the Treasures of the Aga Khan Museum can be found here.

* The 364-page third volume titled "Architecture in Islamic Arts" can be found and downloaded here.

• The Arts of Islam - Freer and Sackler Galleries - Smithsonian Institution 

  Earthenware, Ceramics and Tiles at the Smithsonian Museum

• Harvard Art Museums: In Harmony: The Norma Jean Calderwood Collection of Islamic Art; Word and Image in Persian Painting

• Free Islamic Calligraphy

• Pinterest: Persian Calligraphy and Illumination; Timurid Dynasty 14th to 15th Centuries; Art de l'Islam; Manuscript Illustrations; Islamic Miniature Art; Arte Oriental; Islamic Art & History; Iznik Ceramic Tiles and Pottery just to put a few of many magnificient galleries.
  

• Brooklyn Museum Collections: Arts of the Islamic World

• The Legacy of Genghis Khan - Los Angeles County Museum of Art

The web site is a resource adjunct site supporting the (LACMA) Los Angeles County Museum of Art's 2003 exhibition of Islamic Art, The Legacy of Genghis Khan.

• Digital Image Collections - Wikispaces

• St. Andrews University Library Oriental Manuscripts: the Manuscripts of "The Book of Wonders of the Age" by al-Qazwini (d.1283) and "the Shahnameh" of Ferdowsi (d.1020)

• British Museum, London

• Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris

• Museum of Islamic Art, Berlin

• Islamic Art, Oriental Antiquities, The Louvre, Paris

• Islamic Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

• Oriental Art, The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg

• Visual Resources Center at Vanderbilt has various sources as well as links to Museum Collections ARTstor MDID VU Fine Arts Gallery VRC Info and Contacts Copyright or Copywrong How to Use Images Citing an Image

"The ascent of Muhammad to heaven (mi'rāj)," a folio in the Khamsa of Nizami Ganjavi (d.1209), ca.1539-43, Safavid period.

• Historical Atlas of the Mediterranean: the maps of the Mediterranean, including The Birth of Islam in Arabia, The Rise of Islam, Islamic Spain and the Reconquista.

• Nasir-i Khusraw (d.1088)'s Travels and Safar-nama: a virtual Map of the Middle East (750 - 1300 AD). Follow the steps of the famous Isma'ili intellectual and preacher, Nasir-i Khusraw, and observe the places that he visited from his eyes according to his "Book of Journeys" [Safar-nama]!

Kayhan Kalhor is another Iranian world-class musician who plays kemancheh in the classical "radif" tradition. As a solo artist and as a member of the Silk Road Ensemble, a project that explores and shares musical traditions from around the world, Kalhor performs across the globe. The following video was part of NPR's Tiny Desk Concert Series, while more can found in his official webpage.

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Silk Road Project, Inc. is a not-for-profit organization, initiated by the cellist Yo-Yo Ma in 1998, promoting collaboration among artists and institutions, promoting multicultural artistic exchange, and studying the ebb and flow of ideas among different cultures along the Silk Road. The Silk Road Ensemble draws together distinguished performers and composers from more than 20 countries in Asia, Europe and the Americas.

The videos of some of their performances can be found here, in the official Youtube Channel.

• Harvard Islamic Studies Videos; Dept. of Islamic Studies at Harvard Uni. shares the videos of the conferences and scholarly presentations that they organize. To access the list of 46 videos, click here.

• Duke Islamic Studies shares video lists of Favorite videos, ISLAMiCommentary- Transcultural Islam Project, US Military and Diplomatic Strategy and Interfaith Relations in their official Youtube Video Channel.

• The Institute of Isma'ili Thought Videos; IIS's webpage contains scholarly videos such as Author Interviews, IIS Lectures and Conferences, IIS Special Events, Interviews with Guest Speakers, Other Videos.

• How Islam Began?, Prof. Fred Donner, University of Chicago

• On reading the Koran, by Lesley Hazleton (9 mins.)

Below you will find some introductory, classical samples of the vast Arabic and Persian poetry. 

Hossein Alizadeh is a renown Iranian musician who plays the tanbour.

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Shahram Nazeri is a contemporary Iranian tenor who sings classical Iranian music from Kermanshah. He is famous with his unique interpretation of Rumi's poems. His rich webpage contains a gallery, a list of his albums, articles, sample songs, the translations of lyrics and many other things.

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• Below you may find his interpretation of Rumi's poem "How Shall I know," unter title "The Passion of Rumi." The translation of the first two lines can be found here.
  

Qawwal is a blog about the Qawwali Music, with links on Sufi poetry and other traditions of Sufi music.

Below you can watch Rahat Fateh Ali Khan's interpretation of a poem by the famous Pakistani reformer Muhammad Iqbal (d.1938). The translation of the lyrics can be found here--on the same page.

A Tunisian oud player and composer, Anouar Brahem is widely acclaimed as an innovator in the field.

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Kudsi Erguner is a Turkish musician living in France, and he is one of the most well-known reed-flute players in the world.

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The Shams Ensemble is a musical group that performs traditional Sufi and classical Iranian music with the tanboor, Daf, Ney and various other percussion instruments. The group was founded by composer Kaykhosro Pournazeri. The group is most famous of their interpretation of Rumi's poems.

A two-volume documentary on the Shams Ensemble with English subtitles and great performances can be found here (Vol.1) and here (Vol.2).

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