The Image Debate: Investigating the Rationale Behind Aniconism in Islamic Arab Societies

Abstract

Over the centuries, there has been plenty written and documented about Muslims’ attitudes towards the arts. Many scholars of Islam claim that the faith as a whole is opposed to the visual representation of living things, however, a look at representational art and images created in Muslim societies— past and present— tell a different story. A study of the Holy Qur’an will show that no prohibition exists in Islam that applies to all representational images. This article investigates the origins of how, why, and where ideas about prohibition developed, from a historical perspective, in order to explore what led some contemporary Muslim societies to develop, maintain, and create a generational succession of opposition to images in everyday life and within the visual arts. The sources included in the article will also shed light on how social, cultural, and political situations that contributed to aniconism and iconoclasm in some situations.