Hafsa Murtaza - The Islamic Identity: A Weave of Cultures

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said,

"The believers in their mutual kindness, compassion and sympathy are just like one body. When one of the limbs suffers, the whole body responds to it with wakefulness and fever."

The Islamic Identity: A Weave of Cultures is inspired by manuscript miniature paintings from Dara Shikoh’s album, created as a series of screen print portraits. The miniature reflects an Islamic way of viewing, using framing devices rather than a Western linear perspective to give importance to a subject. At first glance, the portrait seems to imitate Mughal miniatures in its naturalistic pose, traditional outfit and implication of a narrative. However, on closer inspection, the figure is wearing a Palestinian-style bridal headdress made from an Indian silk brocade shawl and wears a Pakistani formal gown with mango butti motifs. Ottoman Turkish designs of stylistic flowers stemming from a single base inspired the lily and narcissus flowers framing the figure, alluding to every being's connection to the Divine Creator. The patterned paper used has Indian block print and marbled patterns or Japanese chiyogami designs. As such, the intersections of cultural textiles and symbols embedded in this contemporary miniature reflect how the Islamic identity is unrestricted by geographical or cultural borders. Therefore, my manuscript painting does not represent a singular identity of the person depicted–myself–but a collective identity of cultures united through a way of life: Islam.