In order for one to understand the significance of the written word in Islamic art one must first understand the significance that the Arabic language holds within the Islamic world. To Muslim, Arabic is a holy language. Arabic is the language which God chose to deliver his message to Mohammad in. Because of this fact, Arabic is an elevated language being the medium through which God delivered his message. Throughout the history of Islam, a debate has raged as to whether or not one can even properly translate the Qu 'ran into another language without distorting the message. That is not to say that the Qu 'ran has never been translated, it is just a very contentious issue and many Muslims believe that the Qu 'ran can only be understood properly
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Just as Mohammad was both the secular and religious leader of the Ummah, so too was his successor or Caliph. This joining of both religious and secular authority is present in one of the earliest uses of Qu 'ranic text as propaganda. All religions proselytize, and in religions which have a central text the easiest way to proselytize is to expose an outsider to one 's central text. it may seem irrelevant to discuss a particular instance of someone using Qu 'ranic text as propaganda because one could argue that all Qu 'ranic text is a form of propaganda. The inscriptions on the inside of the Dome of the Rock are Qu 'ranic texts which are mostly related certain tenets of Christianity. The decision by Abd al- Malik to first of all build a monument in Jerusalem,a city that holds tremendous significance to all Abrahamic religions, on the Temple Mount, the site of the Jewish temple, makes a particulary strong statement. This is the type of instance that demonstrates the conversation taking place between the past and present in the Islamic world. Just as Mohammad was the Seal of the Prophets so too was the Dome of the Rock the seal upon the significance of the Temple Mount. The decision to have Qu 'ranic inscriptions that acknowledge Christ as an important figure while also rejecting aspects of christian dogma that don 't agree with Islamic theology as part of the ornamentation of the Dome of the Rock shows Abd al-Malik 's intent to engage with the past while also acknowledging the supremacy of
Just as Mohammad was both the secular and religious leader of the Ummah, so too was his successor or Caliph. This joining of both religious and secular authority is present in one of the earliest uses of Qu 'ranic text as propaganda. All religions proselytize, and in religions which have a central text the easiest way to proselytize is to expose an outsider to one 's central text. it may seem irrelevant to discuss a particular instance of someone using Qu 'ranic text as propaganda because one could argue that all Qu 'ranic text is a form of propaganda. The inscriptions on the inside of the Dome of the Rock are Qu 'ranic texts which are mostly related certain tenets of Christianity. The decision by Abd al- Malik to first of all build a monument in Jerusalem,a city that holds tremendous significance to all Abrahamic religions, on the Temple Mount, the site of the Jewish temple, makes a particulary strong statement. This is the type of instance that demonstrates the conversation taking place between the past and present in the Islamic world. Just as Mohammad was the Seal of the Prophets so too was the Dome of the Rock the seal upon the significance of the Temple Mount. The decision to have Qu 'ranic inscriptions that acknowledge Christ as an important figure while also rejecting aspects of christian dogma that don 't agree with Islamic theology as part of the ornamentation of the Dome of the Rock shows Abd al-Malik 's intent to engage with the past while also acknowledging the supremacy of