Salaams! I know, it's been a long long while since my last post. Many things have changed! I went back to university to start a research degree, and have been blessed with many opportunities to meet new Muslims. However, I'm still working on calligraphy, art, theatre and whataver creative activities I can get my hands on! At the moment I'm working on a mosaics piece; I got the mosaics bug while working with kids, helping them to decorate mirror frames with the little glass pieces, and I haven't stopped since, although I'm yet to complete a piece. Insha Allah I'll post a picture soon. Mosaics have a long history in the Islamic world, and I have the chance of seeing beautiful pieces in North Africa, where it's used to decorate floors, walls, tables... with colourful geometric shapes.

Here is a picture I took in Walili (also called Volubilis), next to Meknes in Morocco, which is actually a well preserved Roman site (if you go to Morocco, you should definitely check it out!). Muslim countries in general are well known for their art and crafts, and it's really fascinating to see craftsmen carving a table our of wood, and working with iron to create all sorts of objects, reproducing the same gestures as men have for centuries.

Actually the more I learn about Islamic art and culture, the more I'm impressed with its variety, depth and level of detail.

On a different subject, I had the opportunity to take part in a multifaith event recently, and it inspired me to make those two calligraphies, inspired by the stories of Musa and Yusuf (alayhim salam) in the Qur'an Kareem and in the Bible.

I picked those two stories because they are told in very similar ways in both books, which to me highlights their common origin. I'm not sure if it's right to use both quotes from the Bible and the Qur'an side to side though; if somebody has a fatwa please let me know! Khair Insha Allah, for me it was a way of participating in this multi faith debate, and showing the Qur'an as the continuity of all that was revealed to earlier prophets, although al hamdulillah the Qur'an has been preserved in his integrity since it was revealed, which is not the case for the Bible.