Qur’anic Artwork For The American Soul
The popular American perspective of the Qur’an is seen as a book which fuels extremists, promotes jihad, and fosters Muslims to become terrorists. The “average American” most likely does not understand the message of the Qur’an, but one individual wants to shed light on this controversial book through artwork known as “The American Qur’an.”
Women in jeans, golfers teeing off, and modern market places, are all images that represent the theme of the holy Qur’an, which will be featured in Sandow’s Birk’s artwork. Instead of the traditional pictures of Middle Easterners dressed in rags, wearing sandals, and traveling by camel, Birk’s artwork takes place in today’s American society.
In an interview, Birk describes his inspiration and his overall purpose for depicting these stories in an American perspective. “I began the project out of personal interest and a desire to learn more about Islam and the Qur’an by myself, and to think about how I might understand it in relation to my own life. But, yes, I do sort of posit myself as an “average American” and I do hope that it might lead more Americans to understand more about Islam. More understanding can only be a good thing.”
The project will be an illustration of the Qur’an, along with the accompanied text in English. Birk says, “The project will be an entirely hand-transcribed English language adaptation of the Qur’an, illuminated with scenes of contemporary life in America that relate to the message of the text.” Birk uses the passages from one of the first English translations of the Qur’an ever published. “For legal, copyright reasons, I’ve been largely using the English translation of John Meadows Rodwell from 1861. However, when that English is obscure or obtuse, I have used some elements from other copyright-free translations.”
Although Birk’s project is not complete, the expectations are high. Many online forums have lauded Birk’s work calling it “highly creative” and “a beautiful concept,” but some antagonists believe that turning the message of the Qur’an into an American perspective will diminish what the book was originally intended for. Birk explains his side, “The images are my own personal reflections about the message in the text of each chapter, or surah, and my pondering what that message means to me in my daily life. The images are metaphors for the imagery of the text. I try to think of things in our lives that are symbolic or emblematic of the text, things that present the message in a more easily graspable way, things that average Americans can relate to.” Whether it is positive or negative feedback, his finished project is being anticipated everywhere, and has even expanded beyond the traditional exhibition.
Birk is planning for much more, even before the project is fully finished, “This project is only half complete. I’m going to carry on working on it for a couple more years before I’m finished, and then it will become a book and there will be exhibitions of the completed project. I am personally glad he is doing this because no holy book should face the harsh judgments that the Qur'aan faces and I think to explore it and do something creative will generate more tolerance instead of hate.
Good opinion piece. 15/15
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