Islamic Calligraphy Centre opens in Mauritania

The first Islamic calligraphy centre in Mauritania was opened by a group of the country’s artists and calligraphers. According to aqlame.com, the center called “Ibn Muqla Center for Arabic Calligraphy and Islamic Illumination” aims to revive the noble art of calligraphy in the African country. It will hold exhibitions, educational courses and workshops and cooperate with educational institutes to teach 

The first Islamic calligraphy centre in Mauritania was opened by a group of the country’s artists and calligraphers. According to aqlame.com, the center called “Ibn Muqla Center for Arabic Calligraphy and Islamic Illumination” aims to revive the noble art of calligraphy in the African country. It will hold exhibitions, educational courses and workshops and cooperate with educational institutes to teach Arabic calligraphy at different schools in Mauritania. There are thousands of precious manuscripts of calligraphic art at the libraries of the country which show the importance of the art in this region. Mohammad Amin Samlali, Mauritanian author and poet, is the head of the center and eminent calligraphers Mohammad Salim and Ahmad Walad Mohammad Amin are respectively its secretary and executive director. Ali ibn Muqla (885-940 AD) was a Persian official of the Abbasid Caliphate who rose to high state posts in the early 10th century. He was also a famous calligrapher, and he or his brothers have been considered the originators of the so-called al-khatt al-mansub (proportioned script) style, perfected by the 11th-century Persian calligrapher Ibn al-Bawwab.