Comparative Views of Annemarie Schimmel and Sheila Blair on Islamic Calligraphy

Among the traditional Islamic arts, calligraphy is one of the most important arts; in so far as some schools of thought such as traditionalists consider it sacred art or sacred art. On the one hand, Islamic calligraphy can be considered an art in sync with wisdom and mysticism, and on the other hand, we may consider it simply an art that arose and was derived from Islamic civilization. Nevertheless, the irreplaceable and precious position of this branch of traditional art among the Islamic arts cannot be ignored. In the examination of every subject, including works or branches of Islamic art, the choice of a different method and approach leads us to different results. This produces very different results in the area of studies on Islamic art. In view of this, various thinkers and scholars have conducted research in the area of Islamic calligraphy. Annemarie Schimmel and Sheila S. Blair are major scholars who have studied Islamic art and Islamic calligraphy. Based on these points, the main objective of this research is to examine the views of Schimel and Blair on Islamic calligraphy. Therefore, the main issue of this research is what are the components of Islamic calligraphy according to Schimel and Blair? In this research, after outlining the theoretical underpinnings and defining the required concepts, Schimel and Blair’s views in the field of Islamic calligraphy are examined and analyzed. This research has an applied character and is regarded as descriptive-analytic. The method of data collection is a library. The analytical approach is qualitative. This research shows that Schimel uses phenomenology and Blair uses historiography to study Islamic calligraphy.