After 26 years of hard work, research and participation in exhibitions to unleash the secrets behind the scientific foundation of the shapes of Arabic letters, Ahmed Moustafa is now in the final stages of publishing a book by the end of the year. His scientific theories will be published in two parts, first in Arabic and later in English, and then in other languages.
In his book, Moustafa talks about fascinating discoveries derived from Arabic letter shapes which were found in theories dating back more than 1,000 years. For example, there is a theory called proportion script. This theory, he notes, is what led to the Arabic letters we see today. He added, we have something called the one-third ratio of truth in which everything relates to a truth.
Moustafa said he discovered that Western innovative rules are subjective because humans base them upon what they think. However, Islamic innovative rules are considered objective laws because God placed them in all his creatures. “When I came to this, I discovered I was given a talent and believed I should dedicate this talent to spread God’s words through my field of art,” he said.
He then added, “It hit me after finishing my MA in London that I was unaware of many things regarding the Islamic roots of my culture.” He said his education in both Egypt and UK were primarily about Western art. By coincidence, he came across the topic about the origins of Arabic letters while reading different studies made in Saudi Arabia, but published in the West. It was then that he knew he is here for a reason.
“To bridge the gaps between the East and the West through art and through revealing the scientific foundation of Arabic letter shapes. Since I decided to make this the place where I live, I chose to launch the research center for that purpose,” he said. In his art, Moustafa is inspired by Islamic verses in the Qur’an. He tries, through the letters, to present a closer image of what the verses mean. He does not consider himself an Islamic scholar, but prefers to be referred to as an Islamic art innovator. From his point of view, he said, “as long as the piece of art delivers the true meaning of the divine perfection, it is considered Islamic art.”
He also said that, unfortunately until now, Arabs have not had a museum that displays Islamic art as a living thing. What is seen is, basically, works that shows this art as historical. “However, our art should be presented as history, true, but also as the art of the present through our contemporary artists as well as the art of the future. Simply because it is alive and will continue to be, due to the fact that it is not derived from a person but, instead, from nature and what is around us,” he said.
Regardless, Moustafa is very optimistic because the younger generations remain impressed and proud of their culture. “I have faith and no doubt these youths will keep this culture and art living,” he said. Though some Western universities tend to teach Islamic art in a Western method, “We will, hopefully, as Arabs be able to look deeper in our Arabic culture’s art and its meanings and present it in the best way possible as we get back to God for guidance,” he said.
Having God’s guidance is important, he added, because being an artist does not mean one should neglect his other social life, as many people think. A Muslim artist should have a balanced life, otherwise, if he does not abide by Muslim behavior, he would not be able to become creative and innovative because he lacks a Muslim foundation, he said.
Moustafa is the founder of the Fe-Noon Research Centre for Arab Art and Design, which was opened in London in 1983. He was a full-time lecturer on composition and technology in painting and stage design at the Faculty of Fine Arts at Alexandria University. In addition, in 1974 he was granted sabbatical leave as an Egyptian delegate for Special Advanced Studies in Printmaking at the Central School of Art and Design in London where he received his MA in Graphic Design and, afterward, was awarded his Ph.D. on, “The Scientific Foundation of Arabic Letter Shapes” from the Central School of Art and Design. He is also a father of two children, Safeer, 27, a graduate in Arabic and now performing his post-graduate work at Al-Azhar University in Cairo, and Nisreen, 30, an architect.
