It's wrong to say that depictions of Prophet Muhammad are only accepted by Shiites. Because many of the images of Muhammad originated in Persian or Turkish regions, "individuals [say] that there are no images of the Prophet in Islam," Gruber explains, "and if we see them, they're 'Persian' or 'Shiite,' and so they don't count. That argument basically says "that Persian art isn't Islamic art, and Shiism isn't Islam," neither of which are correct.
Gruber points out that at certain periods, Iran and the Ottoman lands had Sunni rulers, and some of those illustrations were sponsored by "vehemently Sunni patrons. Islamic texts actually tell us what Prophet Muhammad looked like. Gruber says the issue goes back to what the Koran says about worshipping idols. More Videos Why are images of the Prophet Mohammed so offensive? Counterprotests at 'Draw Mohammed' rally.
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After the violent attacks on Charlie Hebdo — the French satirical weekly that routinely published caricatures of Muhammad — many are wondering: are depictions of Muhammad actually forbidden in Islamic scripture? From where does this aversion to pictorial representations arise? And are all Muslims similarly offended?
But it does date to early Muslim texts that evince an antipathy toward idolatry; it also emerges from a related desire, among Muslims, to distinguish themselves from other religious communities.
There are many fine examples of painted images of Muhammad — many appear in lavishly illustrated biographies of him that date from medieval times. Almost invariably, the rich were the sole possessors of these rare, expensive books and, as is often the case, the rules of the palace differed from those of the street.
Still, pictorial traditions survived in some places, while new ones emerged in others, most notably in the proliferation of colorful images of Muhammad and saints in modern Iran. Whether this can be attributed to a theological characteristic of Shi'ism — the dominant Muslim sect in Iran — or a peculiarity of Persian culture is open to debate.
Outside of Shi'ism, however, predominantly Sunni societies — which, in most countries, account for the overwhelming majority of Muslims — treat religious images with an aversion verging on taboo. But it is a reminder that secular Europeans have their own identity politics, and that these play out in controversies over cartoons, as well.
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