Cities of Light - The Culture of Al-Andalus July 1, 2008
Posted by ismailimail in History, Spain, culture.3 comments
Over a thousand years ago, Europe experienced one of its greatest periods of cultural enlightenment.
For more than three centuries in Medieval Spain, Muslims, Jews and Christians lived together and prospered in a thriving multicultural civilization. Here, remarkable individuals of different faiths made lasting contributions in such areas as poetry, art, architecture, music, dining etiquette, science, agriculture, medicine, engineering, navigation, textiles, and even hydraulic technology.
Their rich, complex culture reached a high point in the Mediterranean Middle Ages. However, larger forces in conquest of land and power brought about puritanical judgments, absolutism and religious extremism. The conflict they triggered extinguished the shared learning that once flourished in this enlightened land.
http://www.islamicspain.tv/Islamic-Spain/index.html
What is Culture? May 8, 2008
Posted by ismailimail in culture.add a comment
There are several parallel ways in which the word ‘culture’ is understood. It is often thought of in terms of the behaviour of ‘high’ or ‘elite’ classes of society than in terms of ‘folk’ or ‘popular’ culture of the masses. However, the word alternatively refers to the totality of the ways of life of a people, including their ideas and habits which they share and transmit from one generation to another. It also includes the material objects and monuments they use in their lives. For instance, objects of everyday life used by people during the Fatimid period are displayed in museums as illustrations of their culture. Even present-day technologies cannot be separated from the cultural contexts in which they were designed. Likewise, popular entertainment such as film and television productions are important forms of cultural expression today. The ancient heritage as well as the present identity of a particular community are reflected in its culture. Cultures are also deeply informed by the religious, moral and ethical values of a people.
Read complete article at the source: Institute of Ismaili Studies
Historic Cities Support Programme May 7, 2008
Posted by ismailimail in Art, Imam's Speech, culture.add a comment
“…..the Historic Cities Support Programme, a component of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, is not only concerned with saving buildings or historic districts for future generations. It seeks to go beyond restoration to creating mechanisms that contribute to real, measurable improvement in the quality of life in rural and urban areas, also enabling their inhabitants thereby to look after their cultural assets.”
His Highness the Aga Khan - Royal Toledo Foundation Award Ceremony, Toledo, Spain March 2, 2006
‘Clash of Ignorance’ April 7, 2008
Posted by ismailimail in Imam's Speech, culture.2 comments
“We are often told that increased contact among cultures will inevitably produce a ‘Clash of Civilizations,’ particularly between Islam and the West … The true problem we face is what I would call a ‘Clash of Ignorance’ — on both sides — one which neglects, for example, a long history of respect and cooperation between Islamic and western peoples, and their respective civilizations.”
Extract from the Address by His Highness the Aga Khan to graduates of the School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University, New York, May 15, 2006
Cultural encounters April 4, 2008
Posted by ismailimail in Imam's Speech, culture.add a comment
“I shall talk today about encounters. Encounters. When two people meet. Or two particles. Or two cultures. In that crucial moment of interaction the results of an encounter are determined. In the simplest of encounters - say, with two billiard balls - the outcome is a predictable result of position, velocity and mass. But the encounters that interest me most are not so simple. In the encounters of people and cultures, much depends on the path that each has taken to that point. These are not stochastic processes. The subjects have histories. The encounter has complexity and rich dimensionality. The result of an encounter between two people or between two cultures is shaped by the assumptions of each, by their respective goals, and - perhaps most directly relevant to a university - by the repertoire of responses that each has learned. Encounters therefore have aspects of both the general and the specific. What makes our current time distinctive are the new combinations of people and cultures that are participating in these encounters.
Extract from the Commencement Speech by Mawlana Hazar Imam
at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, MA, May 27th, 1994
Diversity of Cultures March 23, 2008
Posted by ismailimail in Imam's Speech, culture.1 comment so far
“The need for better understanding across cultures has never been greater — nor more pressing. We must do our utmost to value and protect what is greatest in our common heritage. It is important that the diversity of cultures, the pluralism that characterizes many societies today, is recognized as a vital asset and prerequisite for progress and development.”
His Highness the Aga Khan, at the inauguration of Splendori a Corte Exhibition in Parma, Italy, March 30, 2007
