Here is your chance to learn more about Chinese traditions and superstitions connected with death, mourning and grief, but this isn’t necessarily a day of sadness, rather a day when filial Chinese pay their respects to the spirits of their departed ancestors and pray for their souls.

Families will be seen cleaning family tombs, lighting candles, burning paper money and offering food, wine and maybe, even a bottle of Guinness! We will first visit one of the oldest cemeteries in KL and then travel on to Nilai Memorial Park, a huge cemetery with excellent “Feng Shui” burial grounds. This is a guided tour and bound to be a very special experience, so make you reserve your place as soon as possible if you are interested.

Note: Please wear comfortable clothes and shoes; no shorts or low-cut tops. You may want to bring a bottle of water, a hat or an umbrella, as this will be a walking tour for the most part.

The topic of the lecture for April was “Glory through Calligraphy” by Dr. Heba Barakat. She is an expert in this field with a degree in Islamic Art and Architecture from Cairo University and a degree in History of Architecture from the University of Ankara, Turkey. She received her PhD in Persian miniature paintings at Moscow University. Heba has worked in this field for over 20 years and is responsible for the recent exhibition, Al Kalima, at the Islamic Art Museum.

She gave a lot of information – introducing us step by step to the beautiful art of Arabic Calligraphy. To begin, she spoke briefly about the Arabic script and the various alphabets.

The Arabic script finds its origin in the Aramaic Nabatean Alphabet. The relationship between the round letters and the early Arabic script can easily be detected. Their similarities are not merely visual; both the Nabatean and the Arabic languages stress on the use of consonants rather than vowels and both are written from right to left and have no capital letters.

Arabic script is the second most widely used script in the world after the Latin script. With the spread of Islam, the Arabic alphabet was adopted by several non-Arab nations for writing their own languages. In Iran the Arabic letters were used to write Farsi. The Ottoman Turks used the Arabic alphabet until 1929. Even the Malay language was written in the Arabic script before being replaced by the Latin script, under the influence from the Dutch and the British.

“Calligraphy is not just writing. It is the art of writing,” she said. We next learned about the development of calligraphy in the Arabic script and its importance in the Islamic world.

The script of the holy Quran is in Arabic and as Islam spread around the world, so did Arabic calligraphy. What is interesting though, is that Arabic calligraphy did not follow a linear movement.

It developed in different styles in different parts of the world. It is a relationship between vertical and horizontal lines, angles and curves, or proportional measurements between letters.

In general the various styles fit into two broad categories with some minor variations.

They are the Kufic style and the Naskh style. If the letters are angular, cubic, rigid, then we are approaching the Kufic style.

If the letters are free flowing, rhythmic and curving, then we categorise them as being in the Naskh style.

After the lecture, we visited the new exhibition which shows the exquisite works of Iranian calligraphers. Since I had listened to her explain the differences between the various styles of calligraphy, I was able to recognise the various styles used by them in their work. The Kufic style or the Naskh style of writing – it all began to make sense!
- Komal Bhalla

I always seem to drive past the mosque on Jalan Duta thinking that I must go there sometime but never finding the opportunity. So, when my anti religion, anti-culture, anti-art, etc, 15-year-old son visited with school and then arrived home to shock me with the news that the mosque was “awesome and fantastic”, I decided it must be worth a visit! The Internet provided little information other than who the architects were. Eventually I was given a number of a guide who would take the group round.

The state mosque, known as the ‘mosque in the garden’ is situated on a raised area surrounded by a large moat, 33 acres in total. Building commenced in March 1996 and was completed on 1 September 2000, funded by the government and run by the Islamic department, costing RM 225 million to build.

It is built to accommodate up to 22,000 people. The main prayer hall holds up to 15,000, the ladies’ prayer hall up to 2,000 and the outside courtyard the remainder. Approximately 12,000 visit at Hari Raya, although the parking is for a mere 1,000 cars. The mosque has attractive gardens surrounding the stunning building, which has 22 beautifully decorated domes.

First, we were shown round the Islamic school. There is a pre-school for five and six year olds and the main school is for seven to 12-year-olds. The children attend Islamic school for two hours daily as well as the usual day school. It is voluntary, with classes of between 20-35 pupils. The curriculum is set by the Islamic department and teaches children how to pray, how to take their ablutions, moral education and Arabic for reading the Quran. The classrooms are bright with colourful teaching aids on the walls.

Other facilities include men’s and ladies’ dormitories, nine units for ladies and 19 for men. These provide accommodation for visitors who may find it difficult with transport or in funding a place to stay.

The multi-purpose hall holds 1,200 people and is used for Islamic forums, conferences and exhibitions. The dining hall caters for 750 at weddings and social occasions. A large library is available for Islamic research.

There is a beautiful VIP room, with luxurious soft furnishings and Islamic art features, this being reserved for the King, visitors from overseas and VIP explorers! Separate greeting areas are for ladies and men. A separate conference room is available for press reporting.

The local architects visited mosques all over the world before designing this one. Built by a mainly Malaysian workforce it combines traditional design and craft but is also hi-tech.

It boasts a number of firsts: the first mosque in Malaysia with air-con (RM12,000 per month); first with a reversible escalator, adapted for bare feet and is also the second mosque with a central chandelier with no bulbs. A lift makes the 95 metres journey up the minaret easier!

We were allowed a peak into the men’s prayer hall. The wonderful chandelier, weighing 2.1 tonnes and supported by three cables, works with lenses and blister glass, attracting light into the centre so that the prisms refract the light to the whole prayer area.

At night spotlights do the job of sunlight. Lighting also highlights the design in the ceiling at night, the lighting controlled to react to the available light. The sound system is also hi-tech with cameras detecting where people are to only play to that area, the first in the world in a mosque.

The granite is from Johor Bahru and the marble from Langkawi. The mosque is symmetrical with two waterfalls and a moat, water being a feature to help calm and prepare for prayer.

The lines produced by the prayer mats inside are continued in the marble outside so that if the hall is very busy worshipers know where to stand. Stone carvings with inlaid malachite and mother-of-pearl were done in India following the style of the Taj Mahal, by the descendants of the original stonemasons.

Seven specialists came to do the final touches when the assembly was done. The calligraphy is carved in Egyptian plaster by Iranian workers, with gold leaf.

Local plants feature on the beautiful hardwood doors, screens etc. Thirty traditional carpenters from Trengganu and Kelantan did the carvings, taking approximately one month to do one door. Likewise the cut glass of the windows has similar stunning flower designs.

Lastly, we were allowed a look into the women’s prayer hall, which was deceptively large, situated at the back of the prayer hall behind screens so that the men cannot see the ladies praying. A wall-to-wall carpet from India with orchids in the design was a replacement as the previous one was considered too hard for the ladies to kneel on.

This concluded our visit. I hope the group enjoyed it. I thought it was a good insight into how a mosque is also a community centre.

It is a spectacular building and so interesting to hear about how it was designed and built. On the face it is a very traditional building in design but we know now how various features and technology make it a very modern and comfortable place. I would recommend a visit!
- Elaine Wade

We were indeed fortunate to once again have Dr Heba Barakat as our guide through the Architecture Gallery at the Islamic Museum. The Gallery displays exquisite models of some of the greatest monuments in Islam – the mosque.

The mosque occupies the heart of Muslim life and is used not only to glorify Allah, but as a haven where followers come to discuss their daily life and meet others in the community. It may contain a madrasah or school, possibly a court of law.

The first mosque was the Prophet Muhammed’s humble home, but it quickly developed into a complex building complete with a number of functional requirements and decorative elements.

There are several standards that are typical in any mosque: the space must be clean, it may be open or sheltered, depending on its location; the qibla, or direction of the Kaaba, must be indicated, so all followers will know which way to pray; and a niche or mihrab that is used to focus the followers’ attention. This is located next to the minbar or high pulpit used for Friday prayers.

The minaret is used to call the faithful to prayer. The height was originally determined by how far the call should be heard. Now amplifiers serve them well! Shapes of minarets varied regionally, reflecting local taste and customs. Square ones evolved in Syria, spiral dominated the Persian mosques, but most common was the cylindrical shape.

Domes are also a common feature. The earliest examples were very small, but with time they became larger in size and in number. This can be seen at the Hanum Aya Sofia in Edirne, Turkey, which was built by master architect Sinan in the 16th century. Onion domes developed during the Mughal period, with the Taj Mahal being the most beautiful example.

Courtyards always held a fountain used for ablution before praying. They were generally open to the elements, but often had covered arcades to provide shelter. Various styles of arches were also used throughout, especially in the arcades.

The desire to beautify the mosque also encouraged the production of the beautiful tiles that are evident on mosques the world over. Calligraphy also developed as an artform and often used to adorn mosques.

This is but a small part of what we learned and I would like to encourage you to visit the IAMM and see these small wonders for yourself.
- Cindy Zeier

On the day that the people of the most populous democracy in the world went to the polls, it was indeed timely that members of the MCG gathered to view a documentary covering a significant and turbulent period in the formation of that democracy.

Sagari Chhabra, the film-maker, described “Asli Azaadi” (True Freedom) as a “film made from the heart”, a tribute and salute to the many people, but particularly women, who had contributed to the struggle for freedom and independence from British colonial rule in India.

As she so expressively summed up in the film, “for my tomorrow, you gave your today, can we ever hope to repay.” This central thread continued throughout the film, as we were introduced to many of the surviving women freedom fighters. From their personal accounts, we gained first-hand knowledge of various aspects of the freedom struggle, and were privileged to see historical events brought alive through their eyes.

We heard first from members of the Indian National Army, organised and later led by Subhas Chandra Bose (also known as Netaji) during World War II, to fight for independence from British rule. He recruited Indians based in Singapore, Malaya, Burma and Thailand for his force, and felt strongly that a women’s regiment should be an integral part in the fight for freedom. Almost 1,500 volunteers were raised for what became known as the Rani Thansi regiment, the first all-women’s military wing in the world. Defend until the last man and the last bullet” was Netaji’s evocation to his troops. Stories related by surviving members of this regiment spoke of their courage and tenacity through battle, bombing raids and interrogations.

Members of the Rani Thansi regiment felt such strength of spirit, loyalty and passion that when eventually instructed to disband by Netaji, a petition of blood was produced, such was their determination to stay and fight. The INA was ultimately dissolved, many of its members put on trial and imprisoned, but it had succeeded, in no small way, in shaking the morale of the Indian Empire.

By contrast, the film also covered the independence movement led by Mahatma Ghandi, with his strategy of “satyagraha”, described in his own words as “the vindication of truth not by infliction of suffering on the opponents but on one’s self”. “If it is to be blood that is shed, let it be our own”. We heard personal accounts from women involved in his non-violent mass civil disobedience campaigns including the boycott of foreign cloth and the famous anti-Salt law marches. One interviewee describes being hit by a cane so hard that she was unable to raise her arm for several days afterwards, and gives an eyewitness account of the shooting of a fellow demonstrator who refused to back down. Many of these women relived experiences of being imprisoned, one when pregnant, others when no more than children.

Another inspirational account described how the imprisoned women built a ladder of mattresses (which took two hours) to then raise the flag of India from the top of the prison walls. Defying the soldiers instructed to shoot at them, they sang of how they were the women of India and would sacrifice their homes and families for the love of their country. The soldiers could not bring it upon themselves to shoot.

The film went on to recount the sacrifices and courageous initiatives of women through other significant events in this period of history, such as the Bengal famine, Bombay mutiny, eventual Independence followed by the sting of Partition, in which women invariably bore the brunt of abuse.

And so to the present day, where the women’s movement in contemporary India continues to strive for improvements in the lives of Indian women – “women were equal partners in the struggle for freedom, so should be equal partners in the fruits of development”.

Although the interviewees of “Asli Azaadi” are now all in their 80s and 90s, a strong sense of their conviction, bravery, feistiness and resilience still shone clearly.

The documentary was a moving and informative account of a period of history, not often seen from the perspective of women who were directly involved.

Sagari Chhabra continues in her quest to seek these remarkable women and to document and celebrate their contribution.
- Sally Pilkington

The Komplex Taman Seni Islam sits surrounded by a tranquil setting, adjacent to the well-known Blue Mosque in Shah Alam.

KTSI translates as the Selangor Islamic Arts Complex, and is now home for Yayasan Restu, a non-profit organisation responsible for the preservation and cultivation of Islamic arts in Selangor; which has grown from humble beginnings in 1994.

Funded by the Yayasan Restu foundation, the work conducted at the KTSI focuses on calligraphy and illumination, more widely known as Mushaf Art. The goal of the work is to “glorify the word of the Prophet”.

The original project undertaken by the Yayasan Restu was to create a truly Malaysian edition of the Quran, the Al-Quran Mushaf Malaysia. Initially, extensive research work was conducted in many Islamic countries, exploring the ways in which different cultures incorporated their uniqueness into their national qurans.

Based on these findings, the project to develop a Malaysian Quran, incorporating visual art forms from every Malaysian state was launched. Each of the 14 Malaysian states and territories was asked to develop specific and unique visual art designs, representative of the architecture, vegetation and landforms in their state. Five years later, a magnificent masterpiece of 330 individual designs, surrounding uniform naskh calligraphy is insured for RM 21 million!

Puan Pauziah Pauzi, Business Development Manager, conducted our tour of the exhibition galleries and workshops. Puan Paiziah’s knowledge of the work involved in this project is immense; she guided us through the first gallery pointing out the incorporation of state icons, explaining the production process and details such as the native fern stem pens used for calligraphy, and the sources of natural dyes.

When the work first commenced, four calligraphers were employed, and then set to work for eight months to perfect their script such that each is identical to the other. In addition, computer graphic artists, colouring artists, designers and proofreaders form part of the overall team.

The finished pieces are 3x4 feet, and individually breathtaking in their exquisite design and beauty. Immense planning of details is obvious; from the allocations of the verses to the states (based on the order of introduction of Islam into Malaysia), to the specialised German paper used for the production, guaranteed for up to 500 years.

I was reminded of the precious works of art showing the illustrations and calligraphy of medieval monks which I have seen in European museums; just imagine how beautiful it is to see this work as new!

Currently over 20 projects are under way; some commissions, some state works, and some reproductions (the Sultan of Selangor was so impressed he asked for a centre page from the original Mushaf (Book) al-Quran to be delivered to his palace!). The one project of world wide importance if the production of al-Quran Mushaf Nur Fatimah: a Quran produced entirely by women. This work is based on design input from the whole world, divided into 8 regions. Early designs for the African section feature rosella and henna flowers, the colours and art forms of Africa.

Puan Pauziah shared much, much more information with us, but in the interests of space, may I urge you to visit the KTSI, on Tuesdays to Sundays from 9.30 am to 5.30 pm.

Be sure to take a friend with you who speaks Bahasa Melayu, as the exhibits are currently labelled in this way (there are plans to add an English translation as soon as resources allow).

Simplified copies of the Al-Quran Mushaf Malaysia are avaible for purchase in the gift shop for RM 50, and feature a sample of the artwork. Limited edition copies with extensive illuminations can be purchased for RM 35,000; these are popular with corporations.
- Cindy Zeier