Nazip Ismagilov (Najip Naqqash)

Beauty of Calligraphy

My people, the Middle Volga Tatars, have been aware of Arab graphics since the late 800“s and official adoption of Islam in 922. It interpenetrated the religious, cultural and everyday life of the Tatars. Till 1928, for almost a thousand years, they had rendered their cherished thoughts and knowledge with this writing. The First Bulgarian Empire, Golden Horde, Khanate of Kazan left large cultural heritage: beautiful Arabic calligraphy, coins and items of applied art decorated with calligraphic scriptures. Fine samples of Tatar poetry and artistic prose were written with this handwriting.

Though since 1928 the Tatars were made to adopt Latin alphabet and later Cyrillic my people have never forgotten their rich thousand-year long cultural heritage. Just like European science keeps on applying Latin, so Arabic handwriting is both a means of learning Islam and a kind of modern visual art. I love this handwriting which creates the opportunity to work the Beautiful.

Here I would like to back the famous Hungarian folk expert and historian of the early 1900“s: ”Arabic writing is the handwriting of not only Arab people but the Oriental Muslim world in general. It is the sacred lean calligraphy of all Muslims with a long thousand-year history. All the heroic feats of the Turks, their conscious, spiritual greatness and heart poetry are written with Arab calligraphy”.