ISLAMIC WALL PAINTING
CONTINUATION OF TRADITIONS IN EGYPT

Village houses decorated with wall paintings

Adverse propaganda has been spread for so long that we fail to see ground realities. In Egypt in modern times people in villages still decorate their houses with wall paintings. And the themes are all Islamic and related to events in Muslim History. But added are facets of modern times, like cars, foot soldiers, and even aero planes. And this is not upper class practice, nor work of rich people. Just plain villagers , decorating houses of other villagers for petty sums of money.

The site is so picturesque when you walk into a village and see the walls decorated with so many paintings. It looks amazing indeed for times that do not even know of this practice. Such colour looks like being influenced b the huge frescoes of the Pharaohs in Egypt. But here the subjects are very interesting. Haj issues. Departures and arrivals. Ordinary life in the villages,. Flowers, naqashis etc. All reflect the simple taste of the villagers. No great masterpieces here, just art works for fun and enjoyment.

In Pakistan too the common people have inherited the folk art as expressed on moving trucks. And here the subjects are totally different. Recently I came across trucks with Dr Allama Iqbal on them. Amazing, isn’t it. The Pakistani Ideology directly influencing ordinary people, with no high profile intelligence. Another media is the influx of printed posters of Saints of the region. Where figurative painting is considered as curse by Mullahs, we see abundance of images of Hazrat Ali (blessings be on him), and his sons, along with every conceivable saint of the region. It makes us think figurative art is part and parcel of civilization in general and Muslim civilization in particular. Enjoy our brethren art from Egypt!