Ramadan visual symbology

Submitted by Ivan on Mon, 2005-10-24 09:55.

Inspiration

Ramadan Kareem

Now it is Ramadan, the holy month for the muslim world. It's a month of prayers, fasting and celebration during the night. People in arab countries are not allowed to drink, smoke or eat during the day. They do a lot of charity and give gifts to each other at the end of Ramadan.

I'd like to show some of the symbology assocaited with Ramadan. If you're a christian, think of this list as a the muslim xmas tree, jingle bells, santa, etc...

Moon and stars

The muslim calendar is based on lunar phases. And the month of Ramadan covers a full cycle. Therefore the most widely used symbol is the night sky.

Let me take the opportunity here to ask everyone who works on such a layout not to put stars in the empty (dark) area of the moon. See bad example above. If there were stars in the empty area, it would mean those stars are between the earth and the moon. So, just keep that area starless please.

Cannon

cannon A cannon is fired just when the sun goes down and is used to signal the very first second when people are allowed to eat after the whole day of fasting. It's kind of a social activity to gather around the cannon with sandwiches and drinks in hand waiting for the cannon to go off.

El Misaharaty

drummer The Ramadan drummer. El Misaharaty is the name given to the person who walks and beats a drum in residential areas to wake people up to eat their sohor (a meal eaten before the beginning of the fast) before morning prayers. It's not practiced anymore in modern cities. Alarm clocks replaced the drummer.

Fanouz

lantern The Ramadan lantern. This lamp is basically a colorful storm lamp and it comes in dozens of different forms and shapes. Children in small groups wearing colorful embroidered clothes carry and swing these lamps while singing a traditional song. They are rewarded with nuts and candies. Much like during Christmas in the US.

Koran

koran The holy book. The main focus this month is prayers, so the Koran is an important part of the symbology. Rarely used for commercial materials, because of its stong religious connotations, but one can see it in greeting cards and other more personal communication.

Calligraphy

Arabic calligraphy is very much associated with religion, therefore it's also part of Ramadan and used quite often. Verses from the Koran are visualized in endless number of different forms and styles. Creating a unique calligraphy requires great skill, therefore only the more sophisticated design pieces feature this form of art. Read more about it here.

Mosque

mosque During this month muslims go to the mosque even more regularly for prayers. The big famous mosques are not usually shown in this context. Usually it's a siluette of a lonely building in setting sun. Interesting to note that around mosques there is usually a lot of charity food being distributed to the less fortunate as part of the Ramadan traditions.

Dates

dates The fruit of the date palm is an important symbol because many break their fast by eating a piece of date and drinking a sweet juice. One should not break the fast with any heavy food. It takes time for the digestive system to kick start. It is told, that you can survive on a glass of milk and 10 pieces of dates a day for any amount of time.

Food

food Ramadan is about fasting during the day but it's also about feasting during the night. Wonderful dinners (or so called Iftars) served in tents. Many times such social dinners are accompanied with water pipes and soft music. Theoretically one should eat the bare minimum, but it's rarely the case nowadays.

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Thanks..

Submitted by Waleed on Mon, 2005-10-24 11:32.

Nicely written and presented..

In the modern life one cannot see cannons, Almesahher (El Misaharaty in Egyptian dialect) or the fanoos, unless in a party, or some kind of organized event.

When Ramadhan began, I emailed friends, family, and customers with this greeting. I used two light sources, the 1st was in front of my kids controlled by barn doors and a blue gel filter. The 2nd was a 47" octabox behind them. I had them point and look at a location up where I planned to photoshop the crescent (as Ramadhan is a lunar month).

I also worked with an agency and did the Ramadhan Emsakeyya (calendar) with them as a card. I contributed the photographs and they did the design. We used the photographs I had of the moon phases to do the days of the month with times of sunrise/sunset, and several photos to make 8 templates with different backs.. Printed and distributed 8,000 cards around Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

:-)

Waleed
www.waleedsgallery.biz

Arabic Calligraphy

Submitted by Paul D on Mon, 2005-10-24 11:58.

It's not Ramadan-specific, but I think Arabic Calligraphy is just about the pinnacle of graphic design. Nothing impresses me quite as much as some of the amazing Arabic designs I've seen.

thanx Ivan

Submitted by RAKESS on Mon, 2005-10-24 13:19.

Being a Christian pastor, and a graphic designer I am always interested to see where symbolism comes from. Thank you for taking the time to explain. I have always loved Arabic art, but it cool to finally understand why some of the symbols have significance. May this be a time of blessing, remebrance and celebration to all who practice it, and may it bring about healing in our world.

Thanks for sharing that with

Submitted by Korteenea on Mon, 2005-10-24 13:49.

Thanks for sharing that with us, Ivan! It's great to see how similar Ramadan is to Christmas or Hanukkah. It almost seems like most of us here in the West are kept in the dark about how alike the East and the West *really* are. I'm ashamed to admit that most people here, if you asked, would probably think Muslims were just a bunch of nomads in the desert shooting down helicopters (that is, after all, the only things they show us on television.) They'd be suprised to discover that Ramadan is just as special as Christmas and Hanukkah can be, and how it too is about giving, praying, and being with family.

In today's technological world, you would think that the customs and cultures on the other side of the globe wouldn't be so shrouded in mystery... but to most people they still are. It's almost as though the iron curtain between East and West remains.

It is great to have this

Submitted by calvincarl on Mon, 2005-10-24 14:37.

It is great to have this update, because even though everyone might not see this, this is just as important to design as all the other things everyone talks about on here.

Great knowledge makes for a great artist.

CalvinCarl.com

Good Article - FYI about different holy days..

Submitted by bigczar on Mon, 2005-10-24 18:36.

Great article Ivan. I agree with an earlier post that Arabic Calligraphy is some of the most amazing graphic designs ever made. Just wanted to clear something up among some the of readers.

Somebody please correct me if I'm wrong, but, Ramadan isn’t exactly the same thing to Muslims as Christmas is to Christians.

My understanding is that Ramadan is the holiest period of the Islamic lunar calendar year. This was the month in which the Qura'n was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad.

Although, Christmas (Jesus’s birth) is probably the most recognizable Christian celebration (especially in Western civilizations), it certainly is NOT the most holy celebration. That is commonly referred as Easter. Easter Sunday commemorates Jesus's resurrection from His mortal death on the cross. (crucifixion by the Romans) Thus affirming to Christians that He is the son of God.

Id al-Fitr is the day after Ramadan. It is a time of rejoicing. Houses are decorated; and gifts are given to family. I believe this day most likely would resemble the Christian's celebration of Christmas.

All of these faiths start with a period of time (normally multiple days and/or weeks) of strict fasting and prayer eventually culminating into a day of celebration. If we are going to try to make a comparison, (which is kinda difficult to do) I think the following example is perhaps more appropriate:

Christians = Lent –into- Easter
Muslims = Ramadan –into- Id al-Fitr
Jews = Rosh Hashanah –into-Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement)

I myself am a Christian living in the U.S. and I have many Muslim and Jewish friends. I wrote this based on memory, so please forgive me if I was wrong with any details. I don’t mean to offend anyone.

-bigczar

Common Misconception

Submitted by kbahey on Thu, 2005-11-17 21:30.

Good points.

A common misconception in the West, is that emphasis being put on Ramadan more than any other period in the Muslim calendar.

First, Eid Al Adha (70 days after Eid Al Fitr) is supposed to be a more important time for Muslims in most countries. The holidays (time off work, business, schools, and government are closed) for a longer period, there is no hardwork (fasting), and Hajj (Pilgrimage) occurs on those days.

It celebrates Abraham (Ibrahim's) obedience and willingness to sacrifice his son.

Regarding Holy Months, there are four truce months where traditional hostilities between tribes had to cease, even if there were wars and battles going on. Ramadan is not one of them though. These are better termed "Peace Months" or "Forbidden Months", and were meant for trade and pilgrimage to proceed regardless of the political situation.

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thanks

Submitted by Salah on Wed, 2005-10-26 01:49.

thanks for posting this. its nice to see people giving your religion some recognition, instead of having to just sit and watch christmas rush by you.

as far as a i know jews only fast for the 24 hours of yom kippur. my roomate is a reform jew and the girl im dating is a conservative jew, and they both only went the 24. muslims used to do this same 24 hour fast but then it was stated that ramadan would be an appropriate substitute. yom kippur was called ashura in islam and still exists as a holiday but for now different reasons and doesnt line up with the jewish calendar most of the time due to divergent 'drift' between the 2. as for Eid al Fitr, its one of only 2 or three 'hoidays' that are celebrated, depending on 'denomination' the other big one is Eid al Adha, ending the pilgrimage and commemerating the sacrifice Abraham was willing to make, among other things.

and at least as i was taught, the gift giving part is a later introduction. but then, so are the star and crescent. there are some very interesting (and some not so interesting) works written about the adoption of this as a symbol for islam. it was one of the many things leftover from ottoman capture of turkey. other such graphic holdovers would include the albanian flag being red, a colour not otherwise part of the iconography, tho their flag device is their own.

hope my input was useful to at least someone.

Salah

Great post

Submitted by Roba on Fri, 2005-10-28 13:29.

Very interesting Ivan. As an Arab and Muslim, I take these things for granted. It is is fascinating to see them dissected by someone who hasn't spent his entire life surrounded by them. I really enjoy how you experiment with other cultures and formats.