The Houston Nonprofit Turning Love of the Prophet Into World-Class Art
Humraha News
A volunteer-run nonprofit in Houston has quietly built one of the most inspiring art competitions in the Muslim world. This year it drew more than 400 artists from 24 countries.
Humraha News is our weekly spotlight on good news from the Muslim community. A culture of good news, one story at a time.
A Houston art contest with global reach
The Islamic Arts Society announced the winners of the sixth edition of its Art for the Love of Prophet Muhammad contest, and the numbers tell a beautiful story. More than 400 artists from 24 countries across five continents submitted work this year, judged across two categories, traditional and contemporary Islamic art. Since the contest began, over 500 artists from 32 countries have taken part. Not bad for a community nonprofit running on volunteers and love.
The winning artworks
First prize went to Egyptian artist Salah Abdelkhalek for a stunning piece rendering the last verse of Surah Al-Fath in a developed Fatimid Kufic script, framed with Andalusian geometric ornament. The artist chose that verse partly because it contains every letter of the Arabic alphabet, which is the kind of detail that makes you look at the piece a second and third time.
Second prize went to Mutiullah Wasifi of India for a radiant sunburst design in Thuluth script honoring the Prophet, peace be upon him, and third prize to Abdul Wahab of Pakistan for a Kufic piece worked in leather, gold and watercolor.
Why we love this story
Muslim creativity in America is not just surviving, it is organizing, funding prizes and lifting artists on the other side of the world. Every submission is someone spending weeks of their life making something beautiful out of devotion.
Know a Muslim artist doing something wonderful? We spotlight one story from our community every week. Send us a story tip.
If this story has you wanting a little Arabic beauty in your own home, our personalized gifts with your name in Arabic are a small everyday version of the same idea. And for more Muslim excellence in the arts, read about the Muslim woman who took over Shakespeare's Globe.
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