蜜芽传媒

Last week I found myself in Rome, amongst hundreds of people, straining my neck to catch a glimpse of a Caravaggio painting. Surrounded by mostly Catholics from around the world, I found the one I鈥檇 been looking for 鈥� a painting of Jesus pointing to Matthew 鈥� the tax collector. I broke away from the throng and found a bench where I spent a long time looking at and reflecting on this painting of Matthew. The use of colours to create dramatic effect between light and dark is most striking in Caravaggio鈥檚 style; it draws the onlooker into a dramatic scene which feels as though it鈥檚 very much of this earth rather than the heavens. In the scene Matthew points at himself in surprise to find that he鈥檚 the person Jesus is calling. We stop at this moment waiting for Matthew to give a response.

This is not a painting, nor a building, that you may think of as inspiring for a Muslim on her city break in Rome. But what religious art has is the ability to take us beyond our own religious traditions and discover new ways of understanding ourselves and so, in the same way, it鈥檚 not only Muslims that can take inspiration from Islamic art, from calligraphy in the Blue Mosque in Istanbul for example or the carvings in the Spanish Alhambra; millions visit these places each year. Like me, we may feel we鈥檙e visiting as tourists but can become pilgrims along the way.

There are different ways in which we respond to religiously inspired art and space, some might pray 鈥� although the security guards at the Alhambra don鈥檛 like that 鈥� but there are other ways of responding too. In the Alhambra you can鈥檛 help but reflect on the unique architecture with its dome shaped arches and spellbinding quiet pools. Spiritually motivated art isn鈥檛 confined to a particular faith or human spirit; it鈥檚 there for our taking, no matter the source of our belief and where we may come across it.

My pilgrimage to Rome gives me hope because the art I encountered goes beyond our world of faith, creed and colour and enters a wordless space where there are no boundaries or limitations. In the same way Jesus chose Matthew to turn his life around, I know from experience that an open heart to the 鈥榦ther鈥� can find love, grace and humanity as Matthew did. God says in the Qur鈥檃n, in the chapter actually called The Romans: 鈥淎nd of His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth and the diversity of your languages and your colours. Indeed in that are signs for those of knowledge.鈥�

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