Speaker talks Islamic and Western architecture

San Jose City College hosted Mohammad H. Qayoumi, the president of San Jose State University, as he presented examples of Islamic and Western Architecture and Arts on April 8.

Sami A. Ibrahim, chemistry professor at San Jose City College said that the main objective of the annual Middle Eastern Heritage celebration at SJCC was to inform the college community about the history, faiths, and the aspirations of all the people of the Middle East.

[media-credit id=1 align=”alignright” width=”400″][/media-credit]”It is our hope this annual event is promoting greater understanding between the great cultures of the Middle East and those of the Western world,” Ibrahim wrote in an email.

Qayoumi said that the Kufic style lettering is one of the oldest styles that are from Jordan.

Qayoumi said that there are different styles of lettering such as Maqah, Raqiq and Sin, which is from China.

“The main objective was to broaden the understanding of arts, culture and the interrelatedness of Islamic, Western arts and architecture,” Sean J. Abel, the dean of Humanities and Social Science, wrote in an email.

Students learned about how different architecture and arts borrowed some Islamic cultural element in their designs for buildings.

“I liked how they explained the different architecture and how they changed through the modern era,” said Flor Armas, a psychology major student. “Also, how the Islamic culture combined with Christianity and how it showed through the architecture and art.”