Sweeping gestures, divine power
Master of calligraphy Haji Noor Deen wowed Harvard in April during a demonstration of his singular Arabic Islamic calligraphy in the Chinese style. Now his work is on display in the CGIS South building in an exhibit titled “Arabic Islamic Calligraphy in the Chinese Tradition: Works by Master Haji Noor Deen.” The exhibit is sponsored by the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Islamic Studies Program at Harvard University. Knowledge of Arabic and Chinese may help the viewer access added joys — tilt your head to the left and a Chinese character for “peace” gives way to a cursive Arabic salaam — but even those who do not read either language can appreciate the beauty of Noor Deen’s work. “His calligraphy has a boldness about it, and at the same time a gentleness to it, that really conveys the sense of divine power and at the same time, beauty, grace, and subtlety,” said Elizabeth...