BADAWĪ al-DİRANĪ - ircica

THE INTERNATIONALCALLIGRAPHY COMPETITIONThe idea of the International Calligraphy Competition was first mentioned in the “IstanbulDeclaration on Islamic Arts” issued by the International Symposium on the “CommonPrinciples, Forms and Themes of Islamic Arts” which was organised by the Research Centrefor Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA) in April 1983. The masters and lovers ofcalligraphy attending the symposium considered various aspects of this art and emphasizedthe role played by calligraphy in unifying different branches of Islamic arts. They alsorecognized the necessity and usefulness of organising a competition of calligraphy.THE PURPOSE OF THE COMPETITIONThe purpose of this international competition is to revive and encourage the development of“Classical Islamic Calligraphy”. Thus, it aims to encourage artists of Islamic calligraphy toproduce works within the framework of the traditional spirit and rules and to protect it fromtrends which emerged outside of the principles of “Classical Islamic Calligraphy”.This attempt will provide a common ground to all Muslim calligraphers to exchange theirknowledge and approaches, and enable the development of a mutually appreciated artistictaste by Muslims all over the world.In the spirit to encourage young artists to emulate the examples of the great masters ofcalligraphy and, at the same time, to commemorate their achievements, the Centre organisedthe first international competition (1986) in the name of Hamid al-Amidi (1891-1982), thesecond competition (1989) in the name of Yaqut al-Mustasimi (?-698/1298), the thirdcompetition (1992 in the name of Ibn al-Bewwab (?-413/1022), on the occasion of themillenium of his death, the fourth calligraphy competition (1997) in the name of SheikhHamdullah (833/1429-926/1520), the fifth competition (2000) in the name of SayyidIbrahim (1897-1994), the sixth competition (2003) in the name of Mir Imad al-Haseni (961-1024/1554-1615) on the 400 th year Hij’ra of his death and the seventh competition (2006) inthe name of the Iraqi calligrapher Hāshim Muhammed al-Baghdādī (1335-1393/1917-1973).The Centre is pleased to dedicate the eighth competition to the memory of the renownedSyrian calligrapher Muhammed Badawi al-Dirani (1312-1387/1894-1967).3