Pixels in Islamic art: square Kufic calligraphy

88 fanf2 9 5/5/2025, 8:42:03 PM uwithumlaut.wordpress.com ↗

Comments (9)

mrtksn · 2h ago
Mardin Artuklu University logo is in this style: http://www.artuklu.edu.tr

If you look closely, you should be able to see "Mardin Artuklu Üniversitesi" in the labyrinth.

samirillian · 1h ago
Just to clarify I don’t think that first image is Kufic script, whereas the second is the shahada (author calls it the shada)

I’m not sure about the 2 kinds of scripts claim, I think there are a few more than that.

mohsen1 · 59m ago
I had the idea of making a QR code generator that embeds those "Kufi" "scripts" but never got to do it. Now with LLM image generators it's pretty feasible
hnlmorg · 2h ago
There's some good examples on wikipedia as well: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

As someone with zero exposure to Kufic script before today, some of those images, and particular the circle ones in the original article, remind me of the London Underground "Labyrinth" mazes https://www.tubeopedia.co.uk/labyrinth-locations

Calwestjobs · 1h ago
Greatest shibboleths of them all.
brador · 2h ago
Such abstraction can be used to obfuscate information. Could they contain and have contained hidden messages? Hushed passwords to enter secret areas of the temples hidden in plain sight?
ChinstrapCmnty · 14h ago
Very cool!
hawshemi · 1h ago
keep in mind: there is no such thing as "islamic art".
ozirus · 36m ago
do not tell this everywhere. it's a secret.