Guide to Arabic Calligraphy

Guide to the Arabic alphabet, "Calligraphy of the Islamic World," Sackler and Freer Gallery of Art, 2007. This pamphlet offers a chart providing information on the letters of the Arabic alphabet and it also allows you to trace the proper strokes in order to write السلام عليكم (As-Salāmu `Alaykum = "Peace be with you"). I'm not exactly sure if the chart of letter forms is all that useful, since Arabic letters (as I understand it) must change their shape depending on where they appear in a given word.

(For more on calligraphy in Muslim cultures, see this online exhibition. To see another chart of the Arabic alphabet with cute animal pictures, see this earlier post.)

Bad Omen?

Last week the Sackler Gallery proudly announced the opening of "Falnama: The Book of Omens," a book of divination widely used in the Islamic world.  Unfortunately, "error message gibberish" has already ruined the display on this electronic information kiosk. Sign of things to come?