Talk:Islamic symbols
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Freestyle, the info that has been cited is not from valid Muslim sources, a selection that would make sense. Because a Muslim can give the Islamic perspective on Islamic symbols (if any. I still maintain that there may be many Muslim symbols, but hardly any official Islamic symbol.). It would be appropriate to have stronger sources in general, Muslim or not.
1. The line about Mughal gardens gives it a misleading important. Here is a line from the source that you have cited:
"Though these formal or paradise gardens are commonly associated with Islamic symbolism - they are also referred to as "Islamic" gardens - the origin of this distinctive form is acknowledged by scholars to lie in a time even more remote."
The article itself says that the form is pre-Islamic! Therefore the source is not just weak, it is in contradiction to what is being proposed. Note also that the source is a Hindu website. That makes the case a little weaker; I instead suggest that a Muslim authority on Islamic symbolism is cited. A non-Muslim source can be cited, of course, but with a stronger scholarly background. At any rate, this source only contradicts the assumption that Mughal gardens had Islamic symbolism.
2. The source Sufic symbolism is also a weak one. Rather than being a news item or a scholarly piece, or even a credible site, it a usenet chatter among a group of not-very-informed persons. Not worth an encyclopedia's attention. Please consider.
3. The symbolism of Islamic prayer is another non-Muslim source. I have to read the entire article before a final comment, but it's strange that no valid Muslim authority has been consulted. The Muslim source on Mughal gardens actually made a slight reference to those gardens being a symbol of Paradise, and then went on to correct it. It was also not a well-written piece. It makes sense that a Muslim scholar could better expound on Islamic symbolism. Another authority could be a symbologist, not just usenet users.
4. In fact, it was useful (though admittedly not well-written) information that Islam is actually quite symbol-free. Here is Encyclopaedia Britannica Online's search result on Islamic Symbolism. As of 22:08, 18 September 2005 (UTC), it shows zero results. This is not very well-explained in the intro line of the article. Hmmm, let me think of a better alternative.
Regards, TheProphetess 22:15, 18 September 2005 (UTC) P.S. I have refrained from editing out your writing. Please re-consider. If you do not wish to change the document, I will gladly take the work up.
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[edit] Major revision
Editors who had a very loose view of symbolism had filled up the article with unreferenced personal essays and discussions of the symbolism of prayer, the Hajj, etc. I rewrote, making it clear that the article is about not-textual, non-verbal, visual symbols only. The article still lacks references. I should not be doing this, I should be cleaning my house. If any editors would do the research and add references, that would be very nice. Zora 20:50, 12 May 2006 (UTC)
[edit] five pointed star
What is the five point star that is used on VA headstones? What's the deal with copyrights on the emblems allowed on VA headstones? [1]
--Gbleem 02:22, 19 September 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Sumerian theory
Baristarim, your references don't work. I went into the code and winkled them out. One of them is to an 1890 book claiming that all religions originated in Sumeria; the other "reference" points to the cover of a book on astrology. Those references don't prove a darn thing.
I'll look up the references on the star and crescent. I'm sure that they're there. Not right now, as I have a guest coming, but PLEASE, don't restore your version. Your references are unreliable and don't even prove what you think that they prove. Zora 03:09, 27 November 2006 (UTC)
- Ok. Putting in the disputed and fact tags since that section gravely lacks sources even the way it is. At least they were sources :)) In any case let's wait to see what sources can be brought forth. Baristarim 04:38, 27 November 2006 (UTC)
[edit] The Sword
Does anyone know what the symbolism of the sword is in Islam? It is featured prominently on the Saudi Arabia flag and on some wiki articles about Shia Islam. Any information would be greatly appreciated. HalveBlue
[edit] Byzantium
Even though the article already has a tag on it, I'd like to point out that the Byzantium article (along with a few other places I've looked up) seem to agree that the Islamic usage of the crescent is due largely in part to pre-Islamic pagan religious symbols (like that of the Turkic peoples), and also as a result of the cultural assimilation that occurred from the conquest of Persia(Babylon). I'm not disagreeing that the presence of the crescent had no influence on the adoption by the Ottomans, but I don't believe it's right to say that that's the main factor in its widespread adoption as an Islamic symbol, especially since other Muslim factions had used it pre-1453.--C.Logan 05:44, 12 March 2007 (UTC)
