Highest Art Form. Because Muslim art generally follows the prohibition of figural representations of people or animals, calligraphy, writing in decorative scripts, became a highly developed Muslim art form. Such writing ranges from attractive handwriting to monumental calligraphic decorations on buildings that involve carved stone or wood as well as painted letters on colored tiles or writing in colored mosaic. Indeed, most genres of Muslim art, including common crafts, use calligraphy for decoration. Calligraphic writing appears on cloth—especially that meant for public display, such as woven borders, brocades, banners and tapestries —as well as on metal ewers and trays and ceramic ware such as dishes and cups. Such writing can be either religious or secular, according to what is deemed appropriate for its location. Thus, masjid decoration almost always include religious phrases, usually from the Qur'an, while ordinary household objects might bear...