TEHRAN -- A number of Iranian and foreign experts will assess the status of art in monotheistic religions at the Imam Ali (AS) Religious Arts Museum during a two-day seminar beginning today.

The difference between religious and worldly arts and metaphysics as depicted in artifacts and calligraphy in the sacred art of Islam is the subject that is being analyzed on the first day.
The spiritual principles of art education to be found in the Rasail Ikhwan al-Safa, an encyclopedic corpus of 52 epistles, which were produced by a group of Muslim thinkers in the late ninth and early tenth centuries, is another issue that will be discussed during the event. The collection contains information on a wide array of subjects ranging from cosmology to physical sciences, ethics to aesthetics, and revelation to metaphysics.
The geometrical structure of lecterns for the Holy Quran, the sociology of religious illustration, the religious beliefs of artists and ordinary people, aesthetics and metaphysics, the status of portraits in religious art, and the notion of man being made in the image of God, as found in the mystical teachings of Semitic religions, are some of the other topics to be covered on the second day of the event.
The Imam Ali (AS) Religious Arts Museum is currently hosting an exhibit of the best works submitted to the second edition of the World Award of Monotheistic Religions.
The winners will be awarded during a ceremony on January 22.