MUSLIMS AND GOD
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In her story on the “Padshahnama” (“History Unbound,” Feb. 22), Kristine McKenna notes that the paintings in this work do not contain any references to gods or deities. Los Angeles County Museum of Art associate curator Stephen Markel is quoted as supplying this explanation: “You don’t see deities in Mughal art for the obvious reason that Muslims don’t have deities--there’s simply the prophet and his teachings.”
Markel’s statement is erroneous to the point of absurdity, given that the central tenet of Islam is that there is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger. Muslims believe that Allah transcends physical existence, and any attempted visual representation of God would be idolatrous. This is why the “Padshahnama” contains no illustrations of divinity.
It is, sadly, not unusual for non-Muslims to misrepresent Islam, but I have never before seen an article declaring that Muslims do not have a God.
IMRAN HUSAIN
Costa Mesa
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