The Image of different Religions

Various surveys measure the image of different religions, and I did an image search on Google on different religions to see what would come up! These images are screenshots from the 11th December 2012, and might have already changed - keeping with the thought that images of religions is a fluid thing.

The followers of religions such as words like "Christians" or "Jews" were googled.  The first dozen or so images which appear in response to the search query captures the "image" of the religious followers in people's minds currently.

It's hardly two days old, but the google search results for "Christians" has changed dramatically! A lot of news regarding Christians in the world! The first is an image of the Lord Jesus, something about powerful Christians in Hollywoood, worshippers, the cover of a religious book, Christians in Syria, Egyptian Christians protesting,  Christians in Palestine, some anti-Christian views of Jews, an image of Jesus Christ, Muslims and Christians together protesting attack on church in Egypt, more protesters. There are pictures of the Jesus, but mostly the search results are about protests.

Here is what searching for "Hindus" on Google Search gets you:

Swastika, an ancient symbol representing Hindusim, women praying probably near the holy river Ganga, the religious dancers, another sacred ancient Hindu symbol, the Om, dancers, Pakistani Hindus not wanting to return to Pakistan, the Lord Shiva, worshippers, and again a picture of Pakistani Hindus not wanting to return to Pakistan and more worshippers. The search results are mostly about worshippers and symbols of Hinduism and about Pakistani Hindus not wanting to go back to Pakistan.

Googling "Jains" brought forth pictures of worshippers, maps and religious symbols.

Googling "Jews" brought forth a wiki page, images of worshippers, pretty girls, Israel history, early American Jews, protest regarding attitude of liberal American Jews. Interestingly no photographs of violence, not on this day.

When it comes to the word "Muslims", the photos that came up were of women in Burkhas, children praying, women praying, men praying, protesters, a mosque, more protesters, about attitudes to terrorism, about the hatred of Americans towards Muslims, statistics, protest in Britain by Muslims, worshippers, about the negative image of Muslims and more worshippers. If I were a Muslim I would be worried because the way the women dress has become symbolic of the negativity surrounding Muslims. Not to mention the hatred of violence in the name of religion.

I googled the word "pagans" as well because there are some major religions of the world which think that worshippers of all other religions are "pagans" and the word has a negative connotation. Even though the meaning of pagan means someone who has a mythology associated with their religion, the word has been associated with non-believer by arrogant religions. And what I got when I googled the word "pagans" was pictures of weird symbols, strange ancient rituals, pagan communities, and ineffectual definitions of paganism.

A pity that Scientology is associated with the famous people who are scientologists. That's what the image is!

Shintos are Japanese and here I got peaceful images of Shinto shrines, worshippers, and Shinto symbols.

By googling the word Sikhs one saw images of pain and suffering, and also of worshippers and religious symbols.

Buddhists praying, a photo of the Pope and Buddhists about religious dialogue, images of Buddhist worshippers and of Buddha, the Dharma wheel, more worshippers, and a meeting to discuss attacks on Buddhist places of worship. The search results are mostly about the Buddhist worshippers, and symbols of Buddhist. Also one picture of inter-religious dialogue and another discussing attacks on Buddhist shrines. Interesting that there are no photos of violent protests, just peaceful meetings.

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Women in Burkhas - Silhouettes

These are silhouettes of Muslim women in burkhas.

This image is of three women walking briskly, clad in burkhas or burqas. The woman on the left is not in full burkha. Her face is left uncovered.

Here you can see two Burkha clad women with their husbands, all silhouettes. The men are sitting down and their wives are standing in front of them. One of my favourite pictures.

A half figure of a burkha-clad Muslim woman. Her full face and body is covered, except for her eyes.

This one is a slightly different version. The Muslim woman with the burkha but her full figure is shown here in the graceful dark robes.

Related Images: Silhouettes of Mosques or Women in burkhas or burqas - photos or More Silhouettes of people and places of all types including monuments and people at different activities.

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Hagia Sophia Pictures

Imagine a church and Mosque combined into one! Well, that is what Hagia Sophia (a churchmosque) is all about. Well, to be precise it was a church, then a mosque, and has now been made into a museum in Istanbul, Turkey. It is magnanimous of the Turkish people and government to have stopped it from being a mosque, considering that it was originally a church. By making it a museum they are showing their sense of fairness as the mosque had been forcibly made in the premises of the church.

It was a church from 360 B.C. to 1453, and became a mosque from 1453 until 1931. In 1453 Sultan Mehmed laid siege to Constantinople, "driven in part by a desire to convert the city to Islam."

Hagia Sophia has a huge dome, typycally Byzantine Christian architecture and was the largest cathedral in the world for nearly a thousand years. As a mosque it was the principal mosque of Istanbul for almost 500 years.
Today it is a tourist spot. This is a photo of the exterior of the Hagia Sophia.

A shot of the interior, the main hall. There was some restoration work going on but here you can see the symbols of both Christianity and Islam. A painting of Christ at the top of the image and an Islamic symbol to the right of the picture.

Here is a photograph of the elaborately carved and painted interiors. Paintings of Christ are visible.

Another image of the inside of the domes and a small image of Jesus Christ.

Related Images: The Blue Mosque at Istanbul
There are also a lot of pictures of the Sistine Chapel  in Vatican City in Rome on this website.

Or more related images: Church Silhouettes or Christmas Tree Silhouette

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Bibi ka Maqbara or the mini Taj Mahal

This mausoleum, also called the Dakkhani Taj or the Taj of the Deccan, was built by Prince Azam Shah, son of Emperor Aurangzeb, one of the Mughal Emperors. It was built in 1660 in the city of Aurangabad in Maharashtra, as a tribute to the Prince's mother, Rabia Durrani who was also called Dilras Banu Begum. Translated, Bibi ka Maqbara means 'Tomb of the Lady' and looks like a smaller version of the Taj Mahal.

The structure is shaped like a hexagon, with the angles decorated with minarets.

This is a closeup of the historical structure. A couple, Indian tourists, are walking down the path in front of the tomb.

This is the entrance gate of the maqbara or tomb, the photograph shot from the inside. The high ornamental bronze metal doors of the entrance can be seen in the photo.

Related Images: The Taj Mahal at Agra or Designs and patterns from Taj Mahal interiors
More Muslim architecture: The Blue Mosque at Istanbul or Designs from the Blue Mosque, Istanbul or The Great Mosque of Xian, China or Designs from the Red Fort Agra or Agra Fort or Red Fort at Agra or the Agra Fort - Photographs

Silhouettes of Mosques

Here are silhouettes of mosques. The domes and minarets make a pretty picture. These silhouettes were drawn on photoshop, and based on photographs copyrighted to me.

This one is a silhouette of the Blue Mosque at Istanbul, Turkey. A view from the  back of the mosque. However, it is not an exact replica, as certain artistic liberties have been taken. This mosque has 6 minarets or spires in actuality, but these are not included in the silhouette.

This is a religious place that we came across near Aurangabad. It was a small white mosque or masjid.

The next silhouette is an unfinished version of the same mosque above. I would have deleted it but haven't as it is coming up in search results!

This is part of a large mosque in Mumbai, in Bandra.

Related Images: Women in Burkhas - Silhouettes  OR Women in burkhas or burqas - photos
Silhouettes of other religious places: Church Silhouettes 
Or Taj Mahal Sketch and Silhouettes or actual photos of The Taj Mahal at Agra. 

For more Islamic Architecture and Art: The Blue Mosque at Istanbul or Designs from the Blue Mosque, Istanbul or The Great Mosque of Xian, China or Designs from the Red Fort Agra or Agra Fort or Bibi ka Maqbara or the mini Taj Mahal

Red Fort at Agra or the Agra Fort - Photographs

Here are some pictures of the Agra Fort, also called the Red Fort at Agra. The fort is more than a thousand years old and is an UNESCO World Heritage site, located near the Taj Mahal. The fort is massive, almost like a walled city. These photos capture parts of the fort, both interior and exterior, showing the architectural style used.  It's significance in Indian history is considerable because the Mughal kings like Humayun, Akbar, Jehangir, Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb lived here, this was the seat of their governance. It used to host the state treasury and mint. 

This photograph shows the majestic towers at one of the entry points of the Red Fort in Agra. Note the carved and sculpted pillars. At the top are the look-out towers.

This picture shows the series of doorways at the fort.

This is part of the fort which is in ruins.

This offers a view of the spectacular semi-circular fort exhibiting the Mughal style of architecture.

This photograph shows the view of the Taj Mahal.

These are some of the various pillars, domes and verandahs at the Agra Fort.

Here is the pillared hall, typical of the architecture of the time.

One of the various masjids in the walled fort.

Photos of another ancient Fort in India: Daulatabad Fort near Aurangabad
Or try the label  "Monuments" for ancient monuments from India and the world.

More related Images: The Taj Mahal at Agra or Designs and patterns from Taj Mahal interiors

More Muslim architecture from around the world: The Blue Mosque at Istanbul or Designs from the Blue Mosque, Istanbul or The Great Mosque of Xian, China or Designs from the Red Fort Agra or Agra Fort or Bibi ka Maqbara or the mini Taj Mahal

(Photo credits: Purp-ler)

Taj Mahal Sketch and Silhouettes

These are some silhouettes and a sketch of the iconic Taj Mahal at Agra, India. It is one of the seven wonders of the world. This structure has become a symbol of Indian culture and is a famous landmark of not just Agra, but of India. All these images are based on pictures copyrighted to me.

The first image is a simple pencil drawing with shading and the other two are silhouettes, one on a white background and the other on a blue sky background.

Related Images: Silhouettes of Mosques or try the label Silhouettes or the label Sketches for more silhouettes and sketches of people and buildings and monuments from different parts of the world.
Related photographs: The Taj Mahal at Agra or Designs and patterns from Taj Mahal interiors

Designs and patterns from Taj Mahal interiors

Taj Mahal, one of the wonders of the world, is strikingly beautiful on the inside as it is on the outside. Here are some of the designs and motifs from inside of the Taj Mahal.

Various methods were used to decorate the walls and doors and domes. Paint, stucco, stone inlays, patterned tiles as well as carvings were used. As Islam does not allow human or animal forms, decorative calligraphy and abstract, geometric or plant patterns and motifs were used. The method depended on the surface of the area to be decorated.

White inlays were used in on red sandstone buildings and dark or black inlays on the white marble backgrounds. At times designs were created using contrasting paints, creating geometric designs.

Motifs of plants and flowers were used to create intricate designs above doorways and arches.

On floors contrasting tiles or blocks created striking patterns.

Here is an example of a ceiling of a dome of a sandstone building where the   incised art (cut into the surface) created intricate geometric patterns.

Marble was carved into pretty flowery shapes.

These are the two huge marble doors/windows at the Taj. The photo is taken from the outside.

The painstaking work involved becomes clear when one sees the enormity of the Taj Mahal and the various arches, doorways, ceilings and floors which were decorated.

In the pictures below two different designs from different areas have been included in one image.

In the picture below the design on the left is a close-up of the marble design seen in an image above. The dark metallic pattern on the right is part of a doorway.

The brown and black design on the left is a close-up of the geometric pattern used to decorate the marble. The sandstone slab on the right shows flowers and leaves with a geometric border on a red background.

Here again are close-ups of two different designs. The first image is a part of a wall, at the bottom of it, and looks like a high ledge. The image below that  is a marble design on the wall of the Taj.

For pictures of the outside/exterior of the Taj Mahal: The Taj Mahal at Agra

or Red Fort at Agra or the Agra Fort - Photographs or Taj Mahal Sketch and Silhouettes

For more examples of Islamic Art: Designs from the Red Fort Agra or Agra Fort

or Designs from the Blue Mosque, Istanbul or The Great Mosque of Xian, China

Photo credits:  Pur-pler

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The Great Mosque of Xian, China

The Great Mosque of Xi'an, Shaanxi province, China is more than a thousand years old. The uniqueness of the mosque is that its architectural style is Chinese, not Arabic. There are some Arabic inscriptions on the walls, but the main style of the mosque reflects the Chinese culture. It is rare because religions often kill the indigenous culture of the people.

As the first photograph shows, the mosque does not have domes or minarets. The archway is made of wood.

Its a huge mosque, with four courtyards over an area of more than 12,000 square meters. The photograph below also reflects Chinese designs, art and architecture, with Chinese pavilions with their painted beams.

This gives you a close-up of the door-way and the inscriptions in Arabic can be seen clearly. There are designs on the doorway as well.

There are doorways within doorways and in the picture below there is a close-up of one of the inscriptions (in gold) in what seems to be Arabic. Some Arabic lettering can be seen on the pillars as well.

The long decorated window in the image below shows a spectacular design of tiny flowers and petals. Some designs are seen at the top of the long window and also at the bottom. Red and green paint (which seems to be wearing off) can be seen. However, the window has been painted fairly recently. This is common in  many places in China. Ancient buildings and artifacts have been touched up by the Chinese government. This makes it lose its authenticity but it looks good.

This last photograph is one side of a pillar at the Great Mosque. It appears to be an inscription on a black background.

Related Viewing: If you want to see more Islamic Art try this post: Designs from the Blue Mosque, Istanbul or Designs from the Red Fort Agra or Agra Fort or for the exterior of the mosque at Istanbul check this one: The Blue Mosque at Istanbul
For ancient Chinese architecture: Chinese style architecture sketches of the Forbidden City