Islamic Aesthetics

Oliver Leaman is professor of philosophy at the University of Kentucky.

"For students of Islamic arts, the book provides a corrective to biases generally found in literature. Although hardly an introductory level textbook, despite its title, Leaman's work provides a thoroughgoing and accessible account of the role of aesthetics in Islam while at the same time dismantling many of the cherished myths of scholarship on Islamic art forms." —Sixteenth Century Journal"A non-judgement, technical, in-depth discussion, and a welcome contribution to art history and artistic interpretation shelves, whether for private study or college libraries." —Wisconsin Bookwatch"This is a useful and imaginative project . . . Leaman is an accomplished and productive author and the book will be of genuine and considerable interest." —Lenn E. Goodman, Vanderbilt University"Oliver Leaman is a very distinguished, internationally regarded scholar of philosophy. . . . His profound philosophical knowledge enables him to apply and analyze concepts of aesthetics to a multitude of art forms." —Ian R. Netton, University of Leeds"This is certainly an important and thought-provoking work, one of the few that is willing to treat seriously the topic of aesthetics in Islam. As such, this book provides an important corrective to much of what has been written about art in various Islamic contexts over the past century." —The Journal of Religion