Arabic Calligraphy Course: Naskh Script

Ustadh Ahmad Mohamad is teaching a course in Naskh Arabic calligraphy at MIAH Gallery, inside the Moseley Community Hub on Moseley Road, starting Saturday 24 October. It runs every Saturday until 12 December, from 5:00pm to 6:30pm, for a total of eight sessions. If you've ever wanted to try calligraphy but didn't know where to start, this is a practical introduction to Naskh, the traditional script used for copying the Qur'an.

You'll start with the basics: the basic strokes, the angle of the pen, and how the letters are built. From there, you'll move from calligraphy pens to the qalam reed pen, and you'll learn the rules of proportion for every letter of the Arabic alphabet. It's a steady progression, so you're not thrown in at the deep end.

The course is run by the Museum of Islamic Arts & Heritage (MIAH) Foundation, a charity set up in 2020 to promote the history, arts, culture and heritage of the Islamic world and of Muslims in Britain and Europe through exhibitions, education, workshops and events. Their long-term goal is to raise funds to establish the UK's first independent museum dedicated to the arts and heritage of Muslims and the Islamic world, while increasing the representation and engagement of people of colour and minority groups of Muslim heritage within the arts sector. The gallery runs these sessions to help meet its £15,000 fundraising target to remain open, and it offers Gift Aid to eligible UK taxpayers.

The standard course fee is £150 for the eight sessions, and there's an instalment option available if that's easier. The sessions run 5:00pm to 6:30pm every Saturday from 24 October to 12 December at MIAH Gallery, 496 Moseley Road, Balsall Heath, Birmingham B12 9AH.