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• 1 2023-01-29T20:09:22-05:00 Michael Pecorara 5 plain 2023-05-04T22:31:03-04:00 Salaam Alaykom wa Bismillah al Rahman al Raheem  My calligram is inspired by Quranic verse 16:68 which states, “And your Lord inspired to the bee, “Take for yourself among the mountains, houses, and among the trees and [in] that which they construct”.   The idea that everything from the leaves on trees to a simple bee all have the potential to submit to God seemed really comprehensive to me and made me think of Islam and submission to God as a universal and communal act. I made sure to include 8 bees at the behest of my Muslim roommates who explained that the number 8 had a special meaning in Islam as it is the number of angels carrying the throne of Allah in heaven as well as the number of gates in heaven. I thought that this numerology would give a divine quality to my work.  I was also really inspired by the quote from the Persian poet Saadi who states, “Every leaf of the tree becomes a page of the sacred scripture once the soul has learnt to read.” The idea that even the twigs of Quincy courtyard could have meaning derived from them once someone truly has understood the Quran makes the power of Islam and comprehension of the Quran seem limitless.  The bees are made of construction paper and the Arabic writing itself is interspersed with leaves and twigs that I found in Quincy courtyard.  I made this calligram communally with two of my Muslim roommates and my girlfriend and it was a great way for me to learn more about the Quran and experience Islam. Thank you for this opportunity.