Muslim_world

context: The term Muslim world, also known as Islamic world and the Ummah (Arabic: أمة‎, meaning "nation" or "community") has different meanings. In a religious sense, the Islamic Ummah refers to those who adhere to the teachings of Islam, referred to as Muslims. In a cultural sense, the Muslim Ummah refers to Islamic civilization, exclusive of non-Muslims living in that civilization. In a modern geopolitical sense, the term "Islamic Nation" usually refers collectively to Muslim-majority countries, states, districts, or towns.
qas: answers: Muslim world
question: Islamic World is another way to refer to what?

answers: those who adhere to the teachings of Islam
question: When speaking of religion, what does Ummah refer to?

answers: Islamic civilization
question: When speaking about culture, what does Ummah refer to?

answers: Ummah
question: Community, or Nation are direct translations of what word in reference to Islam?

context: The Islamic Golden Age coincided with the Middle Ages in the Muslim world, starting with the rise of Islam and establishment of the first Islamic state in 622. The end of the age is variously given as 1258 with the Mongolian Sack of Baghdad, or 1492 with the completion of the Christian Reconquista of the Emirate of Granada in Al-Andalus, Iberian Peninsula. During the reign of the Abbasid caliph Harun ar-Rashid (786 to 809), the legendary House of Wisdom was inaugurated in Baghdad where scholars from various parts of the world sought to translate and gather all the known world's knowledge into Arabic. The Abbasids were influenced by the Quranic injunctions and hadiths, such as "the ink of a scholar is more holy than the blood of a martyr," that stressed the value of knowledge. The major Islamic capital cities of Baghdad, Cairo, and Córdoba became the main intellectual centers for science, philosophy, medicine, and education. During this period, the Muslim world was a collection of cultures; they drew together and advanced the knowledge gained from the ancient Greek, Roman, Persian, Chinese, Indian, Egyptian, and Phoenician civilizations.
qas: answers: 622
question: When did the Islamic Golden age start?

answers: the Middle Ages
question: What other age occurred at the same time as the Islamic Golden Age?

answers: 1492
question: There what is the latest year for the end of the Islamic Golden Age?

answers: 786 to 809
question: What years did Abbasid caliph Harun ar-Rashid reign?

answers: Baghdad
question: Where was the House of Wisdom held?

context: Between the 8th and 18th centuries, the use of glazed ceramics was prevalent in Islamic art, usually assuming the form of elaborate pottery. Tin-opacified glazing was one of the earliest new technologies developed by the Islamic potters. The first Islamic opaque glazes can be found as blue-painted ware in Basra, dating to around the 8th century. Another contribution was the development of stone-paste ceramics, originating from 9th century Iraq. Other centers for innovative ceramic pottery in the Old world included Fustat (from 975 to 1075), Damascus (from 1100 to around 1600) and Tabriz (from 1470 to 1550).
qas: answers: glazed ceramics
question: What type of ceramic art was popular from the 8th to the 18th century in the art of Islam?

answers: Tin-opacified glazing
question: Which ceramic glazing was developed by those potters which were Islamic?

answers: Basra
question: Where would one find the earliest examples of opaque glazes in the Muslim world?

answers: 8th century
question: Around when were the first opaque glazes developed?

answers: 9th century Iraq
question: Where were stone-paste ceramics invented?

context: The best known work of fiction from the Islamic world is One Thousand and One Nights (In Persian: hezār-o-yek šab > Arabic: ʔalf-layl-at-wa-l’-layla= One thousand Night and (one) Night) or *Arabian Nights, a name invented by early Western translators, which is a compilation of folk tales from Sanskrit, Persian, and later Arabian fables. The original concept is derived from a pre-Islamic Persian prototype Hezār Afsān (Thousand Fables) that relied on particular Indian elements. It reached its final form by the 14th century; the number and type of tales have varied from one manuscript to another. All Arabian fantasy tales tend to be called Arabian Nights stories when translated into English, regardless of whether they appear in The Book of One Thousand and One Nights or not. This work has been very influential in the West since it was translated in the 18th century, first by Antoine Galland. Imitations were written, especially in France. Various characters from this epic have themselves become cultural icons in Western culture, such as Aladdin, Sinbad the Sailor and Ali Baba.
qas: answers: One Thousand and One Nights
question: What is the most widely known fictional work from the Islamic world?

answers: Hezār Afsān (Thousand Fables)
question: Arabian nights was originally based upon what Persian work?

answers: 14th century
question: In what century was One Thousand and One Nights completed?

answers: 18th century
question: When did One Thousand and One Nights first get translated in the West?

answers: Antoine Galland
question: Who was the first westerner to translate One Thousand and One Nights?

context: A famous example of Arabic poetry and Persian poetry on romance (love) is Layla and Majnun, dating back to the Umayyad era in the 7th century. It is a tragic story of undying love much like the later Romeo and Juliet, which was itself said to have been inspired by a Latin version of Layla and Majnun to an extent. Ferdowsi's Shahnameh, the national epic of Iran, is a mythical and heroic retelling of Persian history. Amir Arsalan was also a popular mythical Persian story, which has influenced some modern works of fantasy fiction, such as The Heroic Legend of Arslan.
qas: answers: Arabic poetry and Persian poetry
question: Layla and Majnun is an example of what kind of poetry?

answers: Umayyad era
question: Which era is Layla and Majnun from?

answers: 7th century
question: In what century does Layla and Majnun originate?

answers: a mythical and heroic retelling of Persian history
question: What kind of story is told in Shahnameh?

answers: Ferdowsi
question: Who wrote Shahnameh?

context: Ibn Tufail (Abubacer) and Ibn al-Nafis were pioneers of the philosophical novel. Ibn Tufail wrote the first Arabic novel Hayy ibn Yaqdhan (Philosophus Autodidactus) as a response to Al-Ghazali's The Incoherence of the Philosophers, and then Ibn al-Nafis also wrote a novel Theologus Autodidactus as a response to Ibn Tufail's Philosophus Autodidactus. Both of these narratives had protagonists (Hayy in Philosophus Autodidactus and Kamil in Theologus Autodidactus) who were autodidactic feral children living in seclusion on a desert island, both being the earliest examples of a desert island story. However, while Hayy lives alone with animals on the desert island for the rest of the story in Philosophus Autodidactus, the story of Kamil extends beyond the desert island setting in Theologus Autodidactus, developing into the earliest known coming of age plot and eventually becoming the first example of a science fiction novel.
qas: answers: Abubacer
question: What is another name for Ibn Tufail?

answers: Hayy ibn Yaqdhan (Philosophus Autodidactus)
question: What Arabic book is Ibn Tufail noted for writing?

answers: Ibn al-Nafis
question: Who wrote Theologus Autodidactus?

answers: Al-Ghazali
question: What person wrote The Incoherence of the Philosophers?

answers: Hayy
question: Who was the main chracter of Philosophus Autodidactus?

context: Theologus Autodidactus, written by the Arabian polymath Ibn al-Nafis (1213–1288), is the first example of a science fiction novel. It deals with various science fiction elements such as spontaneous generation, futurology, the end of the world and doomsday, resurrection, and the afterlife. Rather than giving supernatural or mythological explanations for these events, Ibn al-Nafis attempted to explain these plot elements using the scientific knowledge of biology, astronomy, cosmology and geology known in his time. Ibn al-Nafis' fiction explained Islamic religious teachings via science and Islamic philosophy.
qas: answers: 1213–1288
question: What was the life span of Ibn al-Nafis?

answers: science fiction
question: What type of book is Theologus Autodidactus the first type of?

answers: scientific knowledge
question: What did Ibn al-Nafis use to explain the events in Theologus Autodidactus?

context: A Latin translation of Ibn Tufail's work, Philosophus Autodidactus, first appeared in 1671, prepared by Edward Pococke the Younger, followed by an English translation by Simon Ockley in 1708, as well as German and Dutch translations. These translations might have later inspired Daniel Defoe to write Robinson Crusoe, regarded as the first novel in English. Philosophus Autodidactus, continuing the thoughts of philosophers such as Aristotle from earlier ages, inspired Robert Boyle to write his own philosophical novel set on an island, The Aspiring Naturalist.
qas: answers: 1671
question: Which year did a translation of Philosophus Autodidactus in Latin come to be?

answers: Daniel Defoe
question: Who wrote Robinson Crusoe?

answers: Edward Pococke the Younger
question: Who first translated Philosophus Autodidactus into latin?

answers: 1708
question: Simon Ockley translated Philosophus Autodidactus into English, in what year did he do that?

answers: The Aspiring Naturalist
question: What book is Robert Boyle believe to have written after being inspired by Philosophus Autodidactus?

context: Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, derived features of and episodes about Bolgia from Arabic works on Islamic eschatology: the Hadith and the Kitab al-Miraj (translated into Latin in 1264 or shortly before as Liber Scale Machometi) concerning the ascension to Heaven of Muhammad, and the spiritual writings of Ibn Arabi. The Moors also had a noticeable influence on the works of George Peele and William Shakespeare. Some of their works featured Moorish characters, such as Peele's The Battle of Alcazar and Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, Titus Andronicus and Othello, which featured a Moorish Othello as its title character. These works are said to have been inspired by several Moorish delegations from Morocco to Elizabethan England at the beginning of the 17th century.
qas: answers: in 1264 or shortly before
question: In what year was Kitab al-Miraj likely translated into Latin?

answers: Dante Alighieri
question: Who wrote the Divine Comedy?

answers: Merchant of Venice, Titus Andronicus and Othello
question: Which works by Shakespeare is believed to be inspired by The Moors?

answers: 17th century
question: In what century is it believed that delegations of Moors began to influence western works by the likes of Shakespeare?

answers: episodes about Bolgia from Arabic works on Islamic eschatology
question: What aspects from Islamic works did the Divine Comedy feature?

context: One of the common definitions for "Islamic philosophy" is "the style of philosophy produced within the framework of Islamic culture." Islamic philosophy, in this definition is neither necessarily concerned with religious issues, nor is exclusively produced by Muslims. The Persian scholar Ibn Sina (Avicenna) (980–1037) had more than 450 books attributed to him. His writings were concerned with various subjects, most notably philosophy and medicine. His medical textbook The Canon of Medicine was used as the standard text in European universities for centuries. He also wrote The Book of Healing, an influential scientific and philosophical encyclopedia.
qas: answers: 980–1037
question: What was the life span of Ibn Sina?

answers: 450
question: How many books were said to have been written by Ibn Sina?

answers: philosophy and medicine
question: What subjects did Ibn Sina mainly write about?

answers: The Canon of Medicine
question: What medical book is Ibn Sina most noted for in European universities?

answers: The Book of Healing
question: What philosophical encyclopedia is Ibn Sina known for writing?

context: Yet another influential philosopher who had an influence on modern philosophy was Ibn Tufail. His philosophical novel, Hayy ibn Yaqdha, translated into Latin as Philosophus Autodidactus in 1671, developed the themes of empiricism, tabula rasa, nature versus nurture, condition of possibility, materialism, and Molyneux's problem. European scholars and writers influenced by this novel include John Locke, Gottfried Leibniz, Melchisédech Thévenot, John Wallis, Christiaan Huygens, George Keith, Robert Barclay, the Quakers, and Samuel Hartlib.
qas: answers: Ibn Tufail
question: Which philosopher from the Muslim world influenced modern philosophy?

answers: Ibn Tufail
question: Who wrote Hayy ibn Yaqdha?

answers: 1671
question: In what year was Hayy ibn Yaqdha translated to the Latin language?

answers: philosophical novel
question: What kind of book is Hayy ibn Yaqdha?

context: Other influential Muslim philosophers include al-Jahiz, a pioneer in evolutionary thought; Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen), a pioneer of phenomenology and the philosophy of science and a critic of Aristotelian natural philosophy and Aristotle's concept of place (topos); Al-Biruni, a critic of Aristotelian natural philosophy; Ibn Tufail and Ibn al-Nafis, pioneers of the philosophical novel; Shahab al-Din Suhrawardi, founder of Illuminationist philosophy; Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, a critic of Aristotelian logic and a pioneer of inductive logic; and Ibn Khaldun, a pioneer in the philosophy of history.
qas: answers: al-Jahiz
question: Which philosopher of the Muslim world is considered an important author of work on evolution?

answers: Alhazen
question: Ibn al-Haytham can be known by another name, what is it?

answers: phenomenology and the philosophy of science
question: What type of work is Ibn al-Haytham known to have pioneered?

answers: Shahab al-Din Suhrawardi
question: Who is considered to have been the one that founded Illuminationist philosophy?

answers: Fakhr al-Din al-Razi
question: Which philosopher in the Muslim world championed inductive logic in their works?

context: Muslim scientists contributed to advances in the sciences. They placed far greater emphasis on experiment than had the Greeks. This led to an early scientific method being developed in the Muslim world, where progress in methodology was made, beginning with the experiments of Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen) on optics from circa 1000, in his Book of Optics. The most important development of the scientific method was the use of experiments to distinguish between competing scientific theories set within a generally empirical orientation, which began among Muslim scientists. Ibn al-Haytham is also regarded as the father of optics, especially for his empirical proof of the intromission theory of light. Some have also described Ibn al-Haytham as the "first scientist." al-Khwarzimi's invented the log base systems that are being used today, he also contributed theorems in trigonometry as well as limits. Recent studies show that it is very likely that the Medieval Muslim artists were aware of advanced decagonal quasicrystal geometry (discovered half a millennium later in the 1970s and 1980s in the West) and used it in intricate decorative tilework in the architecture.
qas: answers: optics
question: Ibn al-Haytham experimented with what around the year 1000?

answers: Book of Optics
question: Ibn al-Haytham wrote about his work around the year 1000, what was it?

answers: Medieval Muslim artists
question: Who is believed to have discovered decagonal quasicrystal geometry?

answers: Ibn al-Haytham
question: Regarding the intromission theory of light, who showed the first proof?

answers: al-Khwarzimi
question: Which Muslim scientist worked on trigonometry?

context: Muslim physicians contributed to the field of medicine, including the subjects of anatomy and physiology: such as in the 15th century Persian work by Mansur ibn Muhammad ibn al-Faqih Ilyas entitled Tashrih al-badan (Anatomy of the body) which contained comprehensive diagrams of the body's structural, nervous and circulatory systems; or in the work of the Egyptian physician Ibn al-Nafis, who proposed the theory of pulmonary circulation. Avicenna's The Canon of Medicine remained an authoritative medical textbook in Europe until the 18th century. Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi (also known as Abulcasis) contributed to the discipline of medical surgery with his Kitab al-Tasrif ("Book of Concessions"), a medical encyclopedia which was later translated to Latin and used in European and Muslim medical schools for centuries. Other medical advancements came in the fields of pharmacology and pharmacy.
qas: answers: Tashrih al-badan (Anatomy of the body)
question: What work is Mansur ibn Muhammad ibn al-Faqih Ilyas known for writing?

answers: 15th century
question: In what century did Tashrih al-badan come into being?

answers: Ibn al-Nafis
question: Who theorized about pulmonary circulation?

answers: Avicenna
question: Who wrote The Canon of Medicine?

answers: Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi
question: Who wrote Kitab al-Tasrif?

context: In astronomy, Muḥammad ibn Jābir al-Ḥarrānī al-Battānī improved the precision of the measurement of the precession of the Earth's axis. The corrections made to the geocentric model by al-Battani, Averroes, Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, Mu'ayyad al-Din al-'Urdi and Ibn al-Shatir were later incorporated into the Copernican heliocentric model. Heliocentric theories were also discussed by several other Muslim astronomers such as Al-Biruni, Al-Sijzi, Qotb al-Din Shirazi, and Najm al-Dīn al-Qazwīnī al-Kātibī. The astrolabe, though originally developed by the Greeks, was perfected by Islamic astronomers and engineers, and was subsequently brought to Europe.
qas: answers: astronomy
question: What field did Muḥammad ibn Jābir al-Ḥarrānī al-Battānī contribute to?

answers: improved the precision of the measurement of the precession of the Earth's axis
question: What work is Muḥammad ibn Jābir al-Ḥarrānī al-Battānī known for as it regards to earth?

answers: the Greeks
question: Who created the astrolabe?

answers: the Copernican heliocentric model
question: What model did the work of Muslim World astronomers contribute to?

answers: Islamic astronomers and engineers
question: Who is said to have mastered the astrolabe?

context: Advances were made in irrigation and farming, using new technology such as the windmill. Crops such as almonds and citrus fruit were brought to Europe through al-Andalus, and sugar cultivation was gradually adopted by the Europeans. Arab merchants dominated trade in the Indian Ocean until the arrival of the Portuguese in the 16th century. Hormuz was an important center for this trade. There was also a dense network of trade routes in the Mediterranean, along which Muslim countries traded with each other and with European powers such as Venice, Genoa and Catalonia. The Silk Road crossing Central Asia passed through Muslim states between China and Europe.
qas: answers: almonds and citrus fruit
question: which crops were brought to europe from the Muslim World?

answers: irrigation and farming
question: What was the windmill used for?

answers: Arab merchants
question: Trading in the Indian ocean was mainly controlled by whom?

answers: Hormuz
question: Where was an important center of Indian Ocean trading in the 16th century?

answers: 16th century
question: When did the Portuguese arrive in the Indian Ocean?

context: Muslim engineers in the Islamic world made a number of innovative industrial uses of hydropower, and early industrial uses of tidal power and wind power, fossil fuels such as petroleum, and early large factory complexes (tiraz in Arabic). The industrial uses of watermills in the Islamic world date back to the 7th century, while horizontal-wheeled and vertical-wheeled water mills were both in widespread use since at least the 9th century. A variety of industrial mills were being employed in the Islamic world, including early fulling mills, gristmills, hullers, sawmills, ship mills, stamp mills, steel mills, sugar mills, tide mills and windmills. By the 11th century, every province throughout the Islamic world had these industrial mills in operation, from al-Andalus and North Africa to the Middle East and Central Asia. Muslim engineers also invented crankshafts and water turbines, employed gears in mills and water-raising machines, and pioneered the use of dams as a source of water power, used to provide additional power to watermills and water-raising machines. Such advances made it possible for industrial tasks that were previously driven by manual labour in ancient times to be mechanized and driven by machinery instead in the medieval Islamic world. The transfer of these technologies to medieval Europe had an influence on the Industrial Revolution.
qas: answers: 7th century
question: How early did people in the Muslim World start using watermills?

answers: 11th century
question: In what century had mills such as gristmills and sawmills dominate the Islamic world?

answers: 9th century
question: At what point was the use of watermills common in the Muslim World?

answers: Muslim engineers
question: Who invented crankshafts?

answers: Muslim engineers
question: Who was the inventor of water turbines?

context: More than 20% of the world's population is Muslim. Current estimates conclude that the number of Muslims in the world is around 1,5 billion. Muslims are the majority in 49 countries, they speak hundreds of languages and come from diverse ethnic backgrounds. Major languages spoken by Muslims include Arabic, Urdu, Bengali, Punjabi, Malay, Javanese, Sundanese, Swahili, Hausa, Fula, Berber, Tuareg, Somali, Albanian, Bosnian, Russian, Turkish, Azeri, Kazakh, Uzbek, Tatar, Persian, Kurdish, Pashto, Balochi, Sindhi and Kashmiri, among many others.
qas: answers: 20%
question: What percentage of the humans in the world are considered Muslim?

answers: 1,5 billion
question: How many Muslims are believed to live on earth?

answers: 49
question: In how many nations are Muslims in the majority of people?

answers: hundreds
question: How many languages are spoken by Muslims?

context: The two main denominations of Islam are the Sunni and Shia sects. They differ primarily upon of how the life of the ummah ("faithful") should be governed, and the role of the imam. These two main differences stem from the understanding of which hadith are to interpret the Quran. Sunnis believe the true political successor of the Prophet in Sunnah is based on ٍShura (consultation) at the Saqifah which selected Abu Bakr, father of the Prophet's favourite wife, 'A'ishah, to lead the Islamic community while the religious succession ceased to exist on account of finality of Prophethood. Shia on the other hand believe that the true political as well as religious successor is Ali ibn Abi Talib, husband of the Prophet's daughter Fatimah (designated by the Prophet).
qas: answers: Sunni and Shia
question: Which Muslim denominations are the most dominant?

answers: how the life of the ummah ("faithful") should be governed, and the role of the imam
question: What are the two main things differentiating Sunni and Shia?

answers: Abu Bakr
question: Who is believed, among Sunnis,  to be the political successor of the Prophet?

answers: father of the Prophet's favourite wife
question: Who was Abu Bakr?

answers: husband of the Prophet's daughter Fatimah
question: Who was Ali ibn Abi Talib?

context: Literacy rate in the Muslim world varies. Some members such as Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan have over 97% literacy rates, whereas literacy rates are the lowest in Mali, Afghanistan, Chad and parts of Africa. In 2015, the International Islamic News Agency reported that nearly 37% of the population of the Muslim world is unable to read or write, basing that figure on reports from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
qas: answers: over 97%
question: What is the literacy rate in Kuwait?

answers: 37%
question: In 2015 it was reported that what percentage of the Muslim World was not literate?

answers: Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
question: What organizations studied literacy in the Muslim World in 2015?

answers: Mali, Afghanistan, Chad and parts of Africa
question: Which regions have the lowest rate of literacy in the Muslim world?

context: Several Muslim countries like Turkey and Iran exhibit high scientific publication. Some countries have tried to encourage scientific research. In Pakistan, establishment of the Higher Education Commission in 2002, resulted in a 5-fold increase in the number of PhDs and a 10-fold increase in the number of scientific research papers in 10 years with the total number of universities increasing from 115 in 2001 to over 400 in 2012.[citation needed] Saudi Arabia has established the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. United Arab Emirates has invested in Zayed University, United Arab Emirates University, and Masdar Institute of Science and Technology[clarification needed]
qas: answers: Higher Education Commission
question: Which organization for scientific publications was established in Pakistan in 2002?

answers: 5-fold increase
question: How much did the Higher Education Commission impact the number of PhDs in Pakistan?

answers: King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
question: What science university did Saudi Arabia establish?

answers: United Arab Emirates
question: Where is Zayed University?

answers: 115
question: How many universities were in Pakistan in 2001?

context: Encompasses both secular and religious styles, the design and style made by Muslims and their construction of buildings and structures in Islamic culture included the architectural types: the Mosque, the Tomb, the Palace and the Fort. Perhaps the most important expression of Islamic art is architecture, particularly that of the mosque. Through Islamic architecture, effects of varying cultures within Islamic civilization can be illustrated. Generally, the use of Islamic geometric patterns and foliage based arabesques were striking. There was also the use of decorative calligraphy instead of pictures which were haram (forbidden) in mosque architecture. Note that in secular architecture, human and animal representation was indeed present.
qas: answers: the mosque
question: What is considered the most important work of Islamic architecture?

answers: decorative calligraphy
question: What type of decorations are used in Muslim world decorative art rather than pictures?

answers: forbidden
question: What is the definition of haram?

answers: mosque architecture
question: Where in Muslim architecture are pictures forbidden?

answers: secular architecture
question: Where is one permitted to use representations of humans?

context: No Islamic visual images or depictions of God are meant to exist because it is believed that such artistic depictions may lead to idolatry. Moreover, Muslims believe that God is incorporeal, making any two- or three- dimensional depictions impossible. Instead, Muslims describe God by the names and attributes that, according to Islam, he revealed to his creation. All but one sura of the Quran begins with the phrase "In the name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful". Images of Mohammed are likewise prohibited. Such aniconism and iconoclasm can also be found in Jewish and some Christian theology.
qas: answers: such artistic depictions may lead to idolatry
question: Why is depicting God forbidden in the Islamic world?

answers: God is incorporeal
question: What do Muslims believe of the form of God?

answers: All but one
question: How many sura's in the Quran begin with "In the name of God?"

answers: prohibited
question: What is the policy in the Muslim world on depicting Mohammed?

answers: Jewish and some Christian theology
question: What other religions might one find depictions of God, or Prophets forbidden?

context: Islamic art frequently adopts the use of geometrical floral or vegetal designs in a repetition known as arabesque. Such designs are highly nonrepresentational, as Islam forbids representational depictions as found in pre-Islamic pagan religions. Despite this, there is a presence of depictional art in some Muslim societies, notably the miniature style made famous in Persia and under the Ottoman Empire which featured paintings of people and animals, and also depictions of Quranic stories and Islamic traditional narratives. Another reason why Islamic art is usually abstract is to symbolize the transcendence, indivisible and infinite nature of God, an objective achieved by arabesque. Islamic calligraphy is an omnipresent decoration in Islamic art, and is usually expressed in the form of Quranic verses. Two of the main scripts involved are the symbolic kufic and naskh scripts, which can be found adorning the walls and domes of mosques, the sides of minbars, and so on.
qas: answers: arabesque
question: What is the repetitive use of geometric floral designs known as in Islamic art?

answers: pre-Islamic pagan religions
question: Islam forbade types of art found in what religions?

answers: people and animals
question: Miniature paintings of the Ottoman empire featured what kind of subjects?

answers: to symbolize the transcendence, indivisible and infinite nature of God
question: What is one reason the art of Islam may be abstract?

answers: kufic and naskh scripts
question: In mosques domes may have what kind of scripts decorating them?

context: Distinguishing motifs of Islamic architecture have always been ordered repetition, radiating structures, and rhythmic, metric patterns. In this respect, fractal geometry has been a key utility, especially for mosques and palaces. Other features employed as motifs include columns, piers and arches, organized and interwoven with alternating sequences of niches and colonnettes. The role of domes in Islamic architecture has been considerable. Its usage spans centuries, first appearing in 691 with the construction of the Dome of the Rock mosque, and recurring even up until the 17th century with the Taj Mahal. And as late as the 19th century, Islamic domes had been incorporated into European architecture.
qas: answers: ordered repetition, radiating structures, and rhythmic, metric patterns
question: What are the main distinctive features of Islamic architecture?

answers: columns, piers and arches
question: What physical characteristics are common in Islamic architecture?

answers: 691
question: When did domes first appear in the architecture of the Muslim World?

answers: Dome of the Rock mosque
question: Which mosque is believed to be the first with a dome?

answers: 17th century
question: When was the Taj Mahal constructed?

context: The Solar Hijri calendar, also called the Shamsi Hijri calendar, and abbreviated as SH, is the official calendar of Iran and Afghanistan. It begins on the vernal equinox. Each of the twelve months corresponds with a zodiac sign. The first six months have 31 days, the next five have 30 days, and the last month has 29 days in usual years but 30 days in leap years. The year of Prophet Muhammad's migration to Medina (622 CE) is fixed as the first year of the calendar, and the New Year's Day always falls on the March equinox.
qas: answers: The Solar Hijri calendar
question: What is another name for the Shamsi Hijri calender?

answers: SH
question: What is one way to abbreviate the Solar Hiljri calender?

answers: the Shamsi Hijri calendar
question: What is the customary calendar of Iran?

answers: twelve months
question: How many months are in the Shamsi Hijri calendar?

answers: Prophet Muhammad's migration to Medina
question: What is the first year of the Shamsi Hijri Calender based on?

context: In a small minority of Muslim countries, the law requires women to cover either just legs, shoulders and head or the whole body apart from the face. In strictest forms, the face as well must be covered leaving just a mesh to see through. These rules for dressing cause tensions, concerning particularly Muslims living in Western countries, where restrictions are considered both sexist and oppressive. Some Muslims oppose this charge, and instead declare that the media in these countries presses on women to reveal too much in order to be deemed attractive, and that this is itself sexist and oppressive.
qas: answers: a small minority
question: How many Muslim nations require women to cover their legs, shoulders, or whole body?

answers: sexist and oppressive
question: What are the restrictions on the dress of Muslim women considered in the West?

answers: women to reveal too much in order to be deemed attractive
question: Why do some Muslims oppose allowing women to reveal more of themselves?

answers: the face
question: In its most strict style what must a woman cover in some Muslim nations?