Maher Gharib Identity Essay

Maher Gharib

Identity Essay

GD 300

11/05/2013

The second project was about identity, find who you are and what made you you have become over the years. I chose to title my project, Islam: My way of life because of the importance Islam had in my life and how much of an impact it had in my life.

Since Islam had a major impact in my life and how it shaped my life to what it is now, I decided to focus my project with verses from the Quran (Muslim holy book) along with an imagery to go with the verse. I decided to choose passages through my life that I overcame such as alcohol, pork, and cigarettes, and many more. I wanted to present the form of each composition as if it is in a holy scripture book, and the verses from the Quran would be presented to show the reason of not smoking, eating pork, or not having a girlfriend. The project consisted of eight compositions, each representing a moment in my life that I overcame. I composed the elements as if it was taken from a holy scripture which gave it a geometric feel, as scriptures are made to be simple straight forward.

Muslims in general do not have a vivid view in the media and sometimes a wrong perception of what Islam is about and what Islam really teaches. I wanted to teach and represent Islam in a more memorable way and a more right way rather than what people are taught what Islam is. There was a variety of students having different topics in class, all having to be important in their life and having a huge impact in their life. So I wanted to take that to my topic and present to the students in class how Islam had a huge impact in my life.

The purpose of the project is to show and illustrate how Islam dictated my life and shaped the person who I am today. I want to teach something new to the audience but also present Islam in a different light as oppose to what is being portrayed in the media. I think overall the project as a whole is great and I like the changes that I implemented from the critiques in class. The only thing I wish I did was present a story to each composition of how I overcame each element.