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The issue of representation of living beings dominates the discussions of Muslims attitudes towards the arts. In the Kuran el Kerim itself there is no formal statement opposing such representation and there is a general consensus that what can be called the Muslim "aniconism" (as opposed to "iconoclasm") was a reluctance, initially social and psychological rather than ideological, but over the centuries it acquired intelectual and theological justification and used various Koranic passages and doctrines to do so. There was, in particular, the passage which relates how Jesus gave life to the effigy of a bird, as a miracle showing that God alone has the power to bestow life. The unique omnipotence of God is an essential feature of Islam and one of its corollaries in the absolute opposition to idols. The artistic representation of life was seen as idolatry and eventually considered sinful. This prohibition affected Islamic art: the faith itself could not be expressed through images and thus, piety had to find other ways to be shown visually. One way, has been argued was through writing and the promotion of calligraphy to a sort of sacred art form. Another effect may well have been the importance taken by the secular arts, especially artisanal ones.
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