The Japanese School, Doha, recently visited Fanar’s ‘Aqlam Expo’ and its party of 14 children and five teachers got to see the new Mus’haf Qatar, ‘Ebro’ Water Marbling, a new World Record and an impressive arrangement of Islamic art. The Fanar vision is to establish a world leading epicenter for the presentation of Islam as a viable way of life for the whole of mankind. The group began their visit in the ‘Mus’haf Qatar’ wing where Fanar staff, Takishi Fokoshima, explained the efforts spent in the Mus’haf’s completion. They learned about the specific rules and proportions of writing and the illumination and gilding of the ‘Mus’haf’ and were surprised by the beauty of the Mus’haf’s Calligraphy and its decoration. Takishi then introduced the party to Obaida Al Banki, the man behind the pen that scribed for three years to complete this Mus’haf, who kindly posed with them for the commemorative photo they asked of him in appreciation of his efforts in writing the Mus’haf Qatar. The morning was one of celebration as the world’s biggest gilding was completed at Fanar. As it entered the Guinness Book of World Records, the Japanese School looked on and clapped their hands in recognition of the Chocktan brothers great achievement. They listened to Ahmed Chocktan, who is fluent in Japanese, explain how he did the gilding and that the Record piece represents the ‘Mus’haf Qatar’ logo. After that the Mu’adhdhin (the call to prayer) could be heard and the students asked to see the mosque and the prayer. They then asked many questions about the mosque, its parts and how the Muslims pray and what they say during the prayer. They were very polite, respected the mosque and did not make a noise inside it. After the prayer, the group again joined Ahmed Chocktan and this time watched him paint on water — an art form known as water-marbling or Ebro. They then proceeded to tour the Exhibition Hall and all its styles of Calligraphy. Because the Japanese school teaches Arabic the students were able to gain a deeper appreciation of what they saw and were very glad to see the different styles of Arabic letters. Siri Kawa, a teacher at the Japanese School, expressed his happiness for the amazing experience, “I’d like to say that I and the children are very pleased. We had the most wonderful tour, full of knowledge and enlightenment. We learnt so much about the Islamic culture and I hope to come again.” http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=Local_News&subsection=Qatar+News&month=March2010&file=Local_News2010031833343.xml

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