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Professor Jim Al-Khalili on the astrolabe
Jim Al-Khalili OBE FRS is a British physicist, author and broadcaster.
The Islamic world
This film celebrates the breadth and diversity of Islamic culture across the world and through time. Focusing on people, places and objects to give context to the stories told in the Albukhary foundation galleries of the Islamic world.
Yusuf/Cat Stevens on music
Yusuf/Cat Stevens is a British singer-songwriter and philanthropist, born and raised a stone's throw from the British Museum, WC1.
The story of Samarra
The Iraqi city of Samarra has a long and exciting history of excavation and exploration.
Qaisra Khan on the Ka'ba tile
Qaisra Khan is an Islamic Art curator and was the project curator for the hugely successful Hajj exhibition at the British Museum in 2012.
Lustre production
Lustre was an important technique across the Islamic world used on glass and ceramics.
Idris Khan on his artwork '21 stones'
Idris Khan OBE is a British artist based in London. His work draws from a diverse range of cultural sources, including literature, history, art, music and religion.
Tiles of the Islamic world
This film celebrates the exquisite detail of tiles from across the Islamic world.
William Dalrymple on the huqqa base
William Dalrymple is a Scottish historian and writer, art historian and curator, as well as a prominent broadcaster and critic. His specialism is the Asian subcontinent.
Arabic scripts
Master calligrapher Mustafa Ja‘far writes the Arabic alphabet in Naskh script and then demonstrates the contrast between 5 scripts; Early kufic, Square kufic, Naskh, Thuluth and Nasta‘liq.
Dr Irving Finkel on games
Irving Finkel is Assistant Keeper of Ancient Mesopotamian script, languages and cultures in the Middle East department at the British Museum.
Arts of the book
Farkhondeh Ahmadzadeh recreates a Persian miniature painting using the traditional tools and techniques of a 17th century book artist.
Dr Reza Shah-Kazem on the alam
Reza Shah-Kazemi is founding editor of the Islamic World Report, formerly a Consultant to the Institute for Policy Research in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and currently Senior Research Associate at The Institute of Ismaili Studies, London.
Traditional ‘ud performance
‘ud master and composer Ahmed Muktar plays this traditional instrument for the last time before it is acquired into the British museum collection.
Mina Mikhael Salama on the ney
Mina Mikhael Salama is an Egyptian musician immersed in Coptic, Arabic and European music.
How to make a reed calligraphy pen
Master calligrapher Dr Nassar Mansour teaches us how to make a traditional calligraphy pen from a simple reed from scratch.
Narguess Farzad on the Shahnama tile
Narguess Farzad is Senior Fellow in Persian in the School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London.
Nora Fouad, jewellery maker, Cairo. Jameel House of Traditional Arts
Nora Fouad is an established jewellery designer with a passion for geometry and Islamic patterns. She graduated from the Jameel House of Traditional Arts / Cairo in 2012 and founded her own brand Norification.
Dr Seth Priestman on Siraf
Seth Priestman is a former curator in the Middle East department where he led the British Museum Siraf Project.
Gamal Hassanein, potter, Cairo. Jameel House of Traditional Arts
Gamal Hassanein has been a potter since childhood, inheriting his craft from his family before studying at the Jameel House of Traditional Arts / Cairo and continuing his career with the Cultural Development Fund of Egypt.
Professor Doris Behrens-Abouseif on the mosque lamp
Doris Behrens-Abouseif was the Nasser D. Khalili Professor of Islamic Art and Archaeology at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London for 14 years.
Glassblowing at the Hodhod workshop.
As part of Art Jameel's commitment to preserving the endangered crafts of Egypt, students at the Jameel House of Traditional Arts / Cairo attended a special course at the workshop of Hassan Hodhod in the City of the Dead to learn the ancient art of glassblowing.
Dr Afifi al-Akiti on the Ka'ba tile
Dr Afifi al-Akiti is the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Science Fellow in Islamic Studies at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies.
Traditional Turkish shadow puppetry
Featuring scenes from Karagöz the Watchman this film shows parts of the performance as well as behind the scenes footage.
Dr Farouk Topan on Qur'an boards and Islam in Africa
Farouk Topan has taught Swahili culture and literature at the School of Oriental & African Studies, University of London, and is currently a member of Faculty at Aga Khan University’s Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations in London.
The Arabesque Leaf Scroll: Design Principles and the Evolution of Form
In this short film, The Prince’s Foundation | School of Traditional Arts offers an insight into how universal principles of geometry bring symmetry and harmony to the fluid creativity of Arabesque compositions.
Professor James Allan on the alam
James Allan, Professor of Eastern Art, spent most of his career at the Ashmolean Museum, first as the curator responsible for the Islamic collection and latterly as Keeper of Eastern Art.
Under the surface of the Herat ewer
The Herat ewer was examined in the British Museum's X-ray imaging laboratory in order to further understand how it was made.
Making Mangour screens part I
Artist Ahmad Angawi talks about the craftsmanship that went into creating the Mangour screens that adorn the windows in the Albukhary Foundation gallery of the Islamic world.
Making Magour screens part II
Artist Ahmad Angawi takes us through some of the geometry and process behind the making of the beautiful Mangour window screens.