A Study Of Islamic Art And Culture In My Name Is Red

Orhan Pamuk is one of the most famous Turkish novelists whose masterpiece My Name is Red won him a great reputation in the world and the Nobel Prize for literature in2006. The novel was published in the year of2001. It mergers mystery, romance, and philosophical puzzles in a setting of Istanbul in the16th century, and it opens a window for readers to know about the society under the reign of Sultan Murat III. Pamuk’s novels are often characterized by Islamic identity, issues brought about partly by the conflict between Western and Eastern values. His novels possess complex plots and characters, being evocative with the discussion of the creative arts, such as literature and painting.This thesis focuses on the reading and understanding of Islamic culture and art in My Name is Red. The analysis of Islamic religious art includes religious painting, the philosophy of the painters and their painting skills in a golden age of Islamic art in the Ottoman Empire. Moreover, the thesis clarifies the family and social status of women in Islamic culture which are miss read by westerners, and in the end, it analyzes the cultural conflict and interaction between western values and the Islamic values in order to elucidate the cultural exchange between western world and Islamic world, as well as the diplomatic and commercial interactions that played a great role in this cultural exchange.Large number of studies and reviews have discussed this novel, from various kinds of perspectives, however, issues, such as the cultural background and landscape of the novel, have not attached and discussed so far. Since the Islamic art and culture acts as the most prominent element in this novel, it is quite necessary to make a cultural overview for readers especially the non-Turkish ones. Hence this study attempts to provide more insight about Islamic art and culture so as to achieve a better understanding of My Name is Red.