Here's a sad statement about Islamic art as a discipline: a Google news search for "Oleg Grabar" at publication time yields a mere four hits.
This is particularly disappointing since Grabar (pictured), 81, professor emeritus at the Institute for Advanced Study, died on Saturday.
One of those hits, an obituary in the Times of Trenton, says Grabar "is credited with expanding the interest in and study of Islamic art in the U.S."
A statement from the Institute for Advanced Study says that over the last six decades Grabar's research "has had a profound and far-reaching influence on the study of Islamic art and architecture."
"The extraordinary originality, depth and range of his research and teaching made an enduring impression on the study of Middle Eastern culture, and he was chiefly responsible for the growth and development of historians specializing in the history of Islamic art within the United States," according to the statement.
All the other Google News hits are Turkish-language obituaries, like this one from Haber Turk, which, according to Google Translate, calls Grabar "the greatest living historian of Islamic art," and this one from Samanyolu Haber.
Grabar, who earned his doctorate from Princeton University in 1955, chaired Harvard University's Department of Fine Arts from 1977 until 1982 and was Aga Khan professor of Islamic art and architecture (1980 until 1990) and professor emeritus (1990 until 2011) at Harvard. He wrote more than 20 books and 120 journal articles.
In an interview on March 1, 2007, Grabar told me that he didn't see the response to the controversial Danish cartoons as indication that religious art was a divisive force. Instead, it was "a clear case of a manipulation by the media to make up stories," he said.
"There will be an art tied to religion as long as there is religion, and there will be a difference between popular art for the masses and sophisticated versions for elites," he said. "Since elites are less attached to faiths than they used to be, especially in the western world, there is less 'religious' art, but it may come back."
I also interviewed Grabar for an Aug. 4, 2007, article I wrote for Arab American News titled "Are Drawing and Painting Haraam?"
In the interview, Grabar said Islamic figurative art is not as controversial as it is sometimes portrayed.
"Figurative art is only a problem in some circles, and a false problem at that," he said, "since there is nothing in classical Islamic thought that would forbid representational art."
He cautioned against misusing the term 'Muslim American artists.'
"Most of the Muslim artists in America known to me are primarily American or rather modern and not Muslim," he said. "Therefore, the pairing 'American' and 'Muslim' is not particularly appropriate. Would you call Barnett Newman an American Jewish artist or a modern artist who happens to be American and Jewish?"
Grabar, who was fluent in French and Russian and traveled a lot throughout the Muslim world for his research, quickly broadened the scope. "The matter is even more interesting in France and England, where there are particularly good modern artists of Muslim origin," he said. "Most of their art is not religious at all."
Asked why so many people assume Muslims and Jews are aniconistic -- or allergic to art, Grabar had a theory -- they simply don't know better.
"Ignorance dominates such judgments, based usually on the impossibility of representing God, but this is a long story," he said. "The idea was picked up by fundamentalists everywhere, even among Protestants in earlier times."
When I pressed Grabar to explain more of the "long story," he responded modestly, and reassured me yet another time that I was asking good questions.
"These are all important questions, which need better knowledge than I have of the material and a better sense of the audience you are trying to reach," he said.
If the greatest historian of Islamic art didn't have the answers, one cannot help but wonder who did.
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
It's Another Trump-Biden Showdown — And We Need Your Help
The Future Of Democracy Is At Stake
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
The 2024 election is heating up, and women's rights, health care, voting rights, and the very future of democracy are all at stake. Donald Trump will face Joe Biden in the most consequential vote of our time. And HuffPost will be there, covering every twist and turn. America's future hangs in the balance. Would you consider contributing to support our journalism and keep it free for all during this critical season?
HuffPost believes news should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay for it. We rely on readers like you to help fund our work. Any contribution you can make — even as little as $2 — goes directly toward supporting the impactful journalism that we will continue to produce this year. Thank you for being part of our story.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
It's official: Donald Trump will face Joe Biden this fall in the presidential election. As we face the most consequential presidential election of our time, HuffPost is committed to bringing you up-to-date, accurate news about the 2024 race. While other outlets have retreated behind paywalls, you can trust our news will stay free.
But we can't do it without your help. Reader funding is one of the key ways we support our newsroom. Would you consider making a donation to help fund our news during this critical time? Your contributions are vital to supporting a free press.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our journalism free and accessible to all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.
Support HuffPostAlready contributed? Log in to hide these messages.