The Avant la Letter of Islamic Calligraphy in North America
Nihad Dukkhan
Hoçam is a master of many crafts. The combination of various manual, artistic and intellectual skills that he has is truly remarkable. A master machinist, woodworker and maker of Islamic scientific instruments from antiquity are some of the titles that can be attached to his name. Often times, when he needs something, he invents it and constructs it! With regard to book arts, in addition to being a world-renowned calligrapher, he is a master ebru artist, illuminator and bookbinder. Zakariya collected his knowledge, understanding and skills through his life-long learning, by delving into original sources to find the “truth”. These sources include Ottoman and Arabic treatises on a considerable range of subjects. He studied old techniques from different historical periods, digested them and used them to produce artwork, art materials and designs. For calligraphy, ebru and ahar paper making, he had teachers, otherwise he is completely self-taught. I was really excited when he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters by Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar in 2012.
Zakariya is fluent is a few languages: Arabic, Turkish (Ottoman and Modern) and Romanian. He and I once co-existed in Istanbul few years ago. He asked me to accompany him to a meeting. Well, a local Turkish TV program hosted him to talk about Muvekkithans (timing buildings for determining the time of prayer, and for conducting astronomical studies during the Ottoman period). Hoçam conducted the whole episode in Turkish, and cover all relevant information about these historical/religious buildings in Turkish, with no hesitations.
When it comes to calligraphy, he is completely independent and unintimidated. Over his long career, he developed his very distinctive and recognizable style in both calligraphy and illumination. All of his pieces are completely made by him, starting from dyeing the calligraphy paper with black tea and other fine natural dyes that produce the most beautiful colors. Hoçam has successfully modified Ottoman and old Arab techniques and materials, and brought them to life in our modern times. In the process, he has made many discoveries. In some cases, his modified techniques and materials surpass the old ones.
Talking about Mohamed Zakariya would not be complete without talking about Sally Zakariya, his wife whom he admires. Sally has been his supporter, manager, editor and secretary for most of his artistic career. She believed in him when he was starting, and made many sacrifices so that he masters calligraphy and makes a career out of it. Certainly, she is the woman behind our great man. Sally is always kind, generous and welcoming to students from all walks of life. She basically volunteers her house, time and privacy once a week for half a day, so students can take lessons from Hoçam. If a student comes from out of town, he or she may get to stay at Zakariya’s house. In that case Sally would take full care of the guest making sure that he or she is very comfortable. She actually sacrifices her home office for the duration of the guest’s stay.
Zakariya is very precise and he demands precision from his students. He measures strokes and letters with drafting tools. Basically, he opened my eyes to hidden secrets in letter shapes and connections, as well as organization and flow of a calligraphy line. Any precision and patience I have in writing calligraphy is influenced by his teachings, corrections, and guidance. In addition to calligraphy, he taught me a great deal about materials used in Islamic Calligraphy: ahar paper making, paper dyeing, reed pen shaping and special calligraphy backing board construction. I also learned applying gold to calligraphy from him.
Zakariya Hoçam is not my only teacher. I learned the Sülüs and Nasih calligraphy styles from grand master calligrapher Hasan Çelebi of Istanbul, receiving my other Ijazah from him in 2009. (Çelebi is Zakariya’s teacher in these two styles. So, Zakariya and I have this lineage in common.) While receiving an Ijazah in Islamic calligraphy is a milestone, one needs to continue practicing in order to further his or her skills and reach higher levels in the art. As such, I have continued my training with Zakariya, while practicing as a professional calligrapher. Part of this advanced training is to study calligraphic specimens of old masters. Whenever Zakariya finds such masterpieces he swiftly shares them with me, and we spend considerable spans of time discussing them. Islamic Calligraphy is a difficult art to master and understand. Zakariya’s discussions of calligraphy take different levels depending on the preparation of his audience. His calligraphy work and service to this art have been instrumental in restoring the stature of the art of Islamic Calligraphy as one of the excellences that embodies Islam’s spirit.
I am fifty some years old, and I want to be like Zakariya when I grow up!
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