The religious or artistic practice and principle of avoiding representations of divine beings or sacred figures through images or statues.
From Greek an- (without) + icon (image) + -ism (practice or belief system). This theological and art historical term emerged in the 20th century to describe a widespread religious principle across multiple faiths.
Aniconism explains why Islamic calligraphy became so incredibly ornate—when you ban pictures of God, artists transform the very letters into art, which is why Arabic script became visual poetry.
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