Jamal Badran

Born in Haifa 1909. Jamal Badran studied Islamic Art at the Hamzawi School of Art and Ornamental Design

in Cairo (1922-1927). After his return to Palestine, he began working on the first major twentieth century

renovation of the Al-Aqsa and Dome of the Rock mosques in Jerusalem (1927-1928). He played an important

role in the field of art education in Palestine and Syria. He was awarded a scholarship by the British Mandate

Government to study at the Central School of Arts and Crafts in London (1934-1937). He was delegated

by UNESCO to develop art education in Libya (1952-1962) as an Expert in Arts and Crafts. In 1962, Badran

established a studio for decorative arts and applied crafts in Ramallah. Jamal Badran received numerous

awards and honours over the years, the most recent being the UNESCO Award for Applied Arts (1994).

Jamal Badran spent five years doing intensive research to create the thirty-three drawings on tracing paper

that formed the blueprint for the construction of the new minbar for Al-Aqsa mosque, the old one having

been destroyed by an arsonist in 1969. Badran put in 2,250 hours of work into these drawings, which were

presented to the Al-Aqsa Restoration Committee and later to the Ministry of Awqaf. It is regrettable and

astonishing that any mention of the reconstruction of the minbar does not include or credit Jamal Badran,

nor is his name engraved on the restored minbar, as it should have been. Badran was the most prominent

Palestinian artist working in Islamic art. His works can be found in many private collections and museums all

over the Arab world. Badran died in Jerusalem in 1999.

Source

Academic Figures