Introduction to Islamic Calligraphy
5-week online workshop with Deniz Öktem Bektaş
April 4-May 2, 2026 | 5 Saturdays from 11 am to 12 pm ET
Fee: $ 80 (early bird until March 14) | $90 (Regular Registration)
Open to all skill levels | Recordings will be available
Course Description
This workshop offers an introduction to Islamic calligraphy, with particular emphasis on the Thuluth and Naskh scripts. Participants will explore the essential principles and foundations of each script.
Artwork in Muthanna (mirror image) style in Thuluth and Naskh scripts by Deniz Öktem-Bektaş ©
Alongside hands-on, guided practice, the program features two lectures covering the history of Ottoman calligraphy and its most prominent masters.
No prior knowledge is necessary. Suitable for complete beginners.
Class Schedule
April 4 (Week 1): Lecture on the history of calligraphy. Introduction to materials. Writing the first line of the curriculum, “Rabbi Yassir,” in the Thuluth script.
April 11 (Week 2): Introduction to a Thuluth script. Homework feedback.
April 18 (Week 3): Lecture on key historical masters of Ottoman Calligraphy. Homework feedback and review.
April 25 (Week 4): Introduction to Naskh script. Homework feedback and review.
May 2 (Week 5): Homework feedback and review of both scripts.
Materials
Pens (2 sizes):
Reed/Java Pen for Naskh (1 mm)
Reed/Bamboo for Thuluth (2 mm- 3 mm)
Glossy White Paper
Black Ink (Non-waterproof calligraphy ink)
Ink jar with lika (silk yarn)
Writing cushion/pad
Optional: Slanted surface
Website suggestions for supplies
Instructor Bio
Deniz Öktem Bektaş was born in Holland in 1976. She graduated from ‘İmam-Hatip’ high school in Istanbul in 1994. After completing her studies at the Department of English Literature at Boğaziçi University, she continued her graduate work at Georgetown University in the U.S.A. While working on her masters at the Department of Communication, Culture and Technology, she met Mohamed Zakariya with whom she started calligraphy lessons in riq’a and naskh. Coming back to Turkey at the end of 2002, she continued to take calligraphy lessons with Hasan Çelebi and Davut Bektaş in the scripts of riq’a, naskh and thuluth. In 2007, she obtained her ijaza in the naskh and thuluth scripts. She received encouragement awards in naskh at the 7th International Calligraphy Competition organized by IRCICA in 2007 and at the Calligraphy Biennial in Sharjah in 2008. In the national calligraphy competition conducted by the Presidency of Religious Affairs of Turkey (2015), she received 3rd prize in writing several pages from the Qur’an in the script of naskh. Mrs. Öktem has participated in exhibitions in Turkey and internationally, and continues her work alongside her husband, Davut Bektaş, in their studio in Istanbul.