Warning: If you are offended by icons of Muhammad, you may not want to click “Read more”.
I’ve talked about iconoclasm in Islam briefly a few months ago and recently stumbled upon an icon of Muhammad that most modern day Iranian Shi’as have in their homes. I found the similarities between this and an Orthodox icon of Christ Pantocrator striking. The photo to the left is an icon from St. Catherine’s monastery in Sinai from the 6th-7th century.
This photo to the right is the Iranian icon of Muhammad:
The light around Muhammad’s head is similar to the halo in the icon of Christ, they’re both holding their respective holy texts—Muhammad the Qur’an and Christ the Gospels.
Not all Muslims are iconoclastic, and I stand by my original theory that much of Arab Muslim iconoclasm stems from the edict of Yazid in 721 AD. I’ll have to spend more time studying the depictions of Muhammad throughout history, but here is the Wiki for anyone wanting more information, and here are some more images:
The Investiture of Ali at Ghadir Khumm, MS Arab 161, fol. 162r, AD 1309/8 Ilkhanid manuscript illustration.
Miniature of Muhammad rededicating the Black Stone at the Kaaba. From Jami Al-Tawarikh, c. 1315
Muhammad leads Abraham, Moses, Jesus and others in prayer. Persian miniature
Islam Meets Orthodoxy 