Islamic art
Calligraphic design is omnipresent in Islamic art, where, as in Europe in the Middle Ages, religious exhortations, including Qur'anic verses, may be included in secular objects, especially coins, tiles and metalwork, and most painted miniatures include some script, as do many buildings. Use of Islamic calligraphy in architecture extended significantly outside of Islamic territories; one notable example is the use of Chinese calligraphy of Arabic verses from the Qur'an in the Great Mosque of Xi'an. Other inscriptions include verses of poetry, and inscriptions recording ownership or donation. Two of the main scripts involved are the symbolic "kufic" and "naskh" scripts, which can be found adorning and enhancing the visual appeal of the walls and domes of buildings, the sides of minbars, and metalwork. Islamic calligraphy in the form of painting or sculptures are sometimes referred to as "quranic art".
Calligraffiti
Jordanian artist and art historian Wijdan Ali also used the term, "calligraffiti" in her book, "Modern Islamic Art: Development and Continuity," (1997) to describe a style of art that had been flourishing across the Middle East and North Africa from the mid-20th century. She defined calligraffiti as the use of "script of ordinary writing where the work is composed of the artist's personalised handwriting within a modern composition." Ali wanted to use the term because she saw this type of art as being inspired by calligraphy yet, also close to the scribbling of graffiti artists. Pioneer artists in this style include: Hassan Massoudy, Hossein Zenderoudi and Parviz Tanavoli. Ali locates calligraffiti art as a distinct style within the School of Calligraphic Art (also known as the Hurufiyya movement).