Art does more than express what is within us. Beauty, imagination and creativity can become ways of knowing, and pathways toward healing.

Drawing upon the traditions of Islamic psychology and sacred art, as well as contemporary art therapy, Dr. Abdallah Rothman explores the relationship between creativity and the inner life. Central to this exploration is the Islamic concept of khayāl: the imaginal faculty through which the unseen can take form, inner experience can become visible, and dimensions of the self that lie beyond ordinary language can be encountered.

Bringing these principles into conversation with his Shifaa Method of Islamic psychotherapy, Dr. Rothman considers what a distinctly Islamic approach to art therapy might offer: one in which creative expression is not only a means of psychological exploration, but a way of bringing the outward and inward, body and soul, into greater integration. In this light, art and beauty become more than objects of aesthetic appreciation; they can serve as living languages of the soul, opening pathways to self-knowledge, healing, and a deeper encounter with the sacred.

Please note that doors will close shortly before the advertised time, so we request that you arrive 15 minutes before the start time.

About Abdallah Rothman

Dr. Abdallah Rothman is the founder of Dar al-Shifaa , co-founder and President of the International Association of Islamic Psychology, and Head of Islamic Psychology at Cambridge Muslim College. He is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), a Board Certified Registered Art Therapist (ATR-BC), and holds an M.A. and PhD in Psychology. He is a student of the late Professor Malik Badri in Islamic psychology and in addition to his academic training has studied privately with a number of traditional Islamic scholars throughout the Muslim world. Dr. Abdallah’s clinical practice as well as his academic research focus on approaching counseling from within an Islamic paradigm and establishing an indigenous theoretical orientation to human psychology that is grounded in the knowledge of the soul from the Islamic tradition. He publishes on this topic in books and journal articles and gives presentations, leads interactive workshops, and is invited to public speaking engagements at universities and organizations around the world.

About The Cambridge Festival of Islamic Arts

The Cambridge Festival of Islamic Arts runs from 19 to 29 November 2026, bringing performances, exhibitions, lectures, and workshops to Cambridge's historic colleges, museums, and cultural spaces. Open to everyone, the festival celebrates the beauty and diversity of Islamic arts, and, fifty years on from the landmark 1976 World of Islam Festival, carries that spirit into our own time. Find out more at cfia.co.uk.

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