Fatma Al Sharshani
Fatma Al Sharshani is a Qatari artist and calligrapher. She studied chemistry and food science at Qatar University, and in 2011 she began to learn calligraphy in courses at the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha. She works in Diwani, naskh and thuluth, often on a large scale and in public spaces. Her first mural, 'Al Noor', commissioned by Qatar Museums in 2020, is a circle of lettering in Qatar Post Park based on the poetry of Sheikh Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani. In 2021 she painted a circular Diwani mural in Portland, Oregon, for the Qatar–USA Year of Culture. Paris Saint-Germain has commissioned her twice: for a skateboard design in 2023, and for the Arabic lettering of player names worn at the Trophée des Champions in Doha in January 2025, for which she chose Diwani because it reads clearly. In 2024 she travelled to Morocco for a Qatar Museums commission shown in 2025.
Achievements
- Began studying calligraphy in 2011 in courses at the Museum of Islamic Art, Doha.
- Painted 'Al Noor' (2020), a circular mural in Qatar Post Park commissioned by Qatar Museums, inspired by the poetry of Sheikh Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani.
- Painted 'Never Ending / Endless' (2021) in Diwani script in Portland, Oregon, for the Qatar–USA Year of Culture.
- Wrote the Arabic lettering of player names on Paris Saint-Germain's shirts for the Trophée des Champions in Doha, 5 January 2025, the first Arabic on the club's kit; she had designed a PSG skateboard in 2023.
- Commissioned by Qatar Museums for the 2025 exhibition 'Ektashif: Morocco'.
Her work
Living calligrapher: her calligraphy is still under copyright, so no works are shown.
Write in the tradition this hand shaped.
Write in this tradition now →Living calligraphers you can buy from — signed originals on paper, from AED 550: Anwar Alhulwani (Thuluth) · Ahmed Alhawary (Jali Thuluth, Naskh) · Rasha Kasim (Kufi) — or every Diwani piece the store makes: Diwani collection.
Sources
- English Wikipedia: education, MIA courses 2011, murals 2020 and 2021, PSG 2023 and 2025, Ektashif Morocco en.wikipedia.org
- Arabic Wikipedia: same ar.wikipedia.org
- Qatar Tribune: PSG Arabic lettering, Diwani choice qatar-tribune.com
- CNews (2025): PSG names in Arabic at the Trophée des Champions cnews.fr
Written by the MASHQ studio · last updated 2026-10-05. Further reading, the standard references in English: Sheila S. Blair, Islamic Calligraphy (Edinburgh University Press, 2006) · Annemarie Schimmel, Calligraphy and Islamic Culture (New York University Press, 1984) · Yasin Hamid Safadi, Islamic Calligraphy (Thames and Hudson, 1978).