Nassar Mansour
1967– · Amman
Nassar Mansour was born in Amman, Jordan, in 1967, the youngest son of the poet Muhammad Mansour. He studied Islamic studies and economics at the University of Jordan (1988), took a master's degree in Islamic art at Al al-Bayt University (1997) and a doctorate in Islamic calligraphy at the Prince's School of Traditional Arts in London (2007). In 2003 Hasan Çelebi gave him an ijaza in Istanbul, the first awarded to a Jordanian. He taught calligraphy at the University of Jordan, helped found the institute at al-Balqa Applied University that rebuilt the minbar of Saladin for al-Aqsa Mosque, and drew its inscriptions. He also designed the lettering of Jordan's banknotes and coins. His research and practice centre on muhaqqaq, one of the six classical scripts, which he has worked to bring back into use; his book on it appeared in 2011, and the Arab Thought Foundation gave him its creativity award for this work. He now teaches at the World Islamic Sciences and Education University in Amman.
Achievements
- First Jordanian to receive an ijaza from Hasan Çelebi, Istanbul, 2003.
- Designed the calligraphic inscriptions and ornament for the rebuilt minbar of Saladin, installed in al-Aqsa Mosque in 2006 (design work 1996–1999).
- Designed the calligraphy of Jordanian banknotes and coins for the Central Bank of Jordan, 1995–2000.
- PhD in Islamic calligraphy from the Prince's School of Traditional Arts, London, 2007; author of Sacred Script: Muhaqqaq in Islamic Calligraphy (2011).
- Arab Thought Foundation creativity award (announced April 2018) for reviving muhaqqaq.
- Works in the British Museum, the Aga Khan Museum and the Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts; co-curated 'Making the Master' on the ijaza at the British Museum (2005).
Taught by: Hasan Çelebi
Taught: Sir Mark Allen, Vikram Seth
His work
Living calligrapher: his 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 Thuluth piece the store makes: Thuluth collection.
Sources
- English Wikipedia: career, degrees, ijaza 2003, minbar 1996–1999, currency 1995–2000, collections, exhibitions, ATF award en.wikipedia.org
- Arabic Wikipedia: born 2 Feb 1967 Amman, same facts, student Mark Allen, Vikram Seth quote ar.wikipedia.org
- Arab Thought Foundation: Artistic Creativity Award (2017 cycle) to 'Muhaqqaq Calligraphy' by Dr Nassar Mansour arabthought.org
- Sacred Script: Muhaqqaq in Islamic Calligraphy (I.B. Tauris, 2011) books.google.com
- Wikidata: birth date wikidata.org
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).