Contemporary Art from the Islamic World, edited by Princess Wijdan Ali and published in 1989, is a pioneering exhibition catalogue that surveys the emergence and evolution of modern and contemporary art across Islamic countries. The book accompanied a major exhibition at the Barbican Centre in London and draws primarily from the collection of the Royal Society of Fine Arts in Jordan. Through richly illustrated pages and essays contributed by art historians and critics, the book maps the transformation of visual expression in countries such as Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Lebanon, Syria, Sudan, Iran, and the Gulf states. It explores how artists from these regions, while influenced by Western modernist movements, have remained rooted in indigenous forms and symbols, most notably through the integration of Arabic calligraphy—a hallmark of the Hurufiyya movement. This fusion gave rise to a distinct visual language where modern abstraction merged with classical Islamic aesthetics. The book highlights media such as painting, ceramics, and sculpture, and it emphasizes the rise of a "Calligraphic School" that represents a cultural continuity amid modern experimentation. While celebrated as one of the earliest comprehensive overviews of contemporary Islamic art, the book has been critiqued for its limited geographical scope (heavily centered on Jordan and affiliated artists) and its omission of more experimental or newer art forms like installation or performance. Nevertheless, it remains a foundational text in understanding how artists in the Islamic world have navigated identity, tradition, and modernity.