We are the decorators of some of the most important mosques in the Middle East, the United States, and Africa. Harout Bastajian, the company's founding president and main designer, executor, and artist, started in 1996 with the decoration of houses, villas, and palaces. His work with mosques, started in 2004, quickly drew him critical acclaim after his completion of landmark mosques.

The Art of Mosques team revolves around a core group consisting of Harout and six professional painters backed up by a calligrapher, an interior designer, and a graphic designer. The core group can expand to thirty-five painters depending on the size of the project. Sample reference projects include the following:

HAJJ BAHAEDDIN HARIRI MOSQUE - Sidon, Lebanon
The mosque includes the biggest dome in the Middle East at 44 meters high, 900 square meters. Executed in two months and a half, the project included gilding ornamentation, calligraphy, patina, and stone imitation.

MOHAMMAD AL-AMIN MOSQUE - Beirut, Lebanon
The biggest mosque in the Middle East and a landmark of the capital's city center with a main dome 46 meters high covering 650 square meters. Executed in three months, the project included gilding ornamentation, calligraphy, patina, and stone and wood imitations.

THE ISLAMIC CENTER OF AMERICA MOSQUE - Dearborn, Michigan, USA
Executed in two months, the biggest mosque in the United States. Gilding ornamentation, calligraphy, patina, stone and wood imitations.

HASSANEIN MOSQUE - Deir Intar, South of Lebanon
Executed in two months, the project included painting and gilding on central and main entrance domes, hallways, and multi-purpose hall.

ILORIN MOSQUE - Kwara State, Nigeria
Executed in two months, the most luxuriously-decorated mosque in Nigeria.

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We do studies, gilding, calligraphy, patina, and marble and stone imitations.

STUDIES Historical research, observation, the constant study of painting-related material, and the willingness to update one's knowledge form the basis to achieving the required mastery of forms, colors, depths, and finishes. This, in turn, is reflected in the professional quality of the design studies we deliver to our customers.

GILDING Gilding is an art of its own: using gold, silver, brass or bronze leaves and adding different-colored layers of protective coats brings out the desired finishes. Gilding is most prominent and gives its fullest effect and its maximum contrast relative to any point where the viewer is positioned. Gilding also follows and puts in relief the natural shape of the mosque's dome, interacting with lighting in order to give optimum illumination.

CALLIGRAPHY Calligraphy is an exact science where the text's religious and spiritual signification is determined by the smallest diacritical details. Our calligrapher is one of the best in the Middle East; in the age of advanced technology, Islamic calligraphy is still made solely by hand despite the possibility of digitalization which will, however, never match the artistic experience and intuition of the human calligrapher.

PATINA Patina is yet another art of its own; the unique depth of color is the result of a meticulous combination of color coordination, multi-layered coats of paint, and time-tested application techniques. The final product is a masterpiece of spatial and visual beauty. Patina is mainly used to harmonize different elements and sections of the mosque's interior while adding aesthetic value to plain surfaces.

MARBLE, STONE, and WOOD IMITATIONS Marble, stone, and wood imitations provide an exact replica of the real material however sophisticated its color, texture, veining, and finish are; it is almost impossible to tell the difference between real and imitation. The same artistic value, finish, and lifetime duration are achieved for a fraction of the cost incurred for marble, stone, and wood.

We are committed to authenticity, superior workmanship, state-of-the-art durable materials, and the most competitive completion times on the market.

AUTHENTICITY Every project is determined by the architectural specificities of each individual mosque, its historical and cultural roots, and its human dimension represented by the community that has developed around it. Ornamental beauty in itself is not enough; research into the appropriate historico-religious background is conducted beforehand in order to ensure the highest standards of authenticity.

WORKMANSHIP Our team, with more than ten years of experience, has achieved the necessary synergy to work, on the one hand, as a group and, on the other hand, as highly specialized units responsible for the different facets of mosque decoration.

MATERIALS We use the best materials to cover the full process of decorative design from primary to final coats for gilding and painting. This is crucial in order to achieve the required aesthetic effect and durability we have become famous for.

COMPLETION TIMES Because our team works as a synchronized unit where each artist fills a specific space with a specialized task, time is used in the most efficient manner possible. Our reputation for delivering completed projects in competitive time-frames has placed us at the forefront of mosque decoration.

For enquiries, email us at haroutbast@gmail.com or call us direct on +961-3-273217.