Could anyone share with me something about the Arabic calligraphy?
Last class the teacher mentioned about the Arabic calligraphy， saying it is very beautiful. And I sometimes notice the calligraphies in the Islamic restaurant, but can not understand these letters.
And I like Chinese calligraphy very much, hoping to find some similarities and differences between the two.

Question

Could anyone share with me something about the Arabic calligraphy?
Last class the teacher mentioned about the Arabic calligraphy， saying it is very beautiful. And I sometimes notice the calligraphies in the Islamic restaurant, but can not understand these letters.  
And I like Chinese calligraphy very much, hoping to find some similarities and differences between the two.

Answer

http://29letters.wordpress.com/2007/05/28/arabic-type-history/

Answer

I'm an amateur Arabic calligrapher, I don't get what you're looking for exactly though.
There are a myriad ways to write in Arabic, some are formal and used frequently because of their simplicity; like Naskh and Req'a, but other very complicated forms are used mainly for decoration or revered texts, like Diwani and Kufi.
Most Arabic you read on the internet is Naskh, Req'a is the quickest way to write, it's more of improvised handwriting than a formal way of writing, you'll see it in letters written by Arabic speakers.

Here are some samples:
My name in Naskh: أحمد

An Islamic quote written in Req'a:
http://www.kefranbel.com/vb/imgcache/18106.imgcache.gif

An Arabic quote written in variants of Kufi:
http://www.syrianstory.com/images/comment6-6-12.jpg

Diwani have too many variants and can take an infinite number of shapes, it's more of a style than a standardized one way of writing; here's a Qur'anic verse in Diwani:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Jali.png

Hope I helped.

Answer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ISnCVW-XHw&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KolELtkVnMQ&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9r2JjAkKjzA&feature=watch_response

Answer

you can try:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_calligraphy
http://www.al-bab.com/arab/visual/calligraphy.htm

good luck:)

Answer

I'd say they are different. However,I can tell u a bit about Arabic letters. They are 28. The words in Arabic are the result of the merger of the initial sound of each letter. 

أ= "aa"
ب= "ba"
ت= "ta" 
ث= "tha"
ج= "ja"
ح=  it's not similar to any sounds in English so ppl pronounce it "ha"
خ = it's not similar to any sounds in English so ppl pronounce it "kha"
د= "da"
ذ= "tha"
ر= "ra"
ز= "za"
س= "sa"
ش= "sha"
ص= it's not similar to any sounds in English so ppl pronounce it  "sa"
ض= it's not similar to any sounds in English so ppl pronounce it  "dha"
ط= it's not similar to any sounds in English so ppl pronounce it "ta" 
ظ= it's not similar to any sounds in English so ppl pronounce it "tha"
ع= it's not similar to any sounds in English so ppl pronounce it "a'a"
غ= it's not similar to any sounds in English so ppl pronounce it "gha"
ف= "fa"
ق= it's not similar to any sounds in English so ppl pronounce it  "qa"
ك= "ka"
ل= "la"
م= "ma"
ن= "na"
هـ= "ha" 
و= "wa"
ي = "ya"


of course keep in ur consideration that only the initial sounds count
مرحبا= mrhba

Good Luck