Explain the role of calligraphy as an important form of art in Islamic cultures. Why did the art become so prominent? 

What will be an ideal response?

Writing out the Qur'an is viewed as an act of prayer. Calligraphy thus became the most highly regarded art in Islamic land, and great calligraphers achieved the renown Europeans accorded to painters and sculptors. Images of animate beings were never illustrated. Instead, artists ornamented manuscripts with geometric patterns and stylized plant forms.