The Functions of the Prayer Rug in the Culture of Islam

The anthropological problem of interpreting artifacts has recently been the subject of considerable scholarly interest. Many scholars have emphasized the semantic significance of the everyday-life artifact as well as its semiotic essence. In the Muslim prayer rug, the semantics of its ornamental and decorative motives and its overall composition is closely linked with such characteristics as efficacy, purposefulness, and applicability. These aspects are analyzed in the paper.