Islamic star patterns arose in the centuries after the birth of Islam, and spread quickly as Islamic rule grew outward from the Middle East to encompass western Europe, northern Africa, and southern Asia. This form of ornamentation peaked in the first half of the second millennium. The practice then tapered off as the borders of the Muslim world began to shrink. Today, historical artifacts can be found in countries from Spain to Uzbekistan, with important concentrations in Spain, Turkey, Iran, and Morocco.

There is no precise definition of an Islamic star pattern, but there are some general trends. They tend to be rigidly geometric in design, and feature star-shaped polygonal regions. They can be found carved in wood or stone, built from latticework, or assembled from baked terracotta tiles (a style known as Zellij).

Both the t-shirts located to the left utilize Islamic Star Patterns as a modern design element. Click the t-shirts for more information.