Bridging The Divide Between The United States And The Muslim World Through Arts And Ideas: Possibilities And Limitations

Executive Summary

The conference, “Bridging the Divide between the United States and the Muslim World through Arts and Ideas: Possibilities and Limitations,” was convened by New York University’s Center for Dialogues in Brooklyn, New York, on June 6th and 7th, 2009, on the occasion of the city–wide initiative, “Muslim Voices: Arts and Ideas”, co–organized by The Asia Society, Brooklyn Academy of Music, and the Center. The conference brought together over 40 scholars, artists, government officials, and cultural practitioners from the U.S., Europe, and across the Muslim world to discuss how cultural exchange can contribute to establishing a relationship of respect and mutual understanding between the two sides.

Defining “Muslim Art”

Participants struggled initially with the classifications “Muslim artist” and “Muslim arts,” which fail to signify the great diversity within the Muslim world, and also collapse the religious and the cultural. Is a “Muslim artist” an artist who hails from a Muslim– majority country, or one who practices Islam as a religion, or one whose art is specifically created for a religious purpose or in response to a religious experience? Although many were uncomfortable with the terminology, others felt that it is impossible to separate art from the cultural context in which it is created and experienced. Yet others saw a true coherence within Islamic art, characterized, for instance, by the marriage of the visual and verbal, such as in calligraphy.

Participants widely accepted the notion that art is completed by the viewer, and its meaning differs depending on the context in which it is viewed. Muslim artists frequently create more traditional versions of their art for Western audiences than for audiences in their home countries. Indeed, many Western organizations that support Muslim arts focus on the preservation of historical art forms to the exclusion of the contemporary Muslim art scene, which is vibrant and deserves greater recognition.

One defining characteristic of contemporary Muslim art — and particularly the art of the Muslim Diaspora — is a fusion of Western and Islamic influences. Several case studies were surveyed, including a Kuwaiti comic book featuring superheroes named for the 99 attributes of God; a Canadian sitcom called “Little Mosque on the Prairie,” which challenges stereotypes while mining them for humor; adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays that comment on political repression in the Gulf states; and the growing trend of Iranian hip hop music, which fuses an American music style with the Persian love of poetry.

The political and social context of “Muslim art”

The political context of Muslim art was a frequent topic of discussion. Many participants complained that the West views art from the Muslim world through an overly political lens, valuing art according to the degree of persecution or oppression that the artist faces.

Nevertheless, censorship is a real problem for many of the Muslim artists who attended — not only the “hard” censorship of the state, but also the “soft” censorship of the artist’s own community. However, generalizations must be avoided. The official status as well as the social acceptability of various art forms differs greatly from country to country, society to society. Islam does not strictly prohibit any art form; rather, the religion has been co–opted by extremists who impose their own agendas.

The Internet was widely praised as a forum for artists and dialogue between cultures. The Internet is the only distribution method for some artists, such as Iranian hip hop artists, whose work is censored by the governments of their countries. For others, whose art is not banned but is seen as challenging the status quo, the challenge remains to draw audiences to what they “need to hear” as opposed to what they “want to hear.”

Conclusions & Recommendations

Organizers and participants alike were hopeful that, in the new spirit of understanding created by President Obama’s speech in Cairo, cultural expression could do more than ever to build bridges between civilizations. There was broad consensus on the following points:

It is important to recognize from the outset that the impact of cultural exchange is limited in the face of continuing hard political issues. It is impossible to escape or ignore the current political climate; the challenge is to work to defuse tensions within this climate.

Unlike the relationship between the U.S. and U.S.S.R. during the Cold War, the relationship between the West and the Muslim world today is not a “zero sum game.” Instead of promoting “superior” American culture, today’s cultural initiatives should approach the Muslim world with respect, empathy, and parity.

Establishing cultural relations on a parity basis must begin with listening. American individuals and institutions need to take a step back, listen, learn, and reflect before framing a new vision for engagement. As part of this process, cultural exchange must be understood as a “two–way street” during which each side identifies and tries to meet the needs of the other side — for example, by addressing the desire of people in the Muslim world to acquire technical skills from their interactions with people in the West.

Institutions and individuals engaging in cultural exchange initiatives need to recognize that building trust takes time. They should be prepared to invest in long–term relationships and programs and to see impact measured in incremental changes.

Cultural exchange initiatives need to find ways to engage local institutions — including ministries of culture, museums, galleries, and digital media spaces — in order to reach the widest possible audiences. Organizers also need to be sensitive to local context, such as the hierarchies of value, with respect to both historical and contemporary art forms, that exist in the Muslim world. These values may differ from one region to another.

Better communication and collaboration is needed among organizers of cultural exchange. This should begin with an inventory of past and current efforts, public and private, as well as development of a long–term strategy that can be pursued through individual or collective projects.

Recommendations addressed to scholars, cultural practitioners, and promoters of cultural initiatives:

Communicate to Americans the extraordinary diversity that exists within the global community of Muslims, and which provides a challenging but fruitful context for dialogue.
Develop new terminology regarding Islam, Islamic arts, and Muslim artists. The term “Muslim artist,” for example, could refer to someone from a Muslim– majority country or someone whose art comes from religious inspiration or conscious engagement with Islam.
Consider the appropriateness of employing Western models of art and art history when discussing Islamic art.
Focus discussions of art in the Muslim world as much on the art produced today — which includes hybrid genres as well as imported genres like hip hop — as the art produced in the past.
Consider the wealth of art being produced in the Muslim Diaspora, as well as how Diasporan art and artists might impact understandings of “Muslim” or “Islamic” art.
Convey to Americans that the United States needs to acknowledge and understand the important role of Muslims and the Muslim faith within America’s borders while still making an effort to understand Muslims and Muslim societies abroad.
Identify areas of commonality between cultures that can be used to ground cultural exchange initiatives.
Focus on programs that can be carried out over two–to–three years, and make “best practices” and “lessons learned” available for others to study.
Improve distribution channels so that cultural exchange can engage the broad American public, and not just residents of major metropolitan areas.
Diversify relationships with international artists and cultural institutions beyond those that are already well–known.

Recommendations addressed to the Obama administration:

Pursue strategic actions with respect to cultural exchange initiatives, including the establishment of a long–term commitment to and the allocation of greater financial support for cultural programming.
Facilitate the creation of a semi–autonomous government institution, separate from the Department of State, that recognizes the power of arts and culture in their own right, and not only as political tools. Such an institution should be able to receive funds from government and private sources and spend them internationally.
Encourage civil servants and elected officials to help change governmental attitudes about art, replacing cynical views with more positive assessments of art’s potential diplomatic value.
Develop a new terminology for arts and culture in political contexts. Terms such as “soft power” and “cultural diplomacy” treat art instrumentally, rather than as providing a way to communicate on the basis of parity.
Change regulations, such as visa restrictions and the terms of the Patriot Act, which inhibit organizations from bringing Muslim artists to the U.S. and limit what grants funding institutions can make in the Muslim world.

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