Art and the Internet as a Cultural Bridge

This 2009 excerpt is reprinted with permission from the Center for Dialogues, New York University

Bridging the Divide Between the United States and the Muslim World through Arts and Ideas: Possibilities and Limitations

 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.”