ID :
44178
Wed, 02/04/2009 - 20:50
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/44178
The shortlink copeid
MARATHON MUSLIM CULTURAL FESTIVAL LAUNCHED IN NEW YORK
By Manik Mehta
NEW YORK, Feb 4 (Bernama) -- A ten-day, multi-venue arts festival and
conference celebrating the extraordinary range of artistic expression through
the Muslim world under a series of events called "Muslim Voices: Arts & Ideas"
was launched Tuesday at the Asia Society in New York.
High-ranking officials, diplomats, cultural luminaries and media
representatives from Muslim countries in Asia, Africa and the Middle East, were
present to witness the launch.
The idea of creating "Muslim Voices: Arts & Ideas", which will be held from
June 5 to 14 was actually born in Kuala Lumpur a few years back, according to
Karen Brooks Hopkins, the President of the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), one
of the organisers of the event.
"The idea was born in Kuala Lumpur some years back when I was in Malaysia
and that's where the initiative was taken," she recalled.
The concept for holding the event originated in conversations between
Mustapha Tlili, founder and director of the New York University Center for
Dialogues, and Brooks Hopkins while attending an international conference
organised by the New York University Center for Dialogues in the Malaysian
capital.
Asia Society was brought in as a partner for its long history of using
arts and culture to promote understanding and deeper engagement between Asia,
which is home to two-thirds of the world's Muslim population, and the United
States.
The Asia Society, along with BAM and New York University Center for
Dialogues joined forces to organise the series of events which took three years
in the making involving meticulous planning, dedication and commitment on the
part of the organisers, according to Brooks Hopkins.
Malaysia and Indonesia are, generally, regarded as examples of "moderate and
modern states" with majority Muslim populations.
Although artists from Malaysia are not participating in the event,
Indonesian artists are expected to perform.
More than 100 artists and speakers from Asia, Africa, the Middle East and
even nearby Brooklyn, will gather for performances, films, exhibitions,
discussions and other events ranging from traditional calligraphy to the
contemporary video installations and Arabic hip-hop.
Vishaka Desai, the president of the Asia Society, stated that she was going
to renew her invitation to the Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton, to
inaugurate the event in June. The idea is that the presence of Clinton will also
arouse the interest of top dignitaries from the Muslim world to come to New York
for the event.
"Cultural diplomacy will be an important tool of the new (Obama)
administration's foreign policy," Desai maintained.
Indeed, she reminded that President Obama's first press interview had been
given to an Arab television channel, in the course of which he had stressed that
America is their "friend".
She said that such cultural events could clear many of the misperceptions
about the Muslim world which had often felt widely misunderstood and
discriminated against under comparisons between Christianity and Islam.
"No more pressing issue faces the world today than the profound lack of
understanding between Western and Islamic societies," Desai said. "Most
non-Muslim Americans have very limited exposure to and even misconceptions about
Islam, the world's second-largest religion."
She urged Americans to learn more about the 1.1 billion Muslims around the
world.
Tlili conceded that although differences between the West and the Muslim
could not be resolved by staging such events, they would nevertheless give the
American people the opportunity to understand the Islamic culture.
But he also lamented the attitude of American politicians to tell other
people how they plan their lives and conduct themselves.
"It is necessary to have political, economic and cultural exchanges
conducted on the basis of mutual respect," Tlili urged.
Tlili also confessed that after the Sept 11 terrorist attacks, many
Muslims in the United States were hesitant to admit that they were Muslims. He
urged Muslim countries and their governments to provide greater support to
events such as "Muslim Voices".
The launching of the event attracted a turnout of nationals of various
Muslim countries in Asia, including Malaysia and Indonesia, as well as Africa
and the Middle East. There was also a large turnout of American guests at the
Asia Society.
-- BERNAMA
NEW YORK, Feb 4 (Bernama) -- A ten-day, multi-venue arts festival and
conference celebrating the extraordinary range of artistic expression through
the Muslim world under a series of events called "Muslim Voices: Arts & Ideas"
was launched Tuesday at the Asia Society in New York.
High-ranking officials, diplomats, cultural luminaries and media
representatives from Muslim countries in Asia, Africa and the Middle East, were
present to witness the launch.
The idea of creating "Muslim Voices: Arts & Ideas", which will be held from
June 5 to 14 was actually born in Kuala Lumpur a few years back, according to
Karen Brooks Hopkins, the President of the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), one
of the organisers of the event.
"The idea was born in Kuala Lumpur some years back when I was in Malaysia
and that's where the initiative was taken," she recalled.
The concept for holding the event originated in conversations between
Mustapha Tlili, founder and director of the New York University Center for
Dialogues, and Brooks Hopkins while attending an international conference
organised by the New York University Center for Dialogues in the Malaysian
capital.
Asia Society was brought in as a partner for its long history of using
arts and culture to promote understanding and deeper engagement between Asia,
which is home to two-thirds of the world's Muslim population, and the United
States.
The Asia Society, along with BAM and New York University Center for
Dialogues joined forces to organise the series of events which took three years
in the making involving meticulous planning, dedication and commitment on the
part of the organisers, according to Brooks Hopkins.
Malaysia and Indonesia are, generally, regarded as examples of "moderate and
modern states" with majority Muslim populations.
Although artists from Malaysia are not participating in the event,
Indonesian artists are expected to perform.
More than 100 artists and speakers from Asia, Africa, the Middle East and
even nearby Brooklyn, will gather for performances, films, exhibitions,
discussions and other events ranging from traditional calligraphy to the
contemporary video installations and Arabic hip-hop.
Vishaka Desai, the president of the Asia Society, stated that she was going
to renew her invitation to the Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton, to
inaugurate the event in June. The idea is that the presence of Clinton will also
arouse the interest of top dignitaries from the Muslim world to come to New York
for the event.
"Cultural diplomacy will be an important tool of the new (Obama)
administration's foreign policy," Desai maintained.
Indeed, she reminded that President Obama's first press interview had been
given to an Arab television channel, in the course of which he had stressed that
America is their "friend".
She said that such cultural events could clear many of the misperceptions
about the Muslim world which had often felt widely misunderstood and
discriminated against under comparisons between Christianity and Islam.
"No more pressing issue faces the world today than the profound lack of
understanding between Western and Islamic societies," Desai said. "Most
non-Muslim Americans have very limited exposure to and even misconceptions about
Islam, the world's second-largest religion."
She urged Americans to learn more about the 1.1 billion Muslims around the
world.
Tlili conceded that although differences between the West and the Muslim
could not be resolved by staging such events, they would nevertheless give the
American people the opportunity to understand the Islamic culture.
But he also lamented the attitude of American politicians to tell other
people how they plan their lives and conduct themselves.
"It is necessary to have political, economic and cultural exchanges
conducted on the basis of mutual respect," Tlili urged.
Tlili also confessed that after the Sept 11 terrorist attacks, many
Muslims in the United States were hesitant to admit that they were Muslims. He
urged Muslim countries and their governments to provide greater support to
events such as "Muslim Voices".
The launching of the event attracted a turnout of nationals of various
Muslim countries in Asia, including Malaysia and Indonesia, as well as Africa
and the Middle East. There was also a large turnout of American guests at the
Asia Society.
-- BERNAMA
