: Arab Cultural Shows Move Beyond Politics

Last week, one reponse to the misunderstanding of Muslims and Arabs came in the form of “Beyond Belly Dancers, Bombers and Billionaires — Arabs and Muslims Out Loud!”, a showcase of a dozen musicians, artists, filmmakers, and poets that gathered in Minneapolis. The theme was “Voluntary Testimony,” a response to recent government interrogations of Arabs and Muslims. Arabic and Muslim artistic output “has a history that is as rich and varied as the Arab world,” says Kathryn Haddad, co-organizer of the event. “Some Muslims believe it is wrong to depict human forms, but in Iran, artists have a strong tradition of doing that.” A similar event in Berkeley, CA was an Eid celebration where musicians, comedians, and poets performed “in defiance of extremism,” a reference to the 9/11 attacks.

Zahed Amanullah is associate editor of altmuslim.com.  He is based in London, England.