Program
6: Decay or Rebirth?
Islamic
Culture and the Plight of the Islamic Artist Today
One
of the central cultural problems in today's world is the rapid erosion
of indigenous cultures, often centuries-old, by a bland, homogenize
mass culture. The effects of the inexorable spread of these values
are visible for all to see; an ubiquitous youth culture, complete
with its own music, dress code and moral standards; the rise of mass
communications and their over-reliance
on the West for programs; and the artistic and cultural shift away
from local or regional cultures towards world markets and institutions,
invariably dominated by the West. If an artist or an intellectual
looks for recognition today he must usually seek it in the West, not
from within his own culture.
Nowhere
has this process further sapped self-confidence and a sense of cultural
identity than in the Islamic world, particularly in its Arab heartland.
In Asia and Africa, pre-Islamic cultures continue to flourish. In
one sense the bedrock of Islamic civilization is still intact, although
under strain. Islam is a complete way of life, with its own rituals
and values. But, in many instances, what passes for Islamic culture
today is an empty shell of a glorious past, merely going through the
motions. Yet there are signs, here and there, of a new dynamism, a
new synthesis and a new search that suggest that some of that past
genius and self-confidence may be reappearing.
People
interviewed in this program: Naseer David Khalili,
Mulikian-Chirvani, Ismail Serageldin, Ahmed Bokhari, Adam Henein,
Wasma Chorbachi, Waddah Faris, Ahmed Mustafa, Maureen Abdallah, Sherif
Hetata, Adib Adam