Arts and culture are two mediums that can be used to disseminate information on moderate religious outlook and religious teachings, according to the Religious Affairs Ministry’s director general of Muslim Community Guidance, Kamaruddin Amin.
“Arts and cultural approaches have been proven to provide goodness and common benefit,” Amin stated while opening the Islamic Arts and Culture Potentials Exploration workshop here, Tuesday.
The director general pointed out that arts and culture are the instruments to spread messages on virtue, harmony, and peace, which are consistent with the nature of Islam as a blessing for the universe.
Proselytization, through the arts and cultural mediums, will be accepted more easily by residents, as art is a universal language, he remarked.
“Arts is the universal language that can (serve as a) bridge (between) different religions, cultures, and ethnic groups. Everyone is fond of art in spite of differences in sensitivity levels and instincts,” Amin noted.
Meanwhile, the ministry’s arts, culture, and religious broadcasting sub-directorate head, Sayid Alwi Fahmi, underlined arts and culture as a strategic medium for proselytization.
“Islam holds arts and culture in high esteem. The spread of Islam from the past to the present still relies on arts and culture, which are an effective medium for proselytization,” the sub-directorate head remarked.
The Islamic Arts and Culture Potentials Exploration workshop is attended by students from various universities in the Greater Jakarta Region that are expected to participate by contributing arts and cultural content, with high esteem to religious moderation values.
Cultural practitioners, artists, and digital media practitioners are among the speakers that will address participants during the three-day workshop.
Source: Antara News