The need for multiform dialogue has never been more critical in Southwestern Asian societies that have to deal with diverse identities, world visions, customs/traditions, and practices, such as the Lebanese and Emirati. Lebanon includes a religious and cultural diversity that goes beyond the 18 official religious communities, and despite war traumas, political turmoil, socio-economic crises, and the 2020 Beirut port explosion, this diversity is still promoted and preserved by several individuals and groups such as art NGOs, artistic enterprises, and artists. As for the UAE which hosts at least 200 nationalities, its authorities consider the diversity of cultures and religions as a source of strength and enrichment, and they have taken deliberate efforts to ensure the awareness and promotion of cultural diversity values such as in education, the proclamation of 2019 as the Year of Tolerance, several publications, cultural events/workshops and film screenings on dialogue, festivals, theatrical performances, art exhibitions, etc.¹ This paper highlights a few of the many examples of dialogue for peace through the arts initiatives that have taken place in Lebanon and the UAE in the last few years and that I managed/organized or took part in –mainly the Peace Art Project at the American University in Dubai and the Nabad Program in Lebanon. These examples are cited to illustrate the relation between dialogue for peace and the arts, and therefore, the objective of this paper is not to present an exhaustive review that identifies all relevant literature on each facet of the topic at hand.

THE ARTS AND DIALOGUE FOR PEACE

As I argued in “Peace, Islam, and the Arts in Dubai”², art has an incredibly vital role to play in the pursuit of peace, especially in Southwestern Asia where it has been proliferating since the beginning of the 20th c. with artists who express(ed) their testimonies of war’s destruction, their resistance to war and their transformation vision to influence or help shape their societies. For instance: Iraqi Dia Al-Azzawi and Ahmed Alsoudani, Syrian Fateh Al Moudarre and Youssef Abdelke, Egyptian Mohammed Abla and Sabah Naim, Palestinian Laila Shawa, Naji al-Ali, Ismail Shammout, and Kamal Boullata, Iranian Shadi Ghadirian and Khosrow Hassanzadeh, Lebanese Aref Rayess, Group Atlas/Walid Raad, Joanna Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige, and Ayman Baalbaki. These artists and numerous others have visually and graphically captured the senseless slaughter (wars in Iraq, Syria.. etc) of millions and the desolate landscapes and urban settlements shattered by conflicts. They have depicted the visceral way they and others experienced war traumas, exile, and forced migration, and conveyed both the oneness of humankind and particular –contextual voices of resistance, survival, resilience, and conviviality.

Wars start in the human mind, and education and the arts play an important role in individual and collective mindset changes. In “Peace Education in Lebanon” (Chrabieh 2015)³, I argue that peace is a process that requires continuous dialogue between diverse identities in all areas of life, and that both education and the arts play a major role in creating spaces of dialogue toward peacebuilding. Indeed, when it comes to peace education –which encompasses a variety of pedagogical approaches within formal curricula in schools, universities, and non-formal popular education projects implemented by local, regional, and international organizations– it aims to cultivate the knowledge and practices of a culture of peace. Same with the diverse forms of arts such as visual and performative arts, but also art therapy. True that teachers and artists can do little to reduce the economic and political causes of wars, but they can do a great deal to moderate/shed light on the psychological factors that promote violence by engaging students and people in a journey of understanding the forces that manipulate them; introducing them to relevant psychological and pedagogical principles, such as the contact experience, conciliation through personal storytelling, reckoning with traumatic memories and injuries; understanding the socio-emotional aspects of reconciliation and discovering alternatives to violence; fostering mutual respect and building bridges across differences; etc.⁴

As stated by Celia Chambelland (2018), peacebuilding practitioners agree that “rational and traditional models of engagement [for Peace] are insufficient by themselves when it comes to resolving conflict, and attaining peace”⁵. Therefore the role of the arts in terms of reciprocity, connectivity, mutual understanding, mediation, facilitation, dialogue, human rights advocacy, development, etc. is fundamental in any peacebuilding process. “The arts can be used to facilitate engagement in a non-coercive manner that allows conflicting communities to address their differences”; “they have been used in peacebuilding efforts to strengthen the campaigns of peacemakers through supporting and dignifying oppressed and exploited communities”; and “the arts also present an opportunity for conflicting parties to meet in a neutral, positive and creative context, (…), paving the way for reconciliation and justice. They restore the identity, meaning, and hope to regions that were previously alienated and disrupted by conflict” (Chambelland 2018).

True that there are several challenges facing the arts in creating spaces of dialogue for peacebuilding such as the use of propaganda and structures or models of potential exclusion and domination; the re-traumatization of communities that have suffered violence; cultural standardization/decontextualization, etc.. However, the insights, experiences, and productions of artists –especially those using a bottom-up dynamic that supports local sources of creativity and resilience, and community-based– initiatives are indispensable for the task of peacebuilding but are often overlooked versus frameworks drawn from development, socio-political, and security studies.

THE PEACE ART PROJECT AT THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN DUBAI

As pointed out by David Warren (2021)⁶, intercultural and interreligious/interfaith dialogues play an important role in the United Arab Emirates’ international relations and state-branding efforts. For instance, this country has issued laws to regulate education, emphasizing the respect for different religions and cultural backgrounds of students and parents, and allowing diversified curricula in the education system to accommodate different nationalities and languages. Moreover, the UAE “has introduced a subject on moral education for public school students, which focuses on personal values and morals, the role of the individual within the community, and child protection, to encourage students to gain skills related to empathy, tolerance, critical thinking, communication, good behavior, respect and cultural diversity; and to encourage students to engage in dialogue about environmental, social, economic issues and to ensure solidarity with others” (UNESCO 2020).

In addition, several art institutions have been promoting dialogue and peace through the arts in the last few years such as the Abu Dhabi Music and Art Foundation, the Arts Center NYU, Al Serkal Avenue in Dubai, and press bodies such as the Global Art Daily⁷. Furthermore, the United Arab Emirates cabinet approved in 2017 a national tolerance program as presented by Minister of Tolerance Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi. The UAE cabinet’s official website states that the UAE “will continue to promote the principles of tolerance established by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. As tolerance is a key value of our ancestors and our founding fathers (…). The program is based on seven main pillars: Islam, UAE Constitution, Zayed’s Legacy and Ethics of the UAE, International Conventions, Archaeology and History, Humanity, and Common Values (…). Through these solid values, the UAE society will continue to build up tolerance, multiculturalism, the culture of acceptance of others, and reject attitudes of discrimination and hatred” (Cabinet of the United Arab Emirates 2017).⁸

It is in this context of progressive openness to diversity that I launched or co-organized several art initiatives between 2014 and 2018 when I was teaching at the American University in Dubai. As explained in one of my previous publications entitled “Learning through Food at the American University in Dubai: The Case of Middle Eastern Studies Students’ Experiences”⁹, I have been developing every semester class activities, conferences, and workshops that help deconstruct stereotypes, promote dialogue and build bridges across differences, such as outdoor Sufi poetry recitation agoras, physical and virtual art exhibitions for peace, storytelling sessions on war memory, and food-related activities that aim at reducing prejudices, valuing diversity, and fostering intercultural and interreligious conviviality. Linda Lantieri and Janet Patti explain the importance of having such activities embedded in official academic curricula: “Students will appreciate diversity and will work harder to resolve diversity-related conflicts when they are in an environment that actively values diversity. The more pride in and appreciation for their culture students have, the more they can appreciate other cultures. To appreciate other cultures and overcome prejudices, it is not enough for students to learn about those cultures; they need some emotional connection with other groups and direct positive experiences of being on equal footing with one another. For students to overcome prejudices and stereotypes, they need to acquire and understand the vocabulary necessary for talking about prejudice and related issues” (Lanteri and Patti 1996, 361).¹⁰

One of the art initiatives I launched/managed was the Peace Art Project which was an application of my peace education approach ( Chrabieh 2018. Deep Learning )¹¹ and consisted of a series of art workshops in classrooms, students’ assignments (research and artistic activities), outdoor agoras, cultural events, physical collective exhibitions, and an online exhibition in a blog I established in the spring semester of 2015. Students were asked to think of the relation between Islam and Peace by tackling a sub- theme such as stereotypes in the mainstream media, women’s roles and situations in Southwestern Asia and North Africa, and the role of sacred arts in building inner peace and peace in the community. From 2015 to 2017, students expressed and exchanged their perceptions, visions, and research results verbally and in writing on several occasions, and via diverse media techniques and styles, from calligraphy to arabesque, poetry, culinary art, music, dance, and collage. The Peace Art in Dubai blog¹² featured 160 artworks and its goals, as stated on the homepage, are: 1) to provide a forum for American University in Dubai students and artists in Dubai and the United Arab Emirates in which the arts are used to express their perceptions of issues affecting their communities, and their shared human interests in peace; 2) to create a space in which individuals from different backgrounds can acknowledge difference and advocate nonviolent conflict resolution by engaging with each other and their audiences; 3) this intercultural/ interreligious/inter-human exchange of artistic ideas aims at fostering new aesthetic directions and endeavors while renewing individual and collective commitments to peace.¹³

In “Peace, Islam and the Arts in Dubai”, I presented a study on the artworks featured in the blog as well as on end-of-semester qualitative feedback by students and my observation notes during storytelling/ sharing sessions, workshops, and class discussions. Students used diverse styles and techniques to express their perceptions of Islam about Peace: from paintings, sculptures, videos, calligraphy, design, photography, and digital arts, to poetry. Most of the students portrayed peace as interreligious dialogue or inter-human conviviality; some perceived it as the need for intra-societal dialogue such as in the cases of Kuwait, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, or the end of racism such as in the United Arab Emirates. Syrian students defined peace as freedom of expression and resistance against suppression and mistreatment, and many Palestinian students depicted peace as the resistance of Palestinian women to the brutal Israeli occupation. Most of the students offered interesting visuals and engaging emotional expressions of their hope for the possibility of further interreligious and intercultural cooperative relations in the UAE and their home countries towards local and regional peacebuilding. And many agreed that States have the responsibility to promote the advantages of cultural and religious diversity and that religious authorities, scholars, and media experts should disseminate a message of peace, but they also recognized the crucial role of the “voiceless” such as themselves and other young individuals in becoming both agents of peace and transmitters of the grey zones of identity. According to those students, there is an urgent need for creating alternative spaces for them to express their visions, and to take their voices into account, whether by academics, religious institutions, media experts, policymakers, or governments.

Another application of the Peace Art Project was a physical collective exhibition entitled “Peace through Arts” that took place at the American University in Dubai in April 2016, co-organized by Dr. Nadia Wardeh and me. The event consisted of Middle Eastern Studies students showcasing visual art, songs, poetry, dances, and food that symbolize peace. Following the introduction that also included the recitation of sacred scriptures emphasizing peace, several performances took place: Christian and Islamic hymns, Dabke dance as a symbol of unity in diversity, peace poetry recitation – from Palestine, Azerbaijan, Japan… – and self-produced poems by students¹⁴. The final event of the forum was the “peace buffet,” in which food brought in by students from different cultures was shared. The students who prepared the food provided explanations of its meanings while serving it to their peers. The food was united under the theme of peace. During the buffet, there was a screening of videos created by the Islamic Art and Architecture students. Participants were also invited to visit the art exhibition held at the entrance of the venue, which featured paintings, calligraphy, digital images, photography, and installations about peace.

The fundamental motivation behind organizing this event was the following: “The madness of some religionists who try to win followers by hook or by crook and the misinterpretation of sacred scriptures for various interests have led to religious persecutions and holy wars. Despite these terrible experiences, as Middle Eastern Studies faculty and students, we believe that religion’s fundamentals play an essential role in people’s search for inner peace and peace in society. We believe that war begins in the minds of people, therefore it is in the minds of people that peace should be constructed” (…). “Differences in religious beliefs and practices should not hinder the progress of many individuals and communities working for common causes such as the causes of humanity and peace. The Middle Eastern Studies division envisions an AUD community in which people of different backgrounds and identities live together in respect and mutual support, creating paths to peace. Today, we celebrate this vision and the initiatives of many professors and students who work in harmony and cooperate in the true spirit of service (…); we celebrate through various arts. Art has the potential to raise awareness. It also serves as an avenue for creative and collaborative learning, and engagement.”¹⁵

THE NABAD PROGRAM IN LEBANON

Interreligious/Interfaith and intercultural dialogues have been developing for a while in Lebanon (whether theological, institutional, spiritual, dialogue of life/natural dialogue, or dialogue for common action…), and further highlighted since the Ta’if Agreement (1989). Several studies have been done on the theology of dialogue and dialogue of theologians, as well as on institutional dialogue and statements (such as the publications of St-Josef University and Dar al-Machreq in Beirut), and a few good references are found on the dialogue of life/natural dialogue such as the 700+ page book edited by Nada Raphael, “Hyphen Islam-Christianity” (2009).¹⁶ However, the many dialogues through the arts initiatives have been often ignored by recent studies in the fields of contemporary arts (much more focused on secular initiatives) and religious studies/sciences of religions (much more focused on theological or institutional dialogues), and this is what I have tried to address in my previous publications (2003 onwards), and this paper, by shedding light on initiatives such as the Nabad program.

The Nabad program which I managed in 2020-2021 was launched in Lebanon following the Beirut port blast of August 4, 2020.¹⁷ As a cross- cultural Palestinian-Lebanese response to the explosion that wrecked the already fragile local art and culture scene due to multilevel crises, it is an outgrowth of Dar al Kalima University (Bethlehem – Palestine) and an initiative that aims at empowering artists, arts organizations, and creative enterprises in Southwestern Asia and North Africa to implement their artistic and cultural ideas and market their artworks.

Nabad offered multiform support in Lebanon during its first Phase (October 2020 – May 2021) through the following projects/activities:

1) Awareness-raising content production and dissemination: about the roles and diversity of local arts and culture, using Nabad’s landing page, social media platforms, and the Arleb platform¹⁸, as well as extensive media coverage, and micro-projects such as workshops, webinars, and other live and virtual events (November 2020 – ongoing). 2) Arleb (arleb.org): a not-for-profit online platform co-developed by the Nabad team and its partner sprkl.co, and the launch of a first inclusive virtual exhibition in Lebanon and the region in February 2021, featuring 61 established and emerging artists and +500 curated artworks. 3) Art Therapy: a series of art therapy workshops and training sessions (TOTs) organized by its partner Meadows NGO from November 2020 to April 2021, targeting 124 frontline nurses, social workers, and activists. 3 out of the 7 workshops had to be organized in April 2021 instead of February and March due to the continuous lockdowns in Lebanon during the first quarter of 2021, with several sessions focusing on the participants’ religious beliefs in dialogue. 4) “Tiny Gigs”: a series of 12 live and virtual concerts organized by its partner Beirut Jam Sessions in December 2020 and January 2021. 5) “Beirut is its people”: an art intervention and a street exhibition organized by its partner Haven for Artists in the Beirut port blast-damaged areas of Armenia street, Gemmayzeh, and Mar Mikhael, starting March 2021 instead of February 2021 due to the continuous lockdowns in Lebanon during the first quarter of 2021 – noting that this intervention was based on interviews with local women activists and residents who invoked their faith and interfaith/ interhuman collaboration as one of the incentives of staying in the area and survive/reconstruct/thrive. 6) “Beirut Urban Ruins. Save it on paper by Maha Nasrallah”: an artisan-made art book by its partner Plan Bey on the Beirut architectural heritage that was partially or destroyed by the Beirut port blast (release date: May 2021). 7) “The Beirut Call: Harnessing Creativity for Change” anthology: featuring 21 contributors and based on a joint effort between Nabad’s team and Elyssar Press in Redlands-CA (USA) (release date: May 2021).

All Nabad’s projects required intercultural/interreligious and transnational collaboration with the goal of transforming social relations, raising awareness, empowering, and recreating knowledge. They involved artists, experts, activists, practitioners, and academics from different religious/cultural and socio-economic backgrounds, and most had dialogue for peace through the arts as one of their goals –whether through music, theater, storytelling, visual arts, etc. The art therapy project also stressed the importance of dealing with the psychological consequences of continuous wars, political turmoil, and the port explosion, by creating spaces of encounters and organizing artistic activities that support self-reflection, mutual understanding, cooperation, and conviviality. The music project helped shed light on the importance of human rights preservation, the establishment of a national belonging uniting the diversity of identities without erasing differences, and the power of the arts in helping people make changes toward inclusive, peaceful, and dignified societies. The “Beirut Urban Ruins” project emphasized the importance of preserving local memories and building a national history that would include diverse narratives, paving the way for future generations in their struggle to prevent physical violence and build long-lasting peace. The Arleb project not only allowed artists to be empowered, but also to deconstruct misconceptions, share the responsibility for the act of creating, and become social actors who are capable of working together in the pursuit of peace by channeling a sense of collective urgency and producing ‘spaces’ (both physical and virtual) that helped them better understand each other’s beliefs (including religious or spiritual beliefs) and practices.

Comparing the Nabad program with other initiatives in Lebanon provides a broader perspective on dialogue movements in Lebanon and highlights the diverse approaches employed to promote understanding and reconciliation. One initiative comparable to Nabad is the Lebanese Association for Plastic Arts, Ashkal Alwan, which has organized cultural events, exhibitions, and residencies that foster dialogue and collaboration among artists and cultural practitioners. Ashkal Alwan has placed a strong emphasis on contemporary art practices and critical discourse, engaging with pressing social and political issues in Lebanon and the broader region. Another initiative is the Adyan Foundation, which focuses on interfaith dialogue and religious diversity in Lebanon. While Nabad emphasizes cultural exchange and artistic expression, Adyan takes a more explicitly religious approach, seeking to promote mutual respect and understanding among Lebanon’s religious communities.

Through educational programs, training workshops, and community outreach, and sometimes using art practices, Adyan works to counter religious extremism and sectarianism, fostering a culture of coexistence and dialogue among Lebanon’s diverse religious groups.

            In addition, the case study of Nabad can be enriched and contextualized by engaging with other academic work about dialogue in Lebanon – which would be the subject of another paper. For example, future studies may explore how Nabad’s emphasis on cultural exchange and artistic expression intersects with broader discussions on the role of the arts in fostering dialogue and social cohesion such as those found in “The Dynamics of Peacebuilding and Dialogue in Lebanon” by Roschanack Shaery-Yazdi (on how various actors engage in dialogue processes to address conflicts and promote reconciliation, providing insights into the challenges and opportunities of dialogue efforts in Lebanon); or “The Role of Civil Society in Conflict Resolution in Lebanon” by Rima Majed (which examines the role of civil society organizations (CSOs) in conflict resolution and peacebuilding in Lebanon, and discusses how CSOs facilitate dialogue, promote social cohesion, and contribute to conflict transformation in the country); or “Interfaith Dialogue in Lebanon: A Model for Peacebuilding?” by Nayla Tabbara (which explores interfaith dialogue initiatives in Lebanon and assesses their effectiveness in promoting peacebuilding and social cohesion); or “Cultural Diplomacy in Lebanon: Exploring the Role of the Arts in Peacebuilding” by Reina A. Neves (which investigates the role of cultural diplomacy and the arts in peacebuilding initiatives in Lebanon, examining how artists and cultural practitioners use creative expressions to foster dialogue, bridge divides, and promote understanding among communities).¹⁹

This future study could help us situate Nabad within the landscape of dialogue initiatives and civil society activism in Lebanon, and therefore assess the impact of bottom-up approaches to promoting dialogue and reconciliation, as well as the challenges of sustaining grassroots efforts in the face of political instability and social tensions. Furthermore, by examining the complementarity or overlap between Nabad’s work and other dialogue initiatives in Lebanon, we would be able to identify opportunities for collaboration and synergy, as well as areas where gaps in dialogue efforts need to be addressed.

In conclusion, through various initiatives and activities, Nabad sought to create spaces for open discussions, cultural exchanges, and artistic expressions to bridge divides and promote understanding. In comparison, the case study at the American University focused on a similar intersection of dialogue and the arts, exploring how artistic expressions can serve as a powerful tool for fostering dialogue in an academic setting. Both projects delved into how artists and students utilize diverse art tools and forms to address societal issues, challenge stereotypes, and experience/promote dialogue. As explained in the introduction of this paper, these examples are just a glimpse into the diverse range of dialogue initiatives and projects that have been taking place in Southwestern Asia. Still, they complement the extensive work carried out by civil society organizations (CSOs) and grassroots movements, demonstrating that art can disrupt dominant narratives and challenge entrenched stereotypes by presenting diverse and nuanced portrayals of cultural and religious identities. Through their creations, artists, and students using art tools/forms, can offer counter-narratives that invite viewers to question preconceived notions and engage in critical reflection. Also, through these initiatives, art can catalyze conversations about complex social issues, leading to greater understanding and empathy among individuals and communities. Thus, by challenging stereotypes and promoting dialogue, art becomes a potent tool for advancing social justice and fostering inclusive societies that include marginalized  voices  to  express  their  grievances  and  aspirations.

Although these two case studies briefly highlighted in this paper do not summarize the myriad art initiatives found in Lebanon, the UAE, and the Southwest Asian region, they present a glimpse of hope as many young individuals and groups are raising their voices, instigating transformative moments, and helping in shaping new hybrid identities –hybrid identity constructions à cheval between the past, present and future, and between local social norms and global sets of values– and alternatives spaces of dialogue. These voices should be recognized as the youth could help resolve/prevent conflicts by spreading awareness about peacebuilding, engaging in public discourse on peace, facilitating dialogue between conflicting parties, and contributing to the general well-being of the community through a positive and productive attitude. One of these alternative spaces is the artistic space. The students and young artists I encountered and worked with acknowledged that “to create a culture of peace, we must first imagine it, and the arts can help us do that, for ourselves and future generations” (Chrabieh 2018, Peace, Islam and the Arts in Dubai ).