Iran seeks to promote Islam through art

IN an effort to promote Islamic religion through art, the Islamic Republic of Iran in harare, via its cultural centre, is calling for artists across genres to participate in the forthcoming competition. Prizes have been dangled to the artists who will participate in the competition.

In a statement, the Iranian embassy in harare said interested artists must submit their artworks in the form of photos, videos, articles, songs and paintings via email in line with the given subjects for the competition on or before December 15.

Before sending in their works, the interested participants are required to follow and like the Iran embassy in harare’s social media pages.

“The Cultural Centre of the embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in harare has organised an amazing competition for you (artists). The topics to be covered for the competition are Islamic lifestyle, the Islamic revolution and achievements as well as the history of Iran and the Islamic religion,” the statement read.

During a recent visit to the Zimbabwe National Achieves, the embassy’s cultural counsellor, hamid Bakhtiyar, said the purpose of art competition — which also seeks to portray the Islamic religion’s history — is to tranquilise, enlighten and enthuse.

“The primary aim of Islamic art is to awaken the sixth sense in a person and to transport them to another realm of value and experience, thus they decided to incorporate an artistic competition to uphold their culture in the country,” he said.

According to a study conducted by the Civil Society of Zimbabwe in 2014, most people who practise Islam in Zimbabwe are foreigners, although quite a sizeable number of locals have converted to the faith.