IN recent years, extremist movements around the world have portrayed Islam as an enemy of arts and creativity. It is as if the impressive civilizations associated with this great religion did not appear and spread knowledge, writing and the arts with them as they went. The impact Islam has had through such civilizations is such that a tourist can visit almost any museum in the world and find a whole section on Islamic art, from painting and sculpture, to engravings on ceramic, glass and other materials. Since the world saw images of Taliban fighters destroying 1500-year-old Buddhist statues in Afghanistan several years ago, until the recent destruction of statues by Daesh fighters in Iraq and Syria, a distorted message of Islam has spread. The message claimed that this religion is barbaric and an enemy of art and culture. The truth is completely the opposite. Islamic architecture has been well known since ancient times and there are many examples of its sculpture, and drawing on pottery, ceramic and glass. The idea that Islam does not permit drawing those with souls is a misconception and greatly misleading. Most of the world's museums, including the famous Louvre in Paris, are full of Islamic art, including artifacts, tools and utensils decorated with animals and human beings. Daesh in Syria and Iraq is intentionally distorting the message of Islam, which is a religion of magnanimity and forgiveness. They forget the religion's openness to the world and its ability, for more than 14 centuries, to mix and coexist with other cultures that came under its banner. The fall of Palmyra into the hands of Daesh saw them not only be heinously active in destroying human history, but they also converted one of the most prominent tourist sites, a UNESCO world heritage site, into a place for executions. Daesh staged a new play of its own production at Palmyra's Roman theater. A number of combatants captured by Daesh were led into the middle of the theater in the presence of a number of spectators, as if they were to watch an actual play. Only there was no artistry or theater; it was a case of execution, carried out by several boys known as "Cubs of the Caliphate." This grotesque show in the Roman theater had a clear message: This theater you have such pride in, with its theatrical arts and deep history dating back to the Roman times, is a place of immorality, unbelief and apostasy. In it we will kill these unbelievers and all enemies of Daesh. What is strange is that Daesh rejects these arts, including theater and photography, but are more than willing to use them when they support their message. Their show in Palmyra's Roman theater was filmed using the latest, western audio-visual technology. They manipulated the scenario, dialogue and photography as if they were filming a TV drama, and used them to broadcast their brutal message to the world.
