Arabic calligraphy added to UNESCO heritage list

UNESCO on December 14 added Arabic calligraphy, a key tradition in the Arab and Islamic worlds, to its Intangible Cultural Heritage list, Report informs referring to the Gulf Insider.

A total of 16 Muslim-majority countries, led by Saudi Arabia, presented the nomination to the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, which announced the listing on Twitter.

Arabic calligraphy is the artistic practice of handwriting Arabic script in a fluid manner to convey harmony, grace and beauty. The fluidity of the Arabic script offers infinite possibilities, even within a single word, as letters can be stretched and transformed in numerous ways to create different motifs.

According to the UNESCO website, intangible cultural heritage “is an important factor in maintaining cultural diversity in the face of growing globalization."