WASHINGTON/CAIRO: One way of looking at the tensions between the Muslim world and the West is as a war of ideas, with each side attempting to influence the other s hearts and minds. This paradigm suggests that at the heart of this tension lies misunderstandings and stereotypes when it comes to the other s culture, values and ideology. Arguably, then, innovative public diplomacy initiatives that address these root causes may be effective means of improving in Muslim-Western relations.
To this end, governments and other organizations are devoting more attention to the cultural aspects of their diplomacy efforts through initiatives such as international film festivals and book fairs that introduce foreign populations to different cultures and values.
Of course, any good relationship must be a two-way street. A bridging of the tensions between cultures requires both sides be receptive to learning about the other. More importantly, both sides must take an initiative in communicating their values to enhance intercultural understanding.
Surprisingly, effective communication and exchange of Muslim and Western ideas, values and perspectives can take place through the world of comics and animation.
Over the past decade, the comic-publishing and animation industries have developed into a multi-billion dollar market, seemingly dominated by Japanese firms. The ascension of the Japanese comics and animation industry is a recent phenomenon though. In the last 20 years, Japanese comics and animation series have gained immense popularity around the globe. By surreptitiously serving as Japanese cultural products, it seems reasonable to speculate that as the current generation of children matures, anti-Japanese sentiments that persist from World War II in countries such as China may be tempered by these new interactions with Japanese culture.
From this perspective, comics and animation appear to be innocuous vehicles through which societal values can be communicated to children. Indeed, children seem particularly receptive to the creative mix of visuals and sounds in animation, which arguably enhances the quality of communication as well. By targeting children – the future leaders of the planet, the seeds for intercultural understanding are sown.
For adults, too, it seems that the cultural and counter-cultural elements in comics and animation have resulted in the mobilization of global communities through their appeal to transnational audiences. In 2006, the world witnessed the mobilization of Muslim communities following the publication of cartoon panels depicting the Prophet Mohamed by a Danish newspaper. During the same year, the Asia-Europe Foundation brought together Asian and European comic artists in Singapore to develop a common publication. These collective reactions are examples of the extraordinary power of comics and animation.
From this perspective, it would be foolish for governments and private organizations interested in arts and cultural policy not to utilize the potential of published and animated comics as a conduit for cultural transmission.
Muslim comic books such as “The 99 by Teshkeel Comics have already made a promising start. Taking place during the fall of Baghdad in 1258, and the fall of Granada in 1492, “The 99 revolves around 99 heroes from 99 different countries, each possessing a Noor Stone which bestows special powers to the 99 different characters.
According to Dr Naif Al-Mutawa, founder and CEO of the Teshkeel Media Group, ‘The 99’ meshes history with fiction and teaches global human values implicit in the 99 attributes of God – values like generosity, strength, wisdom, foresight and dozens of others that unfortunately are not used to describe Islam in the media today. So not only are 99 values being communicated, but 99 different ways of conflict resolution to boot.
In fact, the key to the success of “The 99 , and in turn its effectiveness as a medium of cross cultural exchange, seems to be its infusion of these Islamic values with a predominantly Western style of comic drawing and presentation. Muslim audiences are exposed to Western aesthetics while Western audiences are provided with an informal but interesting guide to certain Islamic values.
Comics and animation may also be used in creative public diplomacy initiatives on a more formal intergovernmental level. Public diplomacy initiatives may aim at facilitating cooperation amongst interested representatives from Islamic and Western governments for a co-produced series of structured comics and animation through which cultural values may be communicated.
Global peace and stability requires, first and foremost, an understanding and respect for different cultures and perspectives. Comics and animation, as mediums for the exchange of cultural ideas and norms that facilitate understanding, seem to be fitting formats for innovative public diplomacy initiatives with this aim.
Michael Chou and Youssef Morshedyboth appreciate and enjoy comics and animation. Michael is completing a combined medicine and arts degree at the University of Melbourne. Youssef is studying journalism, mass communication and business administration at the American University in Cairo. They co-wrote this article as part of Soliya s intercultural dialogue program. This article is distributed by the Common Ground News Service (CGNews) and can be accessed at www.commongroundnews.org.
