Foreign Policy Blogs

The Visual Aspect of Religion

I’m always impressed by how much religion permeates the life of Tajikistan, even when it is incorporating trends from abroad. This past week, as Tajikistan celebrated its 18th year of independence, there was a small art festival entitled, “Graffiti is Flight Fantasy.” (sponsored by the Institute for Eurasian Studies). Although most of the panels were apolitical, I found the infusion of religious images quite interesting. Here is a sample that included the artist’s vision of a mosque:


The Visual Aspect of Religion

 

Author

Karin Esposito

Karin Esposito is blogging on religion and politics from her base in Central Asia. Currently, she is the Project Manager for the Tajikistan Dialogue Project in Dushanbe. The Project is run through the Geneva Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies with the support of PDIV of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. The aim of the project is to establish practical mechanisms for co-existence and peaceful conflict resolution between Islamic and secular representatives in Tajikistan. After receiving a Juris Doctorate from Boston University School of Law in 2007, she worked in Tajikistan for the Bureau of Human Rights and later as a Visting Professor of Politics and Law at the Kazakhstan Institute of Management, Economics, and Strategic Research (KIMEP). Ms. Esposito also holds a Master's in Contemporary Iranian Politics (2007) from the School of International Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Iran and a Master's in International Relations (2003) from the Geneva Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (GIIDS) in Switzerland.

Areas of Focus:
Islam; Christianity; Secularism;

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