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Lebanese scribes struggle to save Arabic calligraphy

BEIRUT — Lebanon’s few remaining Arabic calligraphers

whose elegant script and interweaving words transport one to another era, are working to preserve an art form struggling to compete with new technology.

“The computer is a wonderful tool but in no way can it replace an artist or produce masterpieces,” says Mahmoud Bayoun, one of the country’s best-known calligraphers, whose works have been displayed in the United States and Iran.

The 75-year-old, who learned the skill as a teenager, today uses his talent to draw up menus for the Lebanese presidency for official functions or write condolences and congratulatory messages on behalf of the prime minister.

Bayoun says the longest letter he has written was from late prime minister Rafik Hariri to Syria’s then president, Hafez Al Assad, on the occasion of a national holiday.

Hariri was assassinated in 2005 in a massive seaside bombing in Beirut that many Lebanese blamed on Syria, which denies involvement. Assad died in 2000 and was succeeded by his son Bashar.

“The letter was four pages long and written in a very elegant style,” recalls Bayoun, as he sits in his central Beirut office, surrounded by some of his works.

He also keeps busy transcribing the holy Quran as a hobby. The painstaking work requires more than three years to complete each time, and Bayoun is now working on his third edition of the holy book.

“It’s very different from the work I do for commercial purposes,” he says. “When I copy the holy Quran, I immerse myself both spiritually and physically.”

But despite his passion for penmanship, Bayoun is well aware that his is a dying skill that cannot compete with laser-sharp computers. “Calligraphy today has become more of a visual art than a useful tool and we are trying hard to preserve it,” Bayoun told the news agency.

The art of Arabic scriptwriting was heavily influenced by Islam as, according to tradition, the holy Quran was verbally revealed to the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace be Upon Him) and was later transcribed.

The holy Quran subsequently inspired generations of calligraphers who, with their brush pens made of reeds, piously endeavoured to reproduce the words using different styles.

Calligraphy also became a major form of artistic expression in Islam as Muslims disapprove of art that represents humans, especially in religious contexts.

There are various styles of calligraphy, including the geometric Kufic form with an emphasis on horizontal lines and the cursive Naskhi. Diwani script, considered the most elegant, was developed during the reign of the Ottoman Turks. It is the only style that cannot be reproduced on computers, experts say.

“We must not allow this art form to disappear,” he says.

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