PUTRAJAYA: Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said organising the Putrajaya International Islamic Arts and Cultural Festival (Piiacuf) is capable of highlighting the different aspects of Islam when the terminology Islamofobia influenced the international community.
She said the term Islamofobia could lead to the term Islam being misconstrued and linked to various negative connotations that contributed to the negative perception and social prejudice of the world community against Islam.
Describing the holding of Piiacuf as timely, she said the festival could prove that Islam had never ignored art and culture which had contributed to the development of civilisation in the world.
“In fact, it was Islamic art and culture that had formed the world’s civilisation,” she said when launching the Piiacuf 2019, which was in its fifth edition, at the Kompleks Perbadanan Putrajaya, here today.
Carrying the theme The Splendour of Music and Vocal of the Islamic World), Piiacuf 2019 which will be held until July 28, among others would show the significance of music and vocal as a medium of communication that links humanity to become the platform in sharing knowledge, art and culture among the Islamic nations.
By featuring Islamic culture, Dr Wan Azizah said Piiacuf could play a role in removing such a stigma through the involvement of the community from various countries, races and backgrounds to appreciate the diversity in the culture of the Islamic nations.
Dr Wan Azizah was also optimistic that Piiacuf would provide the platform for strengthening international cooperation between Malaysia and the other countries especially those Islamic nations.
“Through close cooperation and strategic collaboration, we have the opportunities to share knowledge and expertise that could be exploited together for mutual excellence and glory,” she said.
Dr Wan Azizah also drew attention to the fact that the elements of art and culture could generate the country’s economy based on the fact that an income of RM529.8 million last year was generated through exhibitions and the various cultural performances held.
She said the figure was expected to increase this year in line with the increase in the number of visitors to festivals such as Piiacuf as well as the efforts toward holding the Visit Malaysia Year 2020 which targeted the presence of 30 million international tourists. — Bernama
