Despite Controversy, Religious Art Increasingly Popular in Iraq

AL MONITOR
By

Iraqi artist Wissam Ghadi paints a portrait of Shiite Imam Ali in his
Sadr City studio on the outskirts of Baghdad, Dec. 25, 2003. (photo by REUTERS/Ali Jasim)

IRAQ---Painter Mohammed Hetlr has been preoccupied with drawing and painting sacred Shiite figures from Iraq and around the world. He has been making good money selling his work and, in an interview with Al-Monitor, said that he considered his painting to be part of his “religious duty” to express his faith and ideological commitment. This art, which often comes from the Naive school of painting, has become very popular with many Iraqis, who have acquired the custom of hanging the paintings on their walls, in their grocery stores or official institutions and mosques. [link]