<p>UNESCO on Tuesday added Arabic calligraphy, a key tradition in the Arab and Islamic worlds, to its Intangible Cultural Heritage list.</p>.<p>A total of 16 Muslim-majority countries, led by Saudi Arabia, presented the nomination to the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, which announced the listing on Twitter.</p>.<p>"Arabic calligraphy is the artistic practice of handwriting Arabic script in a fluid manner to convey harmony, grace and beauty," UNESCO said on its website.</p>.<p>"The fluidity of Arabic script offers infinite possibilities, even within a single word, as letters can be stretched and transformed in numerous ways to create different motifs."</p>.<p>Saudi Culture Minister Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan Al-Saud welcomed the decision and said it would "contribute to developing this cultural heritage", in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.</p>.<p>Abdelmajid Mahboub from the Saudi Heritage Preservation Society, which was involved in the proposal, said calligraphy "has always served as a symbol of the Arab-Muslim world".</p>.<p>But he lamented that "many people no longer write by hand due to technological advances", adding that the number of specialised Arab calligraphic artists had dropped sharply.</p>.<p>The UNESCO listing "will certainly have a positive impact" on preserving the tradition, he added.</p>.<p>According to the UNESCO website, intangible cultural heritage "is an important factor in maintaining cultural diversity in the face of growing globalisation".</p>.<p>Its importance "is not the cultural manifestation itself but rather the wealth of knowledge and skills that is transmitted through it from one generation to the next".</p>.<p><strong>Check out DH's latest videos:</strong></p>
<p>UNESCO on Tuesday added Arabic calligraphy, a key tradition in the Arab and Islamic worlds, to its Intangible Cultural Heritage list.</p>.<p>A total of 16 Muslim-majority countries, led by Saudi Arabia, presented the nomination to the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, which announced the listing on Twitter.</p>.<p>"Arabic calligraphy is the artistic practice of handwriting Arabic script in a fluid manner to convey harmony, grace and beauty," UNESCO said on its website.</p>.<p>"The fluidity of Arabic script offers infinite possibilities, even within a single word, as letters can be stretched and transformed in numerous ways to create different motifs."</p>.<p>Saudi Culture Minister Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan Al-Saud welcomed the decision and said it would "contribute to developing this cultural heritage", in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.</p>.<p>Abdelmajid Mahboub from the Saudi Heritage Preservation Society, which was involved in the proposal, said calligraphy "has always served as a symbol of the Arab-Muslim world".</p>.<p>But he lamented that "many people no longer write by hand due to technological advances", adding that the number of specialised Arab calligraphic artists had dropped sharply.</p>.<p>The UNESCO listing "will certainly have a positive impact" on preserving the tradition, he added.</p>.<p>According to the UNESCO website, intangible cultural heritage "is an important factor in maintaining cultural diversity in the face of growing globalisation".</p>.<p>Its importance "is not the cultural manifestation itself but rather the wealth of knowledge and skills that is transmitted through it from one generation to the next".</p>.<p><strong>Check out DH's latest videos:</strong></p>