AMMAN — Etched on ceramic plates or carved into glass cups, Arabic calligraphy designs, using a centuries-old art form that plays with the curves and horizontal lines of Arabic script, are gaining popularity across the Middle East.

Scripts can decorate objects made from a range of materials, including acrylic glass, wood, clay, stone and copper. The availability of diverse materials, and the use of new color schemes and modern styles are reviving this tradition and in the process helping to create a sense of cultural identity.

“There is a lot of interest in Arabic calligraphy, particularly when it comes to the more edgy and modern interpretations,” said Samar Habayeb, the chief executive of Silsal, an upscale design house in Amman that has incorporated Arabic calligraphy in most of its collections.

“We are moving along with the times and incorporating Arabic calligraphy on a variety of products in modern ways,” she said.

One of Silsal’s more popular collections is named Tarateesh, Arabic for “splash,” and inspired, Ms. Habayeb said, by the drip paintings of the American artist Jackson Pollock.

The collection is designed with bold Arabic letters, standing alone or elegantly joined, surrounded by splashes of bright color.

In the Arabic language, the way letters are written changes according to whether they stand alone or occur in the middle or at the end of a word. Short vowels, represented by a set of marks above or below letters, are sometimes used in calligraphy for design purposes.

An emphasis on geometric patterns and calligraphy was born of Islam’s denunciation of figurative images. Figurative depictions, especially those of prophets, are still shunned, particularly by followers of Sunni Islam.

Poems and proverbs are popular subjects for calligraphic designs: Most Arab poetry, written in classical Arabic, is understood by all literate Arabs, transcending dialects and regionalisms.

Naqsh Design House, also in Amman, known for its contemporary minimalist style, has incorporated Arabic calligraphy in its paintings, handbags and accessories. Some include the words of Arab poets like Mahmood Darwish or Gibran Khalil Gibran.

Verses by the Lebanese-American poet Elia Abu Madi spread across 10 paintings that cover Naqsh’s walls. The verses speak of how well one should live, rather than how long. The polychromatic letters are painted vertically, horizontally and even upside down. An emphasized word in the poem is enlarged using a bright color.

“It has become a modern art form that attracts people from all over the region and at the same time emphasizes an Arab identity,” said Shireen Abu Dail, 34, who founded Naqsh with other members of her family nearly two years ago.

A decade of rapid changes in the Middle East has raised the interest of international curators in the region, with attention to Islamic art and calligraphy. Calligraphic work has emerged dealing with religious, political, social, and even cultural issues.

There is a visible struggle to create a contemporary Arab cultural identity through artwork, including calligraphy, said Saleh Barakat, the founder of Agial Art Gallery in Beirut and an expert in modern Arab art.

“The Middle Eastern artist is fighting internally to convince his or her own people of the importance of art and externally by trying to get the West to acknowledge and validate his or her work,” Mr. Barakat said in a lecture this month in Amman.

Silsal’s ceramics have been featured at the British Museum in London in an exhibit on the Muslim pilgrimage of Hajj. A high-quality handmade ceramic bowl or plate, with a calligraphic design, can take several weeks to make.

Considered luxury items because of relatively high prices, collections from some local design houses have found a market outside Jordan. Other producers of simple, crisp designs in more colloquial Arabic that are less expensive have also found an export market.

Lara Kawash, 40, does not own a gallery or a design house but her sentimental word choices, use of bright colors and affordable prices have built her a following as far afield as Egypt.

Items that Ms. Kawash and her partners have designed and produced at her small workshop in Amman include a set of tea glasses in striking colors, engraved with the Arabic words tea and mint, as mint tea is a popular drink across the Middle East.

“We try to relate to the customers and use simple colloquial Arabic,” said Ms. Kawash, who sells through various outlets and on the Internet. “Most importantly, I try to make the words relevant to the product, words that also have universal meanings.”

Some items include popular song lyrics. A large flower vase, for example, reads: “I will only buy these flowers for my love.”

The rising popularity of calligraphy carries the risk that it may become too fashionable — and eventually go out of style.

“There is a lot of competition with other designers since now everyone is doing this type of art,” Ms. Kawash said. “To advance, you have to always have your own style, but to survive you also need to do something very unique.”

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By RANA F. SWEIS MARCH 6, 2013

AMMAN — As the sun rises over the Jordanian capital, the problems of the day start to stream in to Radio Fann. In the studio, producers scramble to keep up with calls and e-mails from listeners complaining about issues like water shortages and bureaucratic failures.

In a country where the news media are traditionally hemmed in by authoritarian legislation and self-censorship, such call-in shows are now able to address political topics and human rights issues that were unmentionable in public before the Arab Spring.

Hani al Badri, 45, is host of Wasat al-Balad, a two-and-a-half-hour live broadcast for people who find nowhere else to turn. The producers not only field their calls; they ring government officials on-air to try to resolve the issues raised.

“The show has two main roles,” said Mr. Badri, who also writes a newspaper column in Al Ghad, an independent daily. The radio show is “a platform for freedom of speech, but it’s also a place where Jordanians expect their problems to be solved.”

The morning talk shows are popular in a country where local municipalities are weighed down by bloated bureaucracies and inadequate budgets, despite a plan in 2005 to increase their efficiency.

Even this week, public workers across the kingdom have been on strike demanding better pay and benefits. And although more people than expected voted in parliamentary elections last month, Jordanians weary of fuel price increases are bracing for more economic hardship this year.

With a population of just over six million, Jordan is a relatively poor country with almost 14 percent of its people living below the poverty line, according to the Department of Statistics.

“There is a lack of accountability by public officials,” Mr. Badri said, “so we bring them on the show and present them with a clear problem at a specific location. We try to solve the caller’s problem on the spot, if we can.”

Still, some Jordanians have accused the radio hosts of courting acclaim by publicly highlighting the government’s failures to provide basic services, Mr. Badri said. And sometimes, government officials would rather avoid dealing with the media, although over time they have come to appreciate the opportunity to present the government’s views to a wider audience, he added.

On Jan. 14, Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour met with directors of Jordan’s radio stations and presenters. Mr. Badri, who attended the meeting, said he took the opportunity to share a few of the concerns of his listeners: Whether to cancel the test that determines whether a student can attend university; what the repercussions will be of the prime minister’s decision to keep daylight saving time in force throughout the winter.

Daoud Kuttab, the founder and general manager of Radio Balad and AmmanNet, the first online community radio station, said radio had significant influence in Jordan. “Radio is extremely accessible and it is a democratic instrument,” he said. “You can listen to the radio at home, in the car or on your phone and anybody can call in. It is available 24 hours a day and it is free of charge.”

In 2002, the Jordanian government approved a law that ended its monopoly on broadcasting, resulting in the licensing of dozens of privately owned radio stations.

Still, “the media scene in Jordan, as it is in many Arab countries, is dominated by government-owned media,” Mr. Kuttab said. “For many years the government had a monopoly in media and in many ways they still do.”

Radio Fann, for example, is still owned by the Jordanian armed forces. Another, Amen FM, is owned by the police. Before the Arab Spring, most radio stations played primarily music.

AmmanNet, an independent station, changed the format of its morning show — “Tallet Subeh,” which means “Morning Glimpse” — from trying to solve social problems to building political and social awareness by profiling political candidates or analyzing new laws.

“Our show is now less service-oriented because we found the long-term impact is limited,” Mr. Kuttab said. “There needs to be institutional changes and obviously the popularity of these morning talk shows continues to reveal flaws in the system.”

One reason Mr. Badri’s radio show succeeds is his willingness to discuss issues that have a direct impact on listeners’ daily lives.

On a recent program, for example, he discussed the price of cooking gas cylinders which has increased 50 percent since the government cut public subsidies three months ago.

Callers have also complained about traffic violations and the cost of real estate. Others call to weigh in on current events.

Humor and Arabic pop songs are used to lighten long discussions as Jordanians make their way to work or school. In between conversations, a D.J. chooses lyrics from Arabic pop songs that echo complaints from listeners. When a caller said he felt neglected by the government, the background music was a love song about abandonment.

“When the show first began, we told government officials that it’s better they respond to caller requests and go on the record,” said Mr. Badri, who hosted the show for nearly a year. “Some officials now realize the power of the media because ordinary citizens have found an outlet to hold them accountable.”

Mr. Badri said he worried less about censorship these days, and more about the lack of access to information the public has a right to know.

“For now we will continue to put pressure on officials,” he said, “and talk about taboo issues as well.”

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