The origins of the term, "calligraffiti" are unclear. The Dutch artist Niels Shoe Meulman is often incorrectly credited with coining the term in 2007, when he used it as the title of his solo exhibition. Meulman describes calligraffiti as

Calligraffiti has been a way for artists in the Middle East to reclaim the region while still staying grounded in their culture and tradition. From the civil war in Beirut, to the Palestinian intifadas, to

Calligraffiti is a relatively new term and graffiti is still taboo in parts of the Middle East and Asia, and as a result many calligraffiti artists are anonymous or rely on pseudonyms.

• Asemic writing
• Djerbahood street art event
• El Seed
• Hurufiyya movement

Many calligrafitti artists use Arabic script or are heavily inspired by it. There has been a rise in Arabic calligraffiti outside the Middle East and by non Middle Eastern artists. Arabic calligraffiti has become a cosmopolitan art form. This can partially be attributed to the

In addition to solo exhibitions of individual street artists such as Declarations by el-Seed, a number of group exhibitions, showcasing the social and political importance of calligraffiti

• Zoghbi, Pascal; Stone; Hawley, Joy (2013). Arabic graffiti = Ghirāfītī ʻArabīyah. Berlin: From Here to Fame. ISBN 978-3-937946-45-0