“Why paint on walls when you can convey your message on rooftops in a bigger and better way?” asked Mohamed Kabbani, one half of the Lebanese artistic duo Ashekman, following the completion of their mile-long project, Operation Salam, in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli.

The work spells “salam" (peace) over 82 rooftops in neon-green Kufic calligraphy. Kufic calligraphy, which originated in Iraq in the seventh century, is one of the oldest forms of Arabic calligraphy. It took Ashekman three weeks to complete the project that is best viewed from the city's rooftops. But this artistic triumph extends beyond its physical breadth: The art piece calls for unification in the historically divided and neglected communities of Jabal Mohsen and Bab el-Tabbaneh in Tripoli.

The idea behind Operation Salam started three years ago, Mohamed told Al-Monitor. “We noticed a lot of fake news in media outlets about Lebanon and the region that didn’t reflect what was actually happening,” he said. “A lot of people in Lebanon want to live in peace and harmony without going to war. They don’t relate to religious extremism at all.”

Identical twins Omar and Mohamed were born in 1983 at the height of the Lebanese civil war. They share an intimate understanding of the country’s instability, which makes their message of peace both symbolic and personal. For the last 17 years, they have used a fusion of hip-hop and Arabic calligraphy to reclaim the streets from the political polarization inscribed on the walls. Their work not only reclaims the streets but the skies, which the government once controlled through its jets and gunshots.