“Islamic art” is a central concept in Iran’s post–Islamic Revolution cultural discourse and has been systematically institutionalized in the overarching policy documents of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Despite its prominence, however, there hasn't been any systematic analysis of how “Islamic art” is conceptualized and what functions are attributed to it in these documents. This article examines this official discourse by addressing the following question: How is “Islamic art” conceptualized in Islamic Republic of Iran’s overarching policy documents, and what functions are defined for it? Using a hybrid thematic analysis approach based on inductive and theoretical frameworks, fifteen key documents—including laws, general policies, and strategic documents—were purposefully selected and analyzed.

The findings show “Islamic art” in these documents is a normative and functional “discursive construct” that acquires its identity within a bipolar semantic framework: positively, through association with “commitment” to Islamic and revolutionary value foundations; and negatively, through opposition to a hostile “Other,” namely cultural invasion, vulgarity, and the West. Reflecting a state-centered model of cultural policymaking, this discourse assigns a set of instrumental functions to art, including ideological and educational dimensions aimed at promoting values, identity and cultural dimensions for the preservation of Islamic-Iranian identity, and political and security dimensions geared towards engaging in soft war and exercising soft power. Ultimately, through a process of strategic “semantic shift,” the concept of “Islamic art”—by shifting its focal point from purely classical dimensions—has been redefined as a normative-functional standard aligned with the concept of “committed art.”