On 22 September, the Louvre museum in Paris opened for public view a new wing dedicated to Islamic art. Partly funded by the French government, the €100 million gallery was also supported by endowments from Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Kuwait, Oman and Azerbaijan.
About 3,000 works from throughout the Islamic world, dating from the 7th to the 19th century, are displayed across 3,000 square metres on two floors of the former royal palace.
The biggest single donor is Prince Alwaleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia. “Since 9/11, it is the duty of all Muslims to explain to the West what real Islam is like and how peaceful the religion is,” he told the BBC.
France is home to at least 4 million Muslims. The opening coincided with the wave of demonstrations across the Muslim world against an anti-Islamic video made in the USA and cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad in the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. On 21 September, the French government banned all demonstrations in the interest of public safety.
