: Collector Of Islamic Jewels Bridges Cultures

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With the world focused on the ugliness that exists in the Muslim world, a few individuals are making efforts to show the beauty of Islam as reflected in its artistic heritage. Sheikha Hussah and her husband have spent the last 30 years purchasing more than 20,000 pieces of Islamic art, which is now touring the world. The exhibition was to open at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art the month after the September 11th attacks. Realizing that a big show of Islamic art might be problematic for the American public right then, Sheikha Hussah asked the Met to “please consider this exhibition as an expression of defiance” against terrorism. The Met’s officials replied within a week. “They found that, now more than ever, they should show Islamic art as it should be,” she recalls. “The Met made sure that we did not feel any different – on the contrary, we were welcomed more than ever and the Americans expressed a great understanding of our religion and culture.” You can see pictures from the collection here.

Shahed Amanullah is editor-in-chief of altmuslim.com.