Saudi Prince Helps Set Up Islamic Art Wing in Louvre
Even though Daniel Pipes thinks France is tough against Islam, I suspect it is too late for them to avoid a civil war of sorts. The Louvre could burn, in spite of this new Islamic Art wing:Prince Walid Helps Set Up Islamic Art Wing in Louvre
Saudi billionaire Prince Al-Walid Bin Talal has donated a multi-million-euro gift to finance the construction of a new Islamic art wing in the Paris-based Louvre Museum to show off the bright face of the Muslim world. The 4,000-square-meter wing in the world's largest museum will showcase up to 10,000 pieces, one of the greatest concentrations of Islamic art in existence. "Your gesture is a testament to the generosity of the Islamic world," the French Culture Minister Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres told Prince Walid in a ceremony.
Princely gift from Saudi billionaire to house Louvre's Islamic art
The Louvre, once a royal fortress and today the world's largest museum, will get a new wing to showcase its vast collection of Islamic art thanks to a multi-million dollar gift by a Saudi prince bent on mending post-9/11 ties between the West and Arabs. The French state and oil company Total will cover most of the balance, chipping in 26 million and four million euros (31.2 and 4.8 million dollars) respectively, with the rest coming from future donors. The decision to create a new department of Islamic art in the Louvre came directly from French President Jacques Chirac, who is said to maintain very good relations with Al-Walid.
A related story from 2003:
Islamic Art in the Louvre
In a speech last October, President Jacques Chirac proposed the creation of a new department in the Louvre dedicated to Islamic Art. This department, in Chirac’s view, would not only be an instrument of diplomacy but also of interior policy and will “highlight the universal vocation of this museum and will be a living example of cultural dialogue.” Indeed during a period of racial and religious prejudices, the creation of such a department would have an effect on each group’s understanding and perception of the other. Yet so far, and despite Chirac’s resolution, the Louvre has not found the required funds or space to display its collection of Islamic Art.
posted by Unknown @ 10:32 PM
3 Comments:
Well if it´s true that 1/3 kid is an moslem, it´s not looking good for France.
Lost like in totally lost may be to big a word though.
Is there such a thing as "modern Islamic art", or is that an oxymoron?
"I think the London Bombings would qualify as 'modern' Islamic art. The 9/11 WTC would also qualify..."
When I first read this it made me laugh. But TBM does have a point here. Reading the reactions to Islamic terrorist atrocities from Islamofascists you sometimes hear things like the "beauty of the result" -- the same kind of reaction one would expect from an art critic speaking about a new work of art.
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