LONDON: Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had an exclusive preview of the Albukhary Foundation Gallery of the Islamic World at the British Museum on Sunday.
The Albukhary Foundation Gallery of the Islamic World, currently under construction, will be opened to the public on Oct 18 this year.
The new gallery of the museum displays a comprehensive presentation of the Islamic world through art and material culture.
The gallery features objects that give an overview of cultural exchange in an area stretching from Nigeria to Indonesia and from the seventh century to the present day.
“It will underscore global connections across a vast region of the world from West Africa to Southeast Asia and reflect links between the ancient and medieval as well as the modern worlds,” according to a statement released by the British Museum.
The gallery is supported by Malaysia-based Albukhary Foundation and the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia.
Also present at the exclusive preview was Albukhary Foundation chairman Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Albukhary, who is a well-known philanthropist.
British Museum director Hartwig Fisher in the statement said the Albukhary Foundation Gallery ofthe Islamic World allowed the museum to display the world-class collection to tell a more universal story of Islam in a global context.
Meanwhile, Syed Mokhtar thanked the British Museum for a fruitful collaboration aimed at displaying the convergence and divergence of Islam.
“In the context of globalisation, I sincerely hope that this new gallery will attract a multiculturalaudience, and contribute in understanding the history, arts and cultures of the Islamic World,” he said. – Bernama