Discover the Islamic Arts Museum, Malaysia – Middle East Monitor

The earliest traces of Islam in Malaysia are believed to return to across the Thirteenth-14th century, introduced in primarily by Arab and Indian Muslim merchants. ‘Batu Bersurat Terengganu’, an historical inscribed stone found within the state of Terengganu, dates again to roughly 1303 and is taken into account to be the earliest proof of the unfold Islam within the nation.

Though constitutionally secular, Islam is recognised as Malaysia’s ‘faith of the Federation’ and is deep-seated in Malay life and tradition. The capital, Kuala Lumpur, is residence to the biggest museum of Islamic arts in Southeast Asia, the place Islam immediately is essentially the most broadly practiced faith.

Internet hosting greater than 10,000 artefacts from throughout the Islamic world, the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia was formally opened in 1998.

The foyer space of the Islamic Arts Museum in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia,  October 25, 2005 [Goh Seng Chong/Bloomberg via Getty Images]

The outside of the constructing, positioned close to Malaysia’s Nationwide Mosque, boasts a clear twenty first century design laced with conventional Islamic particulars. It options 5 ornate, turquoise-coloured tiled domes and an entrance paying homage to a Persian Iwan, solely extra low-key and modern.

Guests are greeted with a verse from the Quran inscribed within the mosaic tiles that body the doorway. As you enter into the primary lobby, you might be met with a powerful dome ceiling, marble flooring and a crisp white inside.

On show are 12 everlasting exhibitions unfold over two ranges, with spacious open galleries dedicated to Arms and Armour, Textiles, Ceramics, Jewelry, Cash, Manuscripts and the Quran.

Manuscripts of the holy textual content within the Quran gallery embody fragments courting way back to the ninth and tenth centuries AD, with a leaf from a Blue Quran believed to be from North Africa or the Close to East. Different newer Quranic manuscripts on the museum originate in Safavid and Qajar Iran and Ottoman Turkey from the 18th and nineteenth centuries.

Karen Hughes, US undersecretary of state for public diplomacy, takes a take a look at a Quran on show on the Islamic Arts Museum in Kuala Lumpur, 23 October 2005 [TENGKU BAHAR/AFP via Getty Images]

Prayer mats, embroidered tapestries and conventional costumes of Muslims from varied backgrounds are showcased within the Textiles gallery, with crowns, opulent jewelry and caskets and amulet holders within the Jewelry exhibit giving one other dimension and appreciation of Muslims’ creative heritage all through the centuries.

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Maybe essentially the most elaborate gallery on the museum is devoted to structure, which is seen because the earliest expression of Islamic ‘artwork’. An enchanting assortment of scale-model mosques adorns the exhibit, with locations of worship naturally offering the final word manifestation of spiritual structure.

From Islam’s holiest web site, the Kaaba, to Jerusalem’s Dome of the Rock, the UAE’s Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Turkey’s Selimiye Mosque and even much less recognisable mosques corresponding to one in China’s Xian, the exhibit highlights the distinctive and architectural heritage of varied Muslim locations of worship throughout completely different cultures.

Mannequin of a mosque [Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia]

The gallery additionally boasts a restored and full nineteenth century ‘Ottoman Room’ which depicts a lifetime of luxurious in Ottoman Syria. Extra just lately, a show was organised on the museum to spotlight the hazards going through Islamic architectural heritage throughout Syria, Yemen and Iraq immediately resulting from armed battle.

Past its assortment of works from the Center East and Persia, the museum provides perception into the Islamic id and heritage in Asia, with devoted galleries on artwork from India, China and the Malay Peninsula.

Prayer Ebook China (seventeenth century AD) [Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia]

The humanities museum can also be an lively cultural and academic centre, internet hosting common seasonal exhibitions and cultural occasions and actions. It homes a conservation and analysis centre and a library of Islamic artwork books.

Between your time visiting Kuala Lumpur’s iconic Petronas Twin Towers and climbing the Batu Caves, make room for a go to to the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia. With a nominal payment, not solely will you get the possibility to see 1000’s of historical treasures up shut, however it is possible for you to to immerse your self within the huge historical past and various cultures of Islamic civilisations.