By Fathy El Shazly, Cairo (member of the Committee of Honour of MWNF)

 Principles that govern the conduct of relations between Muslims and the followers of both Christianity and Judaism as taught by the Holy Quran:

1)      Islam regards all people as one single nation descending from one single father and one single mother. In Surat Al-Hujurat, verse 13, The Holy Quran says:

 “O mankind! We created you from a single pair of male and female, and made you into nations and tribes that ye may know each other. The most honored of you in the sight of God is the most righteous of you.”

2)      Muslims believe that all three monotheistic religions came from the same source, i.e. the same God. A true Muslim should equally believe in all prophets and holy books of both other religions. Those who do not are not Muslims even if they believe in Allah, His Angels, Prophet Mohammad, and the Day of Judgment. Therefore, Islam’s stance towards Christianity and Judaism transcends mere tolerance to accepting and believing in the respective prophets and scriptures of both religions. This belief is an integral part of the Islamic faith. In verse 84 of Surat Al-Imran, the Holy Quran says:

“We believe in Allah and in what has been revealed to us and what was revealed to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and the tribes, and in the books given to Moses, Jesus and the prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between one and another among them and to Allah we do bow our will”

3)      The Original state of relations between Muslims and non-Muslims is peace. War is an exception that should not be resorted to except in extreme cases and only to repel aggression. Preaching should be made peacefully and with politeness. In Surat Al-Ankabut, verse 46, the Holy Quran says:

“… and dispute ye not with the people of the book except with means better than mere disputation, unless it be with  those of them who inflict wrong and injury, but say, we believe in the revelation which has come down to us and in that which came down to you, our God and your God is one, and it is to Him we bow.”

            And in Surat Al Nahl verse 125, the Holy Quran says:

“Invite all to the way of the Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching, and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious.”

4)      In the exceptional case of war, Muslims are ordered to immediately stop hostilities and resort to peace if the enemy stops fighting. In Surat Al Anfal, verse 61, the Holy Quran orders Muslims:

“But if the enemy inclines towards peace, do thou also incline towards peace and trust in God.”

5) Another rule of conduct regarding the relations between Muslims and non-Muslims is the obligation of Muslims to honor the pacts and accords concluded between them and others. Islam does not allow Muslims, under any circumstances, to breach their commitments. In Surat Al Nahl, verse 91, the Holy Quran says:

“Fulfill the covenant of Allah when ye have entered into it and break not your oath after ye have confirmed them. Indeed ye have made Allah your surety, for Allah knows all that ye do.”

The Quran prohibits breaking the commitment even if it were for the sake of Islamic solidarity. Verse 72 of Surat Al Anfal says:

“But if they seek your aid in religion, it is your duty to help them except against a people with whom ye have a treaty, and Allah sees all that ye do”.

By Marek Pokorný, Brno, Czech Republic

For the Moravian Gallery in Brno (Czech Republic) the several years of cooperation in the Discover Baroque Art project have been a challenge, but often also a pleasure, accompanied with expectations of the result, which is now just opening before your eyes without any geographic or other frontiers obstructing anyone’s way to knowledge. I will never forget the first working meeting that took place here in Brno, and was hosted by the Moravian Gallery. The initial group of colleagues and initiators, headed by Eva Schubert, always full of enthusiasm and energy, was enlarged, in the course of time, by other people and institutions. No matter how the extent and reach of our intent expanded, its original objective has remained unchanged: To interconnect information and contexts relating to Baroque art, to strengthen the awareness of coherence and to restitute or, in some cases, to develop the sense and feeling of integrity that has always been immanent to European culture and art, despite all the historical re-drawing of the maps, drawn sometimes by reasons of emancipation or, on the contrary, by brutally implemented power. I really do appreciate that new technologies allow to indicate potential wholes in today’s so fragmented world, in which the knowledge of tradition and of the past helps to understand the others, but first of all oneself.

By Mohammad Najjar, Amman, Jordan

In 1995 15 countries of the European Union along with 12 non-EU countries signed up to the Barcelona Declaration, the aim of which was to develop security, stability, trade and cultural co-operation in the Mediterranean region. This was the stepping stone that led to Discover Islamic Art in the Mediterranean the idea of which, basically, was that the shared heritage of the Mediterranean countries could and should be used as common ground for cooperation; an opportunity to enhance these countries commonalities as much as to treasure their diversities. This task was not an easy one due to the complexities of the relationship between the Western and Eastern Mediterranean countries, better known as the Near or Middle East. From the moment of its conception to the present day, the Middle East as a geopolitical concept has been defined by Western powers mainly in terms of the problems it might cause for them. On the other hand, given this complex history of the “West’s” involvement in the Middle East, it is not surprising that many people in the region view everything that comes from the West with deep suspicion.

To make any progress, therefore, it was necessary to build a platform where upon different points of view could be freely expressed. The aim was not to refute the others’ perception and not to neutralise all the many different perceptions – definitely not to counter one statement with another that might be saying the exact opposite – but to highlight the diversity of opinions and utilise the scope this variety of interpretations might offer. In this way a space was created for countries to present their history from a local prospective; an opportunity to confront the many “stories” under discussion and create an atmosphere that fostered the freedom necessary to make their own judgments. Information technology made the task much easier.

As a result, the world largest online museum was created by MWNF in cooperation with 14 countries of the Mediterranean Basin. Forty museums have contributed to the creation of this unique presentation of Islamic art, interrelating artefacts from its collection with those of all the other 40 participating museums, and with Islamic monuments and sites from around the Mediterranean.

From this, the world’s most comprehensive approach to Islamic art and culture in the Mediterranean was created.

From a personal perspective, it became clear to me while working on the project that the strength of Islamic art and the vibrancy of Islamic culture lay in the multiple ways external influences have been adapted and integrated. These external influences were never a threat to any culture, including Islamic culture, and only become a threat when the indigenous culture was loosing its relevance.

While MWNF realises that we cannot create an ideal agreement by ourselves, we consider that what we have done and what we are doing is actually something of utmost importance: we are creating pluralism; building a meaningful public-academic platform upon which it is okay to disagree.

Among the achievements about which we are very proud – besides establishing the world’s largest online Museum of Islamic Art and in so doing bringing together more than 120 researchers and museum experts from 14 countries around the Mediterranean and in Europe to work together for three years to create it – is the fact that by the time EU-financing came to an end we had initiated several follow-up-projects, namely in the fields of education and responsible tourism, using our own resources. Thus MWNF has demonstrated the sustainability of the work already carried out and breathed new life into a unique forum for dialogue, cooperation and knowledge sharing.