The representation of Islamic peoples and cultures in contemporary museums internationally

It is rather intriguing to see that not only are an extensive number of people specializing and working
on skills that revolve around such intricate details that pertain to Islamic art and cultural depiction,
but also, they have worked to restore and preserve Islamic art in such detailed forms in the
contemporary era.

It is however necessary to recognize the blatant influence of the Western interest in Islamic cultures
and the subsequent depiction of art and form through their lens. The amount of insight the average
art enthusiast or archaeologist has put into the preservation of Islamic art is remarkable, however,
the erroneous orientalist notions that have decorated Islamic customs are rather problematic and,
to an extent, degrading to the essence of Islamic peoples and cultures. For example, many famous
paintings on the Islamic cultural tradition are representational of exotic women and colonial eastern
depiction etc.

Furthermore, one must recognize the fact the Western scholars didn’t take Islam on its original value
but rather took it as an offshoot of the pre-Islamic religion – this sadly became the primary error in
the depiction of Islamic culture in the modern day. Museum, something that evolves from the
colonial distortion of cultural understanding - given a western view of the historical significance of
most of the retrieved Islamic art.

There does however exist a positive and appreciable element that has led towards the preservation
of Islamic art and culture regardless of the subsiding issues.

The amount of effort What is rather fascinating is the fact that most of the contemporary exhibits
have one major similarity - all the major museums and art galleries had created thematic display
sections that insured that all the relevant art from that specific era or timeline was put together to
recreate that atmosphere that must have existed in the ancient periods. Ornaments are classified
and structured in sets where most of them have been retrieved from places around the globe but
are clubbed together to recreate a contextual atmosphere of early Islamic eras. For example, the
Damascus Room and the Ottoman Carpet section in the Met were rooms that had a particular vibe
being catered to. Furthermore, places such as the Moroccan Court were built in decades just to be
able to recreate the living tradition of the court itself - to replicate and depict the intellectual and
cultural life of Morocco.

Artwork such as in the Al-Attarin Madrassah consisted of detailed artworks that depicted the
historical Islamic tradition. The scaled arches and the ceramic work with religious significance was a
real eye opener. The importance of the color white and its use learned from the historical traditions
- the fact that white creates a sense of visual space as it was the primary technique used by the
Moroccans in their artwork. Furthermore, the use of mortar and concrete to create Mosaique style
patterns are extremely fascinating.

It is interesting to notice how much attention the contemporary museums have paid to the details
and particularities that define the true essence of Islamic cultural art depiction. The fact that
intricate patterns and thematic ornamental designs have been recreated to add value to the Islamic
cultural tradition is indeed remarkable.