The Louvre Museum is unveiling a new wing and galleries dedicated to the arts of Islam, culminating a nearly €100 million ($130 million), decade-long project coming to fruition amid tensions between the Muslim world and the West.

The new dragonfly-shaped building marks the famed Paris museum’s greatest development since its iconic glass pyramid constructed 20 years ago. The Department of Islamic Art will exhibit much of the Louvre’s 18,000 Islamic works, hoping also to foster cultural understanding.

Louvre director Henri Loyrette says the galleries aim to showcase “the radiant face of a civilization.”

In a sign of the political importance of the new Louvre exhibit, French President Francois Hollande attended an opening ceremony Tuesday, calling it a “political gesture in the service of respect for peace.” The Saudi prince and the president of Azerbaijan, accompanied him.

Hollande criticized those who “destroy the values of Islam by resorting to violence and hate.”   »»» Asharq Alawsat Newspaper

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