Personally, I find museums to be fascinating spaces full of wonder and curiosity, a space which can be called my own as I delve into its exotic world. Amongst my favourite sentiments with reference to a museum’s splendour would be the one narrated by the protagonist, Holden Caulfield, of the famous novel Catcher in the Rye.

He explains the symbolic meaning of the museum and states that its displays appeal to him because they are frozen in time and unchanging. The museum represents the world Holden wishes he could live in; a world where nothing changes, where everything is simple, understandable and infinite. As an art aficionado, I can comprehend what Holden means.

On a holiday getaway to Malaysia, I happened to visit the Islamic Arts Museum. I had read a lot of fantastic reviews on the museum, which is located in the heart of Kuala Lumpur. This beautiful building is home to a wide collection of art works from all over the world, all devoted to artefacts inspired by Islam’s influence across the centuries.

The Museum not only displays artwork from the Middle East but also from other nations that are a little closer to home, such as India and China. Various worldly collections are displayed according to 12 categories in the Museum: jewellery, arms and armour, textiles, living with wood, coins, metalwork, ceramics, architecture, Quran and its manuscripts; India, China and the Malay world.

Shireen Ikramullah Khan writes about the Islamic Arts Museum which offers pleasure, education and contemplation

The building occupies an area of 30,000 square metres and is located amidst the natural surroundings of Kuala Lumpur Lake Gardens. It caters to the ever-increasing interest in Islamic art, so much so that Malaysia subsequently became home to South-east Asia’s largest museum of Islamic art in December 1998. The exhibition area consists of two floors of galleries, while two other special galleries have been built separately for occasional exhibitions. The exhibition areas permit an uninterrupted flow of movement from one site to the other; maintaining the belief of a sense of continuity embodied in the Islamic spirit.

Masjid al-Haram

The Museum displays a range of Islamic architectural models, from the smallest mosques to one of the world’s largest architectural models of Mecca’s Masjid al-Haram. While walking through the building, visitors come across the Damascus Room, which is one of the highlights amongst the displays. The room is the only one of its kind still preserved intact in South-east Asia and dates back to 1821AD. The room itself is made of painted wood panels that compose the four walls and ceiling. A rare assortment of Qurans is housed in the Quran and manuscripts section.

Authentic Islamic jewellery from Morocco to India is exhibited in the jewellery section, a treat for any visitor especially those interested in gemstones and design. Exquisite clothing and textiles indigenous to the Islamic world are part of the textile section whereas swords, daggers and axes are part of the arms and armour section.

The Islamic Arts Museum is a place of pleasure, education and contemplation. For those interested in Islamic Art within South-east Asia visiting the gallery is essential and highly recommended.

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, August 31, 2014