Vision of Qatar

 Qatar continues to show the way. The tiny Gulf country over the weekend inaugurated the magnificent Museum of Islamic Art, taking another step in its quest to promote a cultural renaissance in the Arab world and provide a bridge between civilizations. One of the finest collections ever assembled, the museum showcases the beauty and the genius of more than 1,500 years of Islamic civilization. 

Emir of Qatar and Sheikha Mozah PHOTO BY Tom Stoddart--Reportage/Getty

 Qatar's purpose was summed up at the gala celebration Saturday night in Doha by museum authority chairperson Sheikha Mayassa, daughter of the emir and his wife, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani and Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser al-Missned: "We aspire to highlight the peaceful and sublime civilization of Islam, which continues to call for tolerance and coexistence among peoples."

 Nothing illustrates the latter point better than the decision to commission the Chinese-born American architect, I.M. Pei, who is 91, to design the museum as the last significant work of his fabled career. Pei spoke of how the challenge took him on a journey of discovery through the Islamic world, during which he studied the life of the Prophet Mohammed and visited jewels of Islamic architecture such as the Ibn Tulun mosque in Cairo. Thanking the emir for the opportunity, he described how the experience of learning about the Islamic world had enriched his life.

Museum of Islamic Art, by I.M. Pei

 Besides a permanent celebration of Islamic culture, the museum intends to take an active role in promoting knowledge and understanding through educational programs and international conferences. The museum is a pet project of the emir, whose 13-year reign has been marked by an ambitious effort, with Sheikha Mozah often playing a leading role, to promote political and social reform in Qatar, the Gulf and the greater Arab world. 

 Among Qatar's accomplishments to date are the establishment of al-Jazeera satellite channel as the first major independent Arab news organization, and the creation of Education City, a campus that has drawn branches of some of America's finest universities, including Georgetown, Cornell, Carnegie Mellon and Texas A&M, to the Middle East. You can see Qatar's progress as the cultural equivalent of the tourism bonanza in neighboring Dubai. While the emir was opening the Museum of Islamic Art, Dubai's royals were attending last weekend's gala opening of another of their mega resorts, Palm Island Jumeirah and its flagship hotel, the Atlantis.  

 The Museum of Islamic Art, which will be joined by additional museums in Doha, reflects Qatar's drive to put itself on the global cultural map. Last weekend was also the occasion for announcing a long-term partnership with actor Robert De Niro's Tribeca Film Festival. The plans are still being worked out, but Qatar will host the first Tribeca Film Festifval Doha next November hosted by the Museum of Islamic Art. Although with a Qatari twist, the festival will be patterned after the New York version in its mission to bring together the global film industry, diverse audiences and engage the local community. 

Geometric Interior of Museum of Islamic Art

 The Tribeca festival was established after 9/11 in an effort to revive the economy and spirit of downtown New York where the World Trade Center had stood before being destroyed by Muslim terrorists. After Saturday night's fireworks at the Museum of Islamic Art, Jane Rosenthal, one of DeNiro's co-founders, told me one of her motivations for the Qatar-Tribeca partnership was to create a better understanding with the Arab world. 

 "Very few film festivals are born because of an act of war," she said. "I feel, as New Yorkers, we have to try to understand Islam and the Arabic culture in a more profound way. If it can help change a few minds, that's great. If it can make a few people laugh and have a good time, that's also great. If it can educate a little bit, hey, that's even better."

 Qatar's new museum and film festival won't bridge all the cultural gaps, but their creators deserve our thanks and encouragement for trying to make the world a better place.

 --By Scott MacLeod/Cairo