This evening included an important tour of the first-of-its-kind museum dedicated to the Gaza Strip, documenting its extensive civilizational history through photographs and films of historical monuments, including mosques, churches, and archaeological sites, that were previously registered with UNESCO and have since been destroyed.
The Arab World Institute in Paris hosted His Excellency Sheikh Dr. Mohammed Alissa, Secretary-General of the Muslim World League (MWL) and Chairman of the Organization of Muslim Scholars, where he was received by His Excellency Mr. Jack Lang, President of the Institute.
The meeting discussed several topics related to the Institute’s role in promoting understanding and cooperation between cultures, and in confronting the concepts, slogans, and practices of civilizational clash—an effort that aligns with one of the key initiatives of the MWL in support of the Islamic call for peace.
His Excellency Dr. Al-Issa underscored that the Muslim World League launched an initiative for Building Bridges between East and West at the United Nations headquarters in New York, in the presence of leaders of the international organization. He emphasized that Muslims have, throughout their long civilizational history, engaged in dialogue and exchange with peoples of both East and West.
It is worth mentioning that the Institute is a unique civilizational edifice that began with an ambitious shared vision between King Khalid bin Abdulaziz—may Allah bestow mercy on him—and His Excellency Mr. Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, former President of France, and culminated in a major project during the presidency of His Excellency Mr. François Mitterrand. At that time, Mr. Jack Lang, then Minister of Culture and now President of the Institute, selected its headquarters in a distinctive location at the heart of the French capital—in the Latin Quarter—where civilizational, intellectual, and historical currents converge.
For over thirty years, the Institute has been distinguished by its remarkable contributions, hosting the most comprehensive and extensive library of the Arab world in the West. It has organized numerous conferences, forums, and exhibitions, and published a wide range of research and academic studies, while also modernizing methods of teaching the Arabic language. Furthermore, it has played an effective role in providing the Western world with accurate and well-documented information about the Arab and Islamic world—its history, heritage, civilization, culture, creativity, and current realities—while fostering cultural exchange, civilizational interaction, and human dialogue between East and West.
