The Religious Plot in Museums or the Lack Thereof: The Case of Islamic Art Display

During the last decade, curation of Islamic art and artifacts has been crossed by tensions at both theoretical practical level. Not only it continuously grappling with Orientalist legacy, but also operating in a global contemporaneity affected multiple conflicts engendering misperception Muslims Islam non-Muslims. With this heavy background, pursuing three main objectives: educating public, decolonizing museum, reaching out to Muslim communities refugees living non-Muslim societies. However, West, which remains worldly influential domain heritage management, first two objectives drove curators engage problematic practices, most notably suppression what we may call “religious plot” exhibits’ narrative. Moreover, while educational impulse led secular didactic scholasticism erected as supreme exhibitory norm, enterprise took on an ideological turn form neo-postcolonial discourse odds reality that considerably changed since seventies. Contesting “being Islamic” material curated, separates religion from culture, thus relegating faith theme among other themes museum displays. That state affairs is appears crude light as, new Muslim-led curatorship challenging secularist curatorial politics. Re-centering representational emplotment regarding culture space experimenting installations’ design effect, curatorship, essay’s author believes, holds future museology.