Paper short abstract:

How is Islam reflected in contemporary museums? How do we see a continuation of a racial narrative and the past reflecting on the present? How do museums write the narrative when it comes to the representation of other heritages?

Paper long abstract:

Especially in the case of Islam, museums in the way they structure the form and content of their exhibitions, skip over the fact that Islam was and is part of the many civilizations they display in their galleries. There is a tendency to embed Islam as a Middle-Eastern religion and restrict its impact on art and culture to the Middle East. There are of course, several reasons for this; reasons that go as far back as to colonialism and the racial outlook on art and culture. But it is interesting that museums up until today, hold on to these historical perceptions. This paper explores how Islam is reflected in contemporary museums. It traces the colonial and racial perception toward Islamic art and how it has come to influence the display of Islam collections today. How do we see a continuation of a highly racial narratives and the past reflecting on the present? How do the visitors - Muslim and non-Muslim - reflect on what they see in the traditional museum? Ultimately, how do institutions such as museums write the narrative when it comes to the representation of other heritages? In what way has this phenomenon evolved over time and taken shape today? This research is carried out with anthropological methodology of interviews and participant observation taking place in more than fifteen different museums in five different European countries; Holland, France, Belgium, UK and Germany. The research is part of the H2020 funded RETOPEA project.