All across the planet, political and economic developments, the forces of globalization, are connecting Muslim and non-Muslim societies ever more intimately and yet, at the same time, misunderstandings between those worlds are becoming an increasingly dangerous threat. Expanded and improved means of communication can as easily be used to cause divisions and fragmentation as they can to unify and breed understanding. Despite the advances we have witnessed through improved technology and through globalization, a knowledge gap continues to exist and perhaps even grow, and the result of that gap is a vacuum within which myths and stereotypes can so easily fester, fed by the amplification of extreme minority voices. Symbols become confused with emblems. Images of demagoguery or despotism, of intolerance and conflict, come to dominate in such an environment with global repercussions. That context is precisely the reason that the potential contribution of an institution such as the Aga Khan Museum can be so important. I believe strongly that art and culture can have a profound impact in healing misunderstanding and in fostering trust even across great divides. This is the extraordinary purpose, the special mandate, to which this Museum is dedicated. - Prince Amyn Aga Khan
Posted on: Sun, 14 Sep 2014 23:13:34 +0000