International Museum Day: The Aga Khan Museum

Each year the International Museum Day is observed on May 18 in support of Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. This year’s theme is ‘Museums, Sustainability and Wellbeing’ as the museums are key contributors to the wellbeing and development of our communities. Museums are vital avenues for cultural exchange and enrichment, as well as for peaceful coexistence and cooperation among nations and communities. To mark this international day, tonight, we will reflect on the role and contribution of The Aga Khan Museum in Toronto.

The Aga Khan Museum in Toronto is the first museum dedicated to the arts of Muslim civilizations in North America. The museum aims to dispel misperceptions about Islam and Muslim cultures that are common throughout the world and, in particular, in the Western world. It seeks to educate about the rich history and diverse societies of the Muslim world, and the historical connections and sharing of ideas that existed between various civilizations. As Mawlana Hazar Imam said at the Museum’s Foundation Ceremony in 2010,

"we believe the Museum will help address what is not so much a clash of civilisations, as it is a clash of ignorances”

Prince Amyn Mohmed in his speech made during the Opening Ceremony of the Aga Khan Museum described the special role that the Aga Khan Museum is expected to play – namely, the role as a gateway into the history and artistic traditions of the Muslim world. He said:

“The Aga Khan Museum will play this role at a time when such a gateway is profoundly needed. All across the planet, political and economic developments, the forces of globalisation, 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 globalisation, 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.

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. In its role to reveal and to stimulate dialogue between different cultures, the Aga Khan Museum will continue a long history of cultural sharing between Islam and the West. 

…Let me conclude by saying that if I were looking for a single word to sum up my intention and hope for the Aga Khan Museum, it would be the word “enlightenment”. It is a word which has both cultural and spiritual significance. I would hope that this Museum will contribute to a new period of enlightenment, helping visitors from around the world to rediscover the common symbols that unite us all across the globe, across all civilizations, across time.” 

We are grateful for the establishment of this unique Museum in Canada which helps increase the understanding of the faith of Islam.