Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Presidential Court, on Friday opened a museum within Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque to allow visitors to "explore the cultural richness of Islamic civilisation".
The Light and Peace Museum houses a treasure trove of exhibits spanning centuries, including the first Islamic gold coin, part of the Kiswa (covering) of the Holy Kaaba, gold-illuminated pages of the Blue Qur'an, as well as the personal collection of the UAE Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. The museum blends tradition and modernity in its five sections boasting interactive experiences harnessing advanced technologies and multimedia.
Sheikh Mansour toured the culture spot along with a number of senior officials. He visited its Dome of Peace and was briefed on how the venue seeks to bolster knowledge about Islamic society, its development of arts and sciences, and its efforts to champion tolerance and coexistence.
"This museum forms a window that allows the world to explore the cultural richness of Islamic civilisation and represents a qualitative addition to the UAE’s efforts in highlighting the shared human values that unite us as diverse peoples," said Sheikh Mansour, in comments shared by state news agency Wam. "We are committed to supporting initiatives that contribute to building a future that promotes values of understanding and peace."
The five zones of the museum are named Values of Tolerance – The Abundance of Light; Sanctity and Worship – The Three Mosques; Beauty and Perfection – The Spirit of Creativity; Tolerance and Openness – The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque; and Unity and Coexistence, and there is also a space dedicated to family and children’s experiences.
The museum's cultural content is shared in seven languages – Arabic, English, Chinese, Spanish, French, Russian, and Hindi – to spread its message to as broad an audience as possible. The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Centre – which operates the landmark place of worship – is to announce the opening of the museum to visitors soon.
Cultural attraction
Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque welcomed more than 4.3 million visits in the first half of the year, including its largest number of daily worshippers during Ramadan, it was announced in July. The mosque has cemented its status as a leading global religious and cultural centre in recent years – with the latest six-monthly total well up on the 3.3 million visits recorded from January to the end of June last year and the 1.5 million registered in 2022.
The mosque continues to draw visitors from all parts of the world. Official figures show 81 per cent of visits made were by people from outside the Emirates.
Asia led the way with 52 per cent of all visits, followed by Europe at 34 per cent, North America at 7 per cent, Africa and South America at 3 per cent each, and Australia at 1 per cent. India had the largest number of visits at 22 per cent, followed by China at 11 per cent, Russia at 8 per cent and Germany and the USA at 4 per cent.
Completed in 2007, the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is the largest in the UAE, spreading across 22,000 square metres. It can host more than 40,000 worshippers at once.
