| Jerusalem Museum For Islamic Art |
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 Though Israel is a small non-Muslim enclave locked inside a vast Muslim territory, it succeeded in parroting a major cultural sin of the great colonial empires of the past: Eurocentrism. There are historical reasons for that – Zionism originated in Europe, many of the first immigrants and settlers came from such countries as Russia or Poland – but by today, more than half a century after the declaration of independence, these reasons should have spent their influence. In reality, Israeli systems of government and education still harbor a notable dose of cultural condescension.
The Museum for Islamic Art in Jerusalem presents a chance to correct this wrong. The institution unfolds a civilization of astonishing depth and richness; spanning from the pre-Islamic era to the decline of the Ottoman Empire, it covers more than a thousand years of social, artistic, and intellectual development. Visitors will find themselves completely immersed in an independent and self-sufficient realm that flourished during the Middle Ages, when Christendom was at its lowest. Such a visit can be a genuine cultural event, offering lessons in art, history, and, eventually, tolerance.  Museum For Islamic Art For those unfamiliar with the history of Islam, explanations accompanying the displays provide an effective general guidance. The curators chose to categorize the collections according to dynasties, rather than arbitrary geographical or temporal parameters. This more natural way of looking at the history of Islam sometimes leads to overlaps, but on the whole the result is a solid, engaging introduction. On the other hand, it's possible to ignore the explanations, and simply follow one's aesthetic sense. The exhibits can be divided into several categories. Religious displays include oversized photographs of mosques (buildings that rival Catholic cathedrals in their grandiosity of design and architectural elaboration), a selection of tiles, and various worship related items such as praying mats and Koran pages. Household goods and utensils comprise pottery, lamps, and more tiles. Finally, while recreational artefacts – chess sets, gargantuan hookahs and jewelry – reveal the playful side of Islam, the exhibition of armor and such weapons as swords and arquebuses demonstrates its less benign facet. My personal favorite pieces are the tiles. Changing in color, shape, and design, they document and embody the development of the craft of tile making, simultaneously shedding light on the evolution of Islamic architecture. Tiles concentrate the three main principles of design in Islamic art: botanical motifs (previously collectively known as the “arabesques”), calligraphy, which usually represents expressions from the Koran, and geometrical forms, from the most basic, to the most uncommon. The tiles also show how a receptive and flexible culture gradually grew more and more religiously earnest, first allowing, and then disallowing the incorporation of figurative animal or human shapes – perhaps foreshadowing the rise of fundamentalism.  Museum For Islamic Art The Museum for Islamic Art is located near the Sherover Theater, the Maalot synagogue, and the Israel Bar Jerusalem Law center – structures whose architectural styles range from the Mediterranean to the modernist. A promenade around the area would complete the architectural, and, indeed, the entire regional cultural picture. The museum routinely houses temporary exhibitions, often of political character, and offers paid guides and various creative workshops. Official Website: http://www.islamicart.co.il/ Bookmark us: 
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