Change the Title to ‘Islamic Art of All Muslim Lands’
By Anila Ali
Irvine, CA
After almost a decade the art galleries displaying art from the Islamic world at The Metropolitan Museum of Art have reopened under the title: New Galleries for the Art of the Arab Lands, Turkey, Iran, Central Asia, and Later South Asia.
Although the exhibit of a 'suite of fifteen galleries' emphasizes the rich cultural diversity of the Islamic world, the title dismisses that very same distinction. South Asian aren't Arabs, Turks and Uzbeks aren't Arabs and to paint us all with one stroke is naive and ignorant of the uniqueness and distinctiveness that makes us Pakistanis, Indians and South Asians. The architectural heritage of South Asia has more affinity with the Persians than the Arabs. To assume that Muslims equates Arabs is denying that South Asian culture is unique and distinct.
I urge The Metropolitan Museum of Art to change the title to "Islamic Art of all Muslim Lands."
