ABU DHABI // Lectures explaining the practice of Islam, methods of worship and religious customs will be held during Ramadan as part of the exhibition entitled Islam: Faith And Worship being held at the Emirates Palace hotel. The lectures will be held between September 8 and 14, said the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage. The full list of speakers includes Sheikh Habib Ali Jifri, the chairman and founder of the Tabah Foundation, a privately funded research institute, whose lecture on September 8 will be on the history of Islam and the life of the Prophet Mohammed.
On September 11 Mohammed Salim al Awa, secretary general of the International Union for Muslim Scholars, will give a presentation on faith in Islam. On September 14 Prof Ali Ozek, head of the Endowment for Islamic Scientific Studies in Istanbul, will speak about worship. The exhibition, which ends on October 10, features almost 150 works of art and artefacts on loan from seven leading museums in Turkey. They show the artistic emergence of the world's fastest growing religion and drawings and manuscripts dating back to Islam's earliest periods.
Many of the works have never been permitted to leave Istanbul before. Carpets, paintings, weapons and clothing are on display, along with an embroidered Kaaba curtain that has remained unmoved for almost two centuries. A sword which according to legend was created from the metal of the Prophet Mohammed's tomb is also on display. There are several unique examples of Arab calligraphy, some written on scraps of cloth.
The artwork will be on display during Ramadan every day between 10am and 1pm, and every night between 8pm and 10pm. @Email:jgerson@thenational.ae
