Rabat to Host “Treasures of Islam in Africa, from Timbuktu to Zanzibar” Exhibition

Rabat – The Academy of the Kingdom of Morocco, the Arab World Institute (IMA), the Ministry of Culture, and the National Museums Foundation will jointly organize an art exhibition titled “Treasures of Islam in Africa, from Timbuktu to Zanzibar.”

This exhibition will showcase 13 centuries of history through nearly 250 pieces of heritage and contemporary art, from public and private collections from Morocco, Africa, and Europe. The exhibition will display art, archeology, architecture, and works of ethnography. 

The event is due to take place in the Mohammed VI Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Bab El Kebir Gallery, and Bab Rouah Gallery.

The exhibition aims first to explore the different methods with which African countries were first introduced to Islam. Islam reached Southern Saharan countries in the 8th century, first through trade networks in the east and west, then through the major pilgrimage routes.

Second, it intends to highlight the wealth of religious practices across the African continent. Sufi brotherhoods were prevalent in the 18th-19th centuries, influencing African Islam today.

Finally, the exhibition invites visitors to a sensory experience highlighting the spread of know-how across the continent. It will unveil the stylistic and technical peculiarities that contributed to the influence of Southern Saharan populations.

A previous version of the exhibition was held in May 2017 in Paris. King Mohammed VI and François Hollande, the then French President, visited the exhibition held at the Institute of the Arab World (IMA) in Paris.