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An Experience of Faith
The Museum of Islamic Art takes visitors on a religious journey, the Hajj, through art.
BY SINDHU NAIR PORTRAIT bY ANGEl MAllARI

WHEN VENETIA PORTER, curator of the Islamic and

contemporary Middle East department at the British Museum (BM), took journalists from the Middle East through glimpses of Hajj: Journey to the Heart of Islam (held last year), one could sense her passion for the subject. It was not unexpected, as the exhibition she had curated was one of the first museum shows anywhere in the world to focus on the pilgrimage, and in less than seven weeks of opening the exhibition had exceeded the museums target of 80,000 visitors. By the end of the show more than 125,000 adult tickets had been sold at 12 each (under-16s go in free) , with all advance tickets sold out and the museum opening for longer hours to accommodate the extra demand. For Porter, the beauty of the religious pilgrimage took on a mysterious edge too, adding to its allure; it was one journey she could never hope to make. The Hajj is the fifth pillar of Islam, and the only one which nonMuslims are not welcomed to observe or share, says Venetia. The purpose of the British Museum when it was founded was to enable visitors to understand the world better. And this exhibition did clearly meet that objective, though the majority of the visitors were Muslims, some of them commenting that there was nothing new that they could take away regarding the pilgrimage. In that sense, to bring a similar exhibition to Qatar was quite a bold decision, with the large percentage of the population following the religion, and assuming that most of them are aware of the rituals that precede this religious pilgrimage. But Dr Mounia Chekhab-Abudaya, Curator of Manuscripts at the Museum of Islamic Arts (MIA) and also the curator of Hajj: The Journey Through Art, is sure that the exhibition will serve its purpose. And the purpose is to explore the art revolving around the Hajj pilgrimage. Petite and soft-spoken, Chekhab-Abudaya enamors listeners with her earnest simplicity when she says quite categorically: We are not bringing the same exhibition from BM, we are just using the same theme and building it in a way that is unique to Qatar. While the Hajj exhibition in Doha is the result of the Emirs sister, Sheikha Al-Mayassas, discussions with the BM after she heard about the success of its Hajj exhibition, Chekhab-Abudayas contribution began in April 2012, the closing day of the BM exhibition, just after she joined MIA. This is her very first project since she arrived in Doha, so her passion for this particular exhibit is quite natural. I met Venetia in September 2012 and started discussing the project, she says. To use her curatorial skills and the countrys exclusive stamp on this religious journey was a decision that Chekhab-Abudaya took. I wanted to make it more interesting to

ON FIRM FOOTING Above: Dr Mounia ChekhabAbudaya, curator of Hajj: The Journey Through Art; right, a view of Mecca, Golden Hour by Ahmed Mater

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T Qatar: The New York Times Style Magazine

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HISTORY LIVES Clockwise from left: Perfect Formation by Walid Siti, a modern installation from the exhibit; view of the exhibits that speak about the stories of travel from the region; the green mahmal can be seen behind; the juxtaposition of old and new within the exhibition; the book of prayer; the 60-meterlong certificate from the 16th century CE, called Timurid pilgrimage certificate.

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the people here by adding collections from Qatar, she says. Most of the objects in the exhibition were sourced from the MIA and from some private collectors in Qatar like Sheikh Hassan bin Ali Al Thani (who is vice-chairman of the Qatar Museums Authority, or QMA), Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani and Abdullah Al-Sulaiti (Head of Research at the Qatar National Museum). There was a lot of excitement from the private collectors, she says. What Qatar did differently was also to gather exhibits from people who are not necessarily collectors. Though there was a call for souvenirs collected during the pilgrimage, the present exhibition has just two exhibits from this drive to get local inputs. What some would consider a disappointing response might not be true for Qatar. It is not something that the people here are accustomed to; they are not used to sharing their exhibits publically, says Chekhab-Abudaya. The Hajj exhibit at MIA has been intelligently curated and displayed. There is a juxtaposition of old and new in all of the exhibits that tends to play on the curiosity of the visitor, who moves closer to study the contrast in textures and media of exhibits. Close to the certificate that was initially issued by the religious authorities from the 16th and 17th centuries CE after someone completed the

Hajj: The Journey Through Art will be showing at the MIA till January 5, 2014.

November-December 2013

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IMAGES COURTESY, MIA, AccioNa ProduccioNes y Diseo aNd Photographer: NiccoLo Guasti

We are not bringing the same exhibition from the British Museum, says Chekhab-Abudaya. We are just using the same theme and building it in a way that is unique to Qatar.

Hajj (at about 60m long, this could be the longest such certificate. The practice of awarding these certificates, however, is no longer followed) is the Perfect Formation installation by Walid Siti, a modern interpretation of the Hajj. Beautiful manuscripts, curtains that covered the Kaaba, a book of prayer, and Kaaba keys from the 14th century CE are historic objects from the MIA collection in the exhibition that are rare and precious to the Islamic world. Though Chekhab-Abudaya cannot pick her favorites (all are equally important), she does leans toward two of the most important pieces in the exhibit: the green mahmal (literally that which is carried) or palanquin, a 19th-century CE exhibit from Damascus; and Magnetism by Ahmed Mater, a modern installation that depicts the mysterious pull of the Kaaba. A miscellany of objects that depict how people are inspired by the Hajj, now juxtaposed with oral stories and historical objects, form a curious mix within the exhibition. The exhibition space has a virtuous feel that makes you forget the surroundings for a moment and immerse yourself in sights and sounds that must be familiar to a devout Muslim, but are entirely alien to someone not following the religion. Though unfamiliar, the play on senses evoked by the background recording from the Hajj during the holy month, the murmur of prayers interrupted by louder religious chanting, the historic stories that each object stirs, the cultural richness of an era past and the respect that this religious site evokes even in todays world does touch a chord of reverence in the non-Muslim too. While Chekhab-Abudaya hasnt been to Hajj, she sometimes feels that she has seen it all. But then after a few moments she corrects herself and says: But nothing can replace the real experience.