Qur'an in Europe

The exhibition begins with the Muslim experience of the Qur’an as holy scripture. Qur’an recitations, calligraphies, and illuminated manuscripts contrast the understanding of the Qur’an as God’s revelation to the Prophet Mohammed with its traditional Christian perception as a written text. The second part of the exhibition shows how and why the Qur’an has been translated and printed in Europe; why it was used for learning the Arabic language and for arguments that were often polemical, but sometimes also fascinated and admiring. Finally, a third section examines the significance of the Qur’an in the present day.

The idea is to stimulate reflection on the many ways in which the Qur’an can be read in European societies of the present.