Islamic Moorish Spain: It's Legacy to Europe and the West

Islamic Moorish Spain: It’s Legacy to Europe and the West

Islamic Moorish Spain
It’s Legacy to Europe and the West

The IMMC opened in April 2001 with a debut exhibition, Islamic Moorish Spain: It’s Legacy to Europe and the West simultaneous with The Majesty of Spain: Royal Collections from the Museo del Prado and Patrimonio Nacional. The third in a series of international exhibitions hosted by Jackson’s Mississippi Arts Pavilion, “Majesty” was expected to attract half a million visitors—including King Juan Carlos and Queen Sophia of Spain.

Golden Age of Muslim rule in Spain and the Islamic legacy

The exhibition explores the Golden Age of Muslim rule in Spain and the Islamic legacy inherited by Europe and the West in terms of the vast cultural and scientific contributions, which sparked Europe’s Renaissance and brought it out of the dark ages. Perhaps, Islamic Spain’s greatest legacy was to foster a culture of tolerance where Muslims, Christians, and Jews lived together in peace and harmony creating a unique social fabric.

The exhibit proved to be a great success and paved the way for the opening of the IMMC as America’s First Muslim Museum. Thanks to the museum’s co-founder, a devout and well-read Muslim, Mrs. Okolo Rashid’s foresight. Mrs. Rashid knew that one of Spain’s most illustrious periods had been the roughly 700 years of Muslim rule in Andalucia, the southern part of the Iberian Peninsula. It was a time of productive and mostly peaceful coexistence among Spain’s Muslims, Christians, and Jews. As a leader in one of Jackson’s two mosques, Rashid welcomed the Spanish exhibition as an opportunity for showcasing this beautiful and unforgettable legacy of her faith.