EuQu is organizing major exhibitions around Europe.
Our first exhibition “The European Qur’an” is taking place at the museum Weltmuseum in Vienna (September 2024 – August 2025) in Austria.
About the exhibition at the Weltmuseum
The exhibition begins with the Muslim experience of the Qurʾān as holy scripture. Qurʾān recitations, calligraphies, and illuminated manuscripts contrast the understanding of the Qurʾān 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 Qurʾān 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 fascinating and admiring. Finally, a third section examines the significance of the Qurʾān in the present day. The idea is to stimulate reflection on the many ways in which the Qurʾān can be read in European societies of the present.
EuQu will also organize two exhibitions, one at the Bibliothèque municipale of Nantes, France (May-August 2025) and one in Tunis, Tunisia (February-May 2025) called “Le Coran vu d’ailleurs” with the Institut de Recherche sur le Maghreb Contemporain (IRMC), the Bibliothèque Nationale of Tunis and the Institut National du Patrimoine.
The exhibitions will trace the history of the European Qur’an from the Middle Ages to the present. We will display (in physical and digital form) some of the most important manuscripts and printed editions of the Qur’an (in Arabic, Greek, Latin and various European vernaculars), as well as key works of exegesis, polemics, chronicles and material objects that show the place of the Qur’an in European cultural history. While the research of EuQu is focused the Medieval and Early Modern periods, the exhibition will take the story up until the twentieth century, paying attention to the use of the Qur’an in European scholarship, in the context of European colonization of Muslim countries, and in the daily practice of European Muslims. In order to ensure sensitivity to Muslims visitors and maximize impact on stakeholders, we will have local Muslim and intercultural associations participate in the preparation of the exhibition in each of the venues. We will also produce an online version of the exhibition and a catalogue (available in print and as an online interactive PDF) as well as digital animations and short .
Copyright image :
Marwan Shahin
God is Perfect (Portrait of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)
2024
Draft for 3D printed UV inks on aluminum with gold chrome finish mounted on PVC
© Marwan Shahin