EuQu Exhibition The European Qur’ān at Weltmuseum Wien

The European Qur’ān

18 September 2024 to 24 August 2025

What role does the Holy Scripture of Islam, the Qur’an, play in the history of European thought?

How has it been read and understood in Europe since the first translations in the Middle Ages? A special exhibition opening in autumn 2024 at the Weltmuseum Wien is dedicated to these questions. It will illustrate the diverse ways in which the Qur’an has been experienced, read, and interpreted in Europe. With original historical artefacts, contemporary works of art, and media installations, the exhibition, which was developed in collaboration with the research network The European Qur’an –The Qu’ran in Europe, shows the significance of the Qur’an in the lives of Europeans.

About the exhibition

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. https://www.weltmuseumwien.at/…/exh…/the-european-quran/

Qu’ran Collection North Africa, Near and
Central Asia, Siberia
Leather, paper Weltmuseum Wien
© KHM-Museumsverband