Brussels, 15-01-2007

Do you know what was happening in Sweden in 1327, when the Mamluk Sultan Al-Nasir Muhammad Ibn Qalawun was restoring the dome of Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem? Or which events were taking place in Turkey whilst architects from North Africa were building palaces, castles and cathedrals for the Norman kings of Sicily in the 10th and 11th centuries?

An awareness of the parallelism of histories brings people closer to
each other and helps mutual understanding.

Now visitors to the www.discoverislamicart.org Virtual Museum can
cross-reference 1235 artefacts, monuments and archaeological sites from 14 countries with over 1000 dates from the histories of these countries. Everything is presented from a local perspective, offering a new approach to the understanding of history.

HCR is currently available in English and French; Arabic and Spanish
will follow in April.