Journey of faith

摘要

In june 2009 Neil MacGregor, the director of the British Museum (bm), flew to Saudi Arabia, his first visit to the heart of the Islamic world. He wanted the blessing of the Saudi royal family. Mr MacGregor and Venetia Porter, the bm's keeper of Islamic art, spoke to the chairman of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities, Prince Sultan bin Salman (known locally as the "astronaut prince" for being the only Saudi to have travelled in space). They also met Princess Adila bint Abdullah, a daughter of the king and one of the few princesses with a public role in Saudi Arabia, and her husband, Prince Faisal bin Abdullah, the new minister of education. At each meeting they outlined in detail the bm's ambition: to put on the West's first big show about the haj, the annual holy pilgrimage to Mecca. All three royals were enthusiastic, which meant the project also had the king's support. Conscious of the bashing that Islam had taken in the West since Saudi-born hijackers flew their planes into the twin towers in New York nearly a decade earlier, they saw the power of cultural diplomacy. A show that emphasised the ancient tradition of the haj, one of the five pillars of Islam, would be a source of pride for Muslims and a clear reminder of Saudi Arabia's pre-eminent position in the Islamic world.