Dubai, August 28, 2007: Dubai-based Muslim Heritage Consulting has launched the world's first online image library dedicated to the history of the Muslim world, aptly named www.MuslimHeritageImages.com
The library includes thousands of images, such as manuscripts starting from the 10th Century, as well as contemporary pictures of people, architecture and important artefacts from museums.
Many of the images are unique recreations of pivotal moments in history, such as pioneering early surgical work carried out in the Middle East centuries before similar treatments were available in Europe.
Treasured collections from the past telling the true story of Muslim civilisation have been hidden in museums, library archives and private collections all over the world. Bringing together image collections from acclaimed photographers such as Werner Forman and manuscripts from the Sulaymaniye Library in Turkey, the new service, MuslimHeritageImages.com, offers thousands of eye-catching pictures illustrating various aspects of Muslim history.
While Europe experienced what is commonly known as the Dark Ages, Muslim civilisation and culture was thriving in a golden era of a thousand years of science and discovery, but this history has remained relatively unknown.
Recent efforts by many organisations like the BBC, National Geographic, the History Channel and even Dubai-based Nakheel's Ibn Battuta Mall have been attempting to re-discover this lost history.
Interest in the Muslim world has been growing rapidly, so it is important to have a definitive, reliable and trustworthy source of images on the subject, according to Samia Khan, spokesperson for Muslim Heritage Images.
"One of the biggest challenges for museums, publishers and production companies has been trying to relate these stories from the past using imagery which is extremely difficult to find. Muslim Heritage Images has brought together thousands of images of manuscripts, and photos of Muslim culture, history and people and made it accessible using a simple online format," she said.
While some images highlighting Muslim history are already available from other libraries, this is the first time they have all been available from one source, marking an important jump forward, said senior consultant Dr Rabah Saoud.
"As they say, an image is worth a thousand words. Images about Muslim heritage are particularly important as they recount the success story of more than one thousand years of golden Muslim civilisation," he said.
"This service is long waited and is a start for building a resourceful database which is pertinent for scholars, researchers, artists and history enthusiasts."
The image service has been developed by Dubai-based Muslim Heritage Consulting, an educational consultancy dedicated to highlighting this period of innovation, and the shared heritage of mankind.
Through its partnership with the Foundation for Science Technology and Civilisation (UK), Muslim Heritage Consulting has produced "1001 Inventions", an international educational initiative using travelling exhibitions, classroom teaching products and an award winning book. In Dubai, Muslim Heritage Consulting prepared the extensive research that allowed the reproduction of iconic exhibits in the Ibn Battuta shopping mall.
-Ends-
Notes to Editors
For more details about Muslim Heritage Consulting, please refer to www.MuslimHeritageConsulting.com
For more details about the image service, please refer to www.MuslimHeritageImages.com
For more information contact Omar Van Der Lek at images@muslimheritage.org or +971 4329 2222
Photographs
http://www.muslimheritage.com/feedbackuploads/MHILot.jpg
http://www.muslimheritage.com/feedbackuploads/MHIFlu.jpg
http://www.muslimheritage.com/feedbackuploads/MHIAst.jpg
© Press Release 2007
