By John Keating
PARIS, April 14 (KUNA) -- French President Francois Hollande is to officially inaugurate the "Hajj Pilgrimage to Mecca" exhibit which opens April 23 at the Arab World Institute (IMA) here in the French capital, sources at the IMA said Monday.
It is the first visit to the Arab World Institute by the French leader.
IMA President Jack Lang said Hollande's decision to open the exhibit had "a double importance, moral and political" and was a demonstration of the French President's "personal support for this unique institution in the world which (France) has the honour of housing." The "Hajj" exhibit will run from April 23 to August 10. It is organised by IMA and Saudi Arabia's King Abdul-Aziz Public Library based in Riyadh, and in collaboration with the British Museum.
Hollande will be taking part in a special inauguration ceremony on April 22 ahead of the official opening to the public, the source told KUNA.
Lang said that the presence of the French leader at the inauguration also shows that "the President is expressing the respect he holds for the second religion of France." There are an estimated five-to-six million Muslims in this country out of a population of 63 million. About 50,000 Muslims per year leave France for the annual Hajj pilgrimage.
The forthcoming "Hajj" exhibit is the most important ever organised around the sacred pilgrimage and it will aim to show the different stages undertaken by the pilgrim through a series of works of art, miniatures, embroidery, sculptures, sketches and manuscripts as well as contemporary Saudi works.
While it will draw local populations and foreign visitors, the exhibit has a pedagogical goal to enlighten people to one of the greatest religions in the world, IMA said. (end) jk.nfm