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Episode details

World Service,21 Sep 2012,55 mins

Newshour Special: The Louvre, Paris – New gallery of Islamic art

Newshour

Available for over a year

As violent protests are sparked by a film deemed offensive to Muslims, it is more important than ever for the West and the Muslim world to understand each other. So the opening of the Louvre's new gallery of Islamic art couldn't be more timely. Newshour comes live from Paris - from the heart of the museum - as it celebrates one of the biggest developments in its history. Razia Iqbal is joined by the Director of the Louvre Henri Loyrette and speaks to Prince Alwaleed of Saudi Arabia, the biggest individual donor to the new gallery. We ask whether culture can soothe the inflamed relations between the West and the Muslim world. We look at the shifting balance of power in the Middle East as the old centres of Arab civilisation give way to the newly- assertive Gulf. And we ask what sort of Islam will ultimately prevail? (Image: The roof of the new Islamic art department of the Louvre Museum designed by Italian Mario Bellini and French Rudy Ricciotti, both architects, in the Visconti courtyard. Credit: KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP/GettyImages)

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