The Mawlid al-Nabi Exhibition, prepared in cooperation with the Independent Industrialists and Businessmen Association (MÜSİAD) and the Islamic Arts Application and Research Centre of Fatih Sultan Mehmet Vakıf University (FSMVU), was opened at the MÜSİAD Head Office with the honoured attendance of Minister of Industry and Technology Mustafa Varank.
The opening of the exhibition, which will remain open to art lovers until Friday, 20 December, was held with the participation of Minister of Industry and Technology Mustafa Varank, President of MÜSİAD Abdurrahman Kaan and FSMVÜ Rector Prof. Dr. M. Fatih Andı.
“Exhibitions Such as the Mawlid al-Nabi Exhibition Are Very Important for Us”
Speaking at the opening of the exhibition, Minister Varank conveyed that he was proud to be at the exhibition and that such exhibitions are in fact very important in that they display the identity of our own civilization, which led the world for centuries.
Varank noted the following:
“Exhibitions such as the Mawlid al-Nabi Exhibition are truly very important in terms of introducing to the whole world our civilization, which was once at the summit in science and technology and at the same time at the summit in art and aesthetics. I would like to thank MÜSİAD. Only if business people genuinely embrace this cause can we give our artists and our works of art the value they deserve. I also thank FSMVÜ in this sense.
This exhibition has a special meaning for us. The coordinator of this exhibition, our teacher Betül Bilgin, was the teacher who wrote the inscription on the front of our wedding invitation when we got married. Because of the teacher who wrote that inscription, this exhibition carries different meanings for us. May this exhibition bring blessings to our İstanbul. We need to promote the exhibition well. We say that all the people of İstanbul should come here.”
"We Contribute to the Promotion of Our Country Through Cultural Diplomacy Activities"
President of MÜSİAD Abdurrahman Kaan, for his part, stated that they regard the revival of our own civilization as one of their most important ideals and that they take their steps around this purpose with the inspiration they draw from their own meaning and roots, and said: “In line with this ideal, by establishing MÜSİAD Art we contribute to the exhibition of works brought forth with great labour and refinement, as reflections of the cultural richness of our geography, which has been shaped by the imprint of Turkish-Islamic civilization.”
Stating that as MÜSİAD they have formed a committee named “Cultural Economies, Media and Penetration” in this new period which they call the Renewal Process, Kaan said: “Through our organizational network and branches at home and abroad, we are making an intensive effort to promote works belonging to our own essence. Through the cultural diplomacy activities we carry out via our organizational network, we make a great contribution to the promotion of our country and our spiritual values.”