New England Diary

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Islamic civilizations in Toronto

 Readers will enjoy this piece about the new Aga Khan Museum, in Toronto. It's the first institution in North America devoted to what the museum calls  the “artistic, intellectual, and scientific heritage of Islamic civilizations.” (Note the plural -- civilizations.)

The Wall Street Journal says the museum has "300 or so items on display date from the eighth through the 19th centuries and come from as far west as Morocco and Spain and as far east as India, Indonesia and China, with Egypt, Turkey, Iran and other lands in between.''

The institution sh0ws the diversity within Islam -- something that's particularly important to do in these difficult days.

The Aga Khan, a descendent of the Prophet Mohammed, is the spiritual leader of the Ismaili Muslims.