The Art gallery of Islamic Cultural Heritage and Al-Quran Learning Center will provide a window to the far South as being a multicultural melting container through the pages of the holy text, observers say.
The museum, under construction in Narathiwat’s Yi Ngo district, is slated for an official opening at the end of next year.
Deputy government spokeswoman Rachada Dhnadirek said the museum will be a centrepiece attraction, attracting visitors with an appetite to learn about the region’s rich history like a pluralist society.
As a specific government representative trying to tackle problems in the South, Ms Rachada recently took the particular media on a tour of the region, ahead of a women diplomats occasion in Pattani, Songkhla and Narathiwat in September and October.
Among the highlights was a trip to the museum, which usually sheds light on how the South’s Muslim population settled in the area alongside Buddhists and mainland Chinese.
Early settlers from starkly various backgrounds lived in peace and tranquility.
The museum’s construction provides progressed rapidly. Its main building right now shows off the impact of local structures and intricate Islamic designs.
The museum’s principal feature is the display of old Quran holy scriptures, secured in glass cabinets.
Furthermore exhibited is a technique of restoring damaged scriptures by Fine Arts Department-trained artisans.
These experts are required to have knowledge of various types of barks, papers and parchments.
The museum furthermore contains a large assortment of books and old texts set aside pertaining to studying the local someones way of life as well as the systems of bygone eras.
Additionally, there are separate Muslim plea rooms for men plus women.
According to museum chief executive Lutfi Haji Samae and Hassami Salae, executive of the Smanmitwithya School in Pattani, the museum houses 79 old Qurans donated by faithful residents.
Mr Lutfi said the story of the museum began with an uniform from neighbouring Malaysia establishing a studying centre, complete with a number of Quran scriptures.
The center piqued public desire for the conservation associated with Quran texts.
The Fine Arts Department then offered to teach the right way to correctly restore older scriptures.
Meanwhile, a group of rights advocates from Chicken who visited victims of the 2004 Indian native Ocean earthquake plus tsunami in Asia, contributed to repair efforts.
After that, several local people with old Qurans donated their valuable books to art gallery project officials with regard to restoration.
The books received new covers plus placed in the museum’s collection.
Mr Lutfi mentioned Pattani was every major port town in the 18th century with a trade url to other kingdoms like Ayutthaya, Srivijaya, Langkasuka and Nusantara.
At the time, the town welcomed voyagers from Egypt, Yemen and Persia who were en route to China, he said.
Old Quran scriptures found in the far Southern — estimated to be 150–1, 100 years outdated — are believed to have originated from Nusantara, India, China, Persia, Egypt, Yemen, Morocco, Spain, Africa and Uzbekistan.
The age of the scriptures is determined by analysing their materials, the earliest which were made of goat skin, predating the use of paper.
The style of Quran scripts and the accompanying design patterns of pages also indicate their age.
A total of 79 Quran texts happen to be gathered by the art gallery and are prized for his or her historical and fictional value.
“They are like cultural maps that transport people back to the old Muslim world, inch Mr Lutfi said.
Presently, the museum is in its soft opening stage, which has captivated approximately 160, 500 visitors so far, he said.
He added with the recent normalisation of diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia, the particular museum expects to welcome more visitors from the Middle Eastern.
Mr Lutfi and Ms Hassami agreed that this museum puts throughout a message of historical peaceful coexistence among locals of different faiths, including Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists, in the area.
Nowadays, the effects of interfaith tranquility can still be seen.
Songkhla’s Wat Tham Talod in Saba Yoi district displays a blend of religious designs stemming from the Ayutthaya time period and southern artwork.
A Malay merchant has also commissioned the casting of a Buddha sculpture that is respected simply by all residents.
In some organizations in the district, occupants agreed to let Muslims and Buddhists take turns serving as village head.
Ms Rachada said the beauty of understanding, inter-cultural living needs to be showcased for everyone to see and witness via tourism.
The government is ready to support such programmes to bring back the tourism business in the far Southern, which has been battered by the Covid-19 pandemic, she said.