The Institute du Monde Arabe is a stunning building on Paris’ Left Bank. The glass tower has a elaborate high tech system of metal curtains to control the heat that work like thousands of camera lenses but arranged in patterns like the windows of minarets to create an infinite set of possible configurations. Fourteenth century meets twenty first century.

The role of the institute appears to be to promote cooperation and promotion of Arab culture and values in France. As part of that, the top floors house a beautiful and minimalist museum of Arab history that is the most politically correct place I have ever visited. Every display on the Arab role in the history of science, art, language, and religion is walking on egg shells trying to be clear on the historic leadership of the Arab world without sounding provocative. The descriptions of all the exhibits appeared to have been written by committee and are practically unintelligible.

It gets most tricky when discussing religion of course. Arab identity can be traced back 3000 years so Arabs clearly pre-date Christianity but also pre-date Islam. Even though today most Arabs are Muslim, there have been Arab Christian and Arab Jewish states. The Museum respectfully discusses the three main religions to come out of the Middle East but then says that, though the Koran appeared later than the Bible or the Torah, it is really the word of God expressed through the Prophet so the history doesn’t matter.

They also go to great lengths to make sure visitors understand that the word “semitic” is used to describe a group of languages from which both Arabic and Hebrew come, and is not a racial grouping that is unique to Jews or a political description of Israel. Along those lines though, it’s interesting that the map at the entrance of the museum that shows the Arab countries and their neighbours, does appear to be missing one. Political correctness only goes so far it seems.