Sarkozy lauds Islam at Louvre ceremony with Saudi prince
PARIS (AFP) — French President Nicolas Sarkozy praised Islam on Wednesday
at a ceremony with
Saudi Prince Al Walid bin Talal to lay the first stone for a new Islamic
art section of the
Louvre museum.
"This will be an op****tunity for the French and all visitors to the Louvre
to see that Islam is
progress, science, finesse, modernity, and that fanaticism in the name of
Islam is a corruption
of Islam," Sarkozy said at the ceremony.
The new exhibition space is due to open in 2010 after the 86-million-euro
(136-million-dollar)
renovation project is completed at the Louvre, which draws more than seven
million visitors per
year.
The Saudi prince, one of the world's richest men, is contributing 17
million euros, while oil
giant Total and Lafarge will put up 8.5 million euros each, with the
remainder to be covered by
the government.
The new display will open in the Louvre's Cour Visconti, moving closer to
the museum's rooms
devoted to art and artefacts from the late Antiquity and the Mediterranean
region.
Sarkozy also underscored the im****tance of the new Mediterranean union
launched by more than 40
leaders including Arab heads of state at a Paris summit on Sunday to
foster cooperation.
"France is a friend of Arab countries," said Sarkozy. "France wants peace,
France does not want
a clash of civilisations between the West and the East", which he said
"would spell catastrophe
for the world."
"It is in the Mediterranean that everything will be won or lost," said
Sarkozy. "France is
committed to ensure that all will be won."
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gk1dSpi_cAfrUYfml0mYxWeAAtuw
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