The Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina has launched the Museum of Islamic Culture and Art in Sarajevo, opening to visitors Sunday with a permanent exhibition across three historic sites: Gazi Husrev-beg Hanikah, Kuršumlija Medresah and the Gazi Husrev-beg Library.

The museum collects, preserves, researches and presents Islamic cultural heritage, with particular emphasis on the Bosniak experience of Islam shaped over centuries in Europe.

Reis-l-ulema Husein-ef. Kavazović called the opening a historic moment and said the museum would help preserve the cultural and spiritual heritage that has shaped Bosniak identity.

“For all of us, this is an extremely important day that we have been waiting for almost a century,” he said, describing the museum as the beginning of a long-term effort to collect, preserve and present Islamic heritage.

The collections span centuries of creativity, including Quranic manuscripts, calligraphic works and objects made of wood, metal and canvas. One of the museum’s most significant exhibits is a manuscript of Al-Ghazali’s Ihya ulumiddin, copied in 1106 and considered the oldest book in the Gazi Husrev-beg Library.

Located within the historic architectural complex of Gazi Husrev-beg’s endowments, the museum aims to serve not only as a guardian of the past but also as a center for culture, education, research and dialogue.

The project follows decades of planning and six years of intensive work by the Directorate for Education and Science of the Islamic Community. Director Dževad Hodžić called it among the institution’s most significant projects.

Beyond its exhibitions, the museum will continue research, documentation and preservation of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Islamic cultural heritage.