The Islamic Museum of Australia is a community museum located in Melbourne. Opening in 2014, the museum aims to showcase the ‘artistic heritage and historical contributions of Muslims in Australia and abroad’ through the display of artworks and various historical artefacts and objects. At the moment, the museum’s permanent exhibition is focused on five themes: Islamic faith, Islamic contributions to civilisations, Islamic art, Islamic architecture and Australian Muslim history, thereby underlying its departure from the traditional and historical, essentially Western creation of a museum of Islamic arts, where Islam is represented almost from an areligious perspective. Contrastingly, at this museum, the Islamic faith is the starting point of the museum, focusing on portraying Islamic heritage both from a contemporary and historical viewpoints.

In addition to the museum’s permanent display, the Islamic Museum of Australia also presents a number of temporary shows each year. In the past some of its temporary exhibitions have examined the Holy Month of Ramadan, Australian Muslim artists and the theologian Imam al-Shafi’i. It seems the museum has a relatively wide-ranging approach to its exhibitions as it presents shows from theological, art historical, contemporary and historical perspectives, thereby not binding to a discipline but rather a topic: Islam.

Considering the often rather harsh reality of Muslims in the West in the post-9/11 world, museums such as the Islamic Museum of Australia are welcomed as they further help to combat against the harmful and often prevailing prejudices against the Islamic faith and Muslims. However, the museum has an even more important role as a community museum connecting Muslims both locally, nationally and internationally. When evaluating and assessing such projects, the effects and relationship of the institution vis-à-vis its community should be always regarded first. For museologists, the institution is intriguing as it presents a clear departure from the traditional museum of Islamic arts – let’s not forget that often this type of museums portray civilisations that are long gone. Contrastingly, the Islamic Museum of Australia, while including historical presentation, too, essentially focuses on the present moment and exhibits culture that is alive. The conversations at the museum and on-going and lively – most importantly, their participants have agency and are willing to use their voices.