SHARJAH // Celebrations to mark Sharjah Islamic Culture Capital 2014 began yesterday with the Clusters of Light operetta bringing together the emirate’s senior officials with artists from throughout the Arab world.
The opening was inaugurated by Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, the Ruler of Sharjah, at the 7,238 square metre amphitheatre on Al Majaz Island.
Sheikh Sultan said that people’s differences should be embraced.
“Dialogue and understanding of each other is the Islamic approach, and one that was adopted by the Prophet Mohammed, and it represented an important aspect of Islamic civilisation,” Dr Sheikh Sultan said.
He also said that Islam was a religion of forgiveness and urged all Muslims to treasure this value by forgiving others, and God will forgive them as well.
Mohammed Assaf, the popular Palestinian singer, opened the stage show, followed by artists such as Hussein Al Jasmi, Ali El Haggar and Lotfi Bouchnak.
Clusters of Light, an epic musical show, was written by Dr Abdul Rahman Al Ashmawi, a Saudi poet, and composed by the Bahraini artist Khalid Al Shaikh. The soundtrack was recorded by the German Film Orchestra Babelsberg in Berlin, led by the German composer Christian Steinhauser.
The stage show, a narration of the biography of the Prophet Mohammed from his birth until his passing, features more than 200 actors and 70 musicians, with cinematic visuals and live performances.
The show started with the pre-Islamic period, showcasing the worship of idols and the popularly-known Year of the Elephant, in which the Prophet Mohammed was born.
It then highlighted key Islamic events, including the starting of the revelations, the historical journey of Isra wal Miraj, the first migration to Abyssinia and the major migration to Medina, the different Islamic battles, and finally the death of the Prophet.
Clusters of Light will be staged for another four days at the amphitheatre, after which the oratorio will travel to a number of other Arab cities around the world. Tickets for the show cost Dh50.
The Executive Committee for Sharjah’s Islamic Culture Capital 2014 celebrations have planned a wide range of projects, programmes and events. These include 21 landmark heritage, tourism, cultural and urban projects, and more than 100 events in various parts of Sharjah throughout the current year.
Dr AbdulAziz Othman Al Twaijir, the director general of the Islamic Education Scientific and Cultural Organisation, said the selection of Sharjah as the Islamic culture capital had been reached after the emirate fulfilled all the criteria of its contribution to the science and culture of Islam.
He said the emirate had scientific research centres and libraries with manuscripts and books of Islam that preserved Islamic literature.
He said the emirate also boasted several cultural institutions, theatre, books and fine art exhibitions.
ykakande@thenational.ae
