Interest in the Islamic arts has grown tremendously in recent years. Reflecting this awareness, in December 1998, Malaysia became home to Southeast Asia’s largest museum of Islamic art. The building occupies 30,000 square metres, situated amid the leafy surroundings of Kuala Lumpur's Perdana Botanical Gardens.

The Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia houses more than 7,000 artefacts, as well as an exceptional library of Islamic art books. The art objects on display range from the tiniest pieces of jewellery to one of the world’s largest scale models of the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca.

Instead of concentrating on works from the heartlands of Persia and the Middle East, IAMM also puts the emphasis on Asia. China and Southeast Asia are especially well represented here. The third component of the Malaysian melting pot is India, which is also given special status. India, China and the Malay world are in an exclusive category.

Other parts of the collection are displayed according to types of artefacts rather than geographical origins in the museum's 12 galleries.

For more information, visit www.iamm.org.my