Sheikha Al-Mayassa (L), daughter of Qatar's Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani
© AFP Karim Jaafar

DOHA (AFP) - Built on an artificial island 60 metres (yards) from the Doha Corniche, the museum houses 800 artistic and historical treasures from three continents, illustrating Islamic culture from the seventh to the 19th centuries.

"We want to show that Islam is a peaceful civilisation, which has always called for tolerance and coexistence amongst different peoples," Sheikha Al-Mayassa, daughter of the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, told journalists.

Islam is "a religion of tolerance, knowledge and civilisation and not of terrorism," she said.

The gas-rich Gulf state wants to "highlight the values of the Muslim civilisation and the role of that civilisation in bringing together cultures and human values," said Sheikha Al-Mayassa, president of the Qatar museums authority.

Among the guests at the inauguration were Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Gulf leaders, as well as Arab and foreign celebrities such as Robert De Niro.

The five-storey building, designed by Chinese-American architect Ieoh Ming Pei, whose other projects have included the Pyramide du Louvre in Paris, also houses exhibition halls, a library and an education centre, the sheikha said.

Qatar has few archaeological sites but sees the new museum as the first of a series of museums it plans to build.

"The Museum of Islamic Arts is the first stage in a project aimed a making Doha a world-famous cultural capital," said Abdullah al-Najjar, executive president of the Qatar museums authority.