I can understand Chirac but, what was Sarkozy thinking?

They have lost their fucking minds. When the islamists take over Paris the first they'll do is trash the Louvre. Raze it to the ground. This won't buy the savages off.

Are they blind too?

Hmm....anyone else remember that glass memorial to Che that Chavez put up somewhere in rural venezuela?

That's understandable considering the rise in Muslims in France. They're France's Mexicans. O.K. am I going to be deleted again for inappropriate remarks?

I'll worry more when they start putting veils on the actual art inside.

re: #5 nigella

That's understandable considering the rise in Muslims in France. They're France's Mexicans. O.K. am I going to be deleted again for inappropriate remarks?

The French actually conquered Mexico City during the time of the American civil war.

Apparently Napoleon wanted to add it to his empire.

Would this be the
"ahem"
militant wing ?

Um, what "Muslim Art" are they gonna display?

Love the comment - no matter what thye display some Muslims will be offended.

Make me director for day, I will ensure they all get offended.

I look forward to viewing the apogees of Islamic art and comparing it to the great artists of the western world. The louvre is a great museum.

The Louvre's new scarf calls to mind an article lawhawk posted earlier today about women in Egypt being harassed even when 'protected' by approved dress and headgear:

"It said 62 percent of Egyptian men reported perpetrating harassment, while 83 percent of Egyptian women reported having been sexually harassed. Nearly half of women said the abuse occurred daily.

...Some 53 percent of men blamed women for bringing on sexual harassment, saying they enjoyed it or were dressed in a way deemed indecent. Some women agreed.
...
The survey said most of the Egyptian women who told of being harassed said they were dressed conservatively, with the majority wearing the Islamic headscarf"

[Link: lawhawk.blogspot.com...]

re: #8 swamprat

Would this be the
"ahem"
militant wing ?

I'd call it "The Broken Wing"

re: #2 pingjockey

They have lost their fucking minds. When the islamists take over Paris the first they'll do is trash the Louvre. Raze it to the ground. This won't buy the savages off.

Mona Lisa is uncovered meat to them. Venus di Milo? Worse!

Quick, let's move the Louvre to the US where it can be appreciated.
How about replacing the UN with a nice art museum?

re: #9 realwest

Um, what "Muslim Art" are they gonna display?

Not a damn thing- they're just going to cover everything else in there up with headscarves....

re: #7 looking closely

The French actually conquered Mexico City during the time of the American civil war.

Apparently Napoleon wanted to add it to his empire.

Also, before it was used as a marketing gimmick to sell beer to ahistorical gringos, Cinco de Mayo commemorated the defeat of a numerically superior French military force by a ragtag bunch of Mexicans in 1862.

Yup. . .the French were beaten by Mexicans.

re: #9 realwest

Um, what "Muslim Art" are they gonna display?

I'm guessing geometric "tile art" and calligraphy. I think it's the only thing thing Islamic artists can do without offending... um.... everyone in their culture and getting beheaded.

LACMA Islamic Art Collection

It'll be a shame when they burn it.

I sometimes think the movie "Children of Men" contains more than a little bit of prophecy...

Where will the put the sculpture of the giant Islamic phallus? .

(For which to **** them. They seem to enjoy it)

re: #18 Pawn of the Oppressor

Except for all the moonbattery found in that piece of crap movie.

re: #12 jaunte

"It said 62 percent of Egyptian men reported perpetrating harassment, while 83 percent of Egyptian women reported having been sexually harassed. Nearly half of women said the abuse occurred daily.

Literacy rates for Egypt:

Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 71.4%
male: 83%
female: 59.4% (2005 est.))

I can understand having a wing dedicated to middle eastern art...the Louvre has a vast collection, and there is legitimate art that came out of the Islamic world.

But the timing is not the best. It reeks of subservience. Not to mention that I.M.Pei's glass pyramid was an abomination - totally out of place. And this new addition is yet another moderinstic tack-on to one of the most marvelous buildings ever created.

Better to house the Middle Eastern collection elsewhere.

re: #15 Fenway_Nation

Not a damn thing- they're just going to cover everything else in there up with headscarves....

They'll blow it up like they did with the Buddhas in Afghanistan.

Zhis ez a lovely rendering of a burnt car in umber, and over here ez acmed hamads' "infidelia after the stoning" in shades of red, and uh red, and more....red......we think that is supposed to represent the remains of her face.......moving on... a tribute to the Prophet.. and over zere,

re: #18 Pawn of the Oppressor

It'll be a shame when they burn it.

I sometimes think the movie "Children of Men" contains more than a little bit of prophecy heavy-handed and condescending references to Abu Grahib and preaching about illegal aliens...

Fixed that for you

Maybe, and I know this is wishful thinking, Sarkozy knows that no matter what, some Muslims are going to be pissed off at the museum. For instance when they show a depiction of Mohammed or for more extreme Muslims, when they have depictions of any human. Maybe Sarkozy knows this and knows it will focus irrational Muslim anger on the more liberal French and they'll wise up.

P.S. What if their first exhibit is cartoons?

re: #26 BirdFLU

Maybe, and I know this is wishful thinking, Sarkozy knows that no matter what, some Muslims are going to be pissed off at the museum. For instance when they show a depiction of Mohammed or for more extreme Muslims, when they have depictions of any human. Maybe Sarkozy knows this and knows it will focus irrational Muslim anger on the more liberal French and they'll wise up.

P.S. What if their first exhibit is cartoons?

Then I might take back most of the bad stuff I have said about the french.

That wavy piece of glass does not add anything to the Louvre. It looks like the beauty of a floating plastic trash bag in the wind.

Some call it art. The intelligence is in the engineering. I think someone got paid a lot for a silly idea.

I'm sure that 99% of this art was actually done by conquered non-Muslims.

Is there any Icarus mythology in the koran?

re: #22 Mike McDaniel

Better to house the Middle Eastern collection elsewhere.

Elsewhere it might get.... bombed.

Oops.

I meant "damaged."

Islamic inlay is amazing, intricate beyond belief. But to me this appears to be pandering. Still let us see. My bet would be on a hefty donation from overseas. This might reprsent a new tack, and a better one. Maybe it occured to somebody, that if you piss people off, they start pushing back. If this is a new front it is certainly a superior tactic.

Will there be separate sections for men and women?

Love the PR BS, Muslim science. A new blue Burqua?

France wants peace, it does not want a clash of civilisations between east and west

Given France's historical military record, I can understand its desire to avoid a clash.

The head scarf is a symbol of the oppression of Muslim women. Why would Liberal-socialist Euro-peons want to celebrate that? What do these Lefties do for brains? Where are the feminists? Too busy having abortions to actually learn the truth about the Muslim threat to their lives and freedom?

I think they should spend their money on replacing all those burned cars and keep the Islamic art in the Home and Garden decorative wing.

/snark

You have got to be kidding me! I saw the Roman Art from the Louvre when it was in Seattle, which was very fascinating. I am very disappointed by this but its Paris so what are you going to do. Lets just say I won't be seeing art from the Louvre for a while.

...and where in the Islamic world is there a museum with "Western Art," "Christian Art," "Oriental Art," or any non-Islamic art. It's a one-way street.

Two world wars and a cold war to protect Europe. Only to lose it to this barbarian culture without a fight. What a waste of American lives.

Sarkozy:

Islam carried with it the most ancient and most prestigious civilizations in the world … This [exhibit] is the occasion for the French and all the visitors to the Louvre to see that Islam is progress, science, finesse, modernity, and that fanaticism in the name of Islam is a deviation from Islam.

Ho-kay...

Bamiyan Buddhas, redux.

Islam is rabidly, theocratically iconoclastic, and does not support Art.

"An angel will not enter a building where there is a picture or a dog."

The best answer for the French is to hang only paintings of poker playing dogs in the new Saudi wing of the museum.

(And surround them with platinum and diamond-encrusted frames to appeal to the grotesque Midas-kitsch tastes of the Meccan pimps.)

re: #41 solomonpanting

Why the fuck can't anyone know the truth?

How about including some pictures of the beauty of female genital mutilation? Show women permanently scarred by the abuse. I'd advocate making it stuff showing the immediate after efects, but most times it is done to small girls, and thus would attract the worst sicko's in society.

re: #12 jaunte

The Louvre's new scarf calls to mind an article lawhawk posted earlier today about women in Egypt being harassed even when 'protected' by approved dress and headgear:

[Link: lawhawk.blogspot.com...]

Harassment on a mass scale, where crowds of young men attack women at random - has been in the news in Egypt several times.

This is a video of the Eid riot in Cairo in 2006, where gangs of men chased after and groped women. Scary.

Or just check out this pic - a modestly dressed woman being helped by a storekeeper, and thank goodness he was there, because she was surrounded by groping men trying to pull her clothes off. I think her face says it all.

i thought art is harram?

re: #43 astronmr20

Why the fuck can't anyone know the truth?

Polite diplospeak is necessary when surrounded by a few million Muslims.

That just makes you feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside.

re: #6 looking closely

They'll start with the Mona Lisa

re: #39 annakita

I thought "Islamic Art" was a mutually exclusive concept. Anyone can do it. You don't need talent--just a Spirograph.

Let's see..........

Depiction of the human form.........no
Depiction of the female face and hair.....no
Depiction of Allah.............no
Depiction of the word, Allah.........no
Depiction of cover of Burger King ice cream cover......no
Depiction of Piglet............no
Depiction of Bacon........no
Depiction of two women being executed.....YES!
Depiction of beheadings.........Yes!
Depiction of Rabbit loosing his foot for stealing.....Of Course.
Cartoons...........blow up the Louvre, museum of Blasphemy!

Next, the wing housing Islamic contributions to civilization over the past 1000 years....a very small, small wing...

Are they going to display any of these, I wonder?
Examples of Islamic Depictions of Muhammad

I guess the plan is to civilize the barbarians by having them come to art museums instead of raping, murdering and blowing things up. I'm reminded that the ancient Egyptians attempted to domesticate the hyena which worked about as well as this will.

I wouldn't feel too safe working there. I assume they're aware that at least one branch of islam says art is bad and one of the many things that puts allah in kill mode.

First art museum with a metal detector at the door maybe?

re: #5 nigella

That's understandable considering the rise in Muslims in France. They're France's Mexicans. O.K. am I going to be deleted again for inappropriate remarks?

Oh I get it, here they wash the cars, there they burn them?

Hang on. Let's get to the heart of the matter.
There is indeed some truly beautiful art from the Islamic world, despite its ridiculous limitations regarding the depiction of humans and animals. Just look at the Alhambra.
It's not their historical art which is a problem. It's the theology itself which is so poisonous.

Doesn't every capital city's museum have an Islamic wing?

I like Islamic art, but the veil is pathetic. France earned my respect for banning the veil, now they are celebrating it?

The veil says many things, depending on who is wearing is. It can say

"I am so brainwashed, that I am happy to be oppressed"
"I dare not wear this other wise society will shun me, the police will arrest me, my family will disown me and my husband will beat me"
"I think this looks cool and cultural, but I'm not really thinking about stuff"
"I wear this to get in your kuffar faces. It's a symbol of my intransigence to terrorism, my belligerence to your society, my sense of belonging to a vilified group"
"My Imam and husband tell me to wear this. A good wife does not question"

Whatever it says, it is obnoxious and unacceptable - and for the French to celebrate it shows a deep, fundamental disrespect towards women and western society in general.

I know its a dead thread and all...but its important to remember that Sarkozy's guest Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud is the same stooge that Rudy Guiliani said was smirking as he toured ground zero. Guiliani told him to take his check and stuff it.

Has anyone donated a Mohammad painting yet?

re: #55 StudSupreme

Hang on. Let's get to the heart of the matter.
There is indeed some truly beautiful art from the Islamic world, despite its ridiculous limitations regarding the depiction of humans and animals. Just look at the Alhambra.

The Alhambra is beautiful, but I would say that it is a work of spectacularly decorated architecture, rather than a work of art.

It also occurs to me that my parents have, in their home, a framed latchhook rug depicting a scene of autumn trees. My mother latchhooked it, following the design printed on the canvas, and I suppose the results are more or less beautiful. But the fact that it's beautiful does not make it art, nor my mother an artist.

I wonder how many of the "Islamic artworks" on display in the Louvre will bear the name of a specific Muslim artist?

A whole wing for the spirograph stuff that passes for art in islam? At least it won't be a big wing. Maybe it will be about all the art they've destroyed.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that, on second thoughts, this louvre thing is probably not such a bad idea.

For starters, it's typically french, in the sense of 'we don't give a blind **** what everyone else thinks, we're gonna do this and do it in the most spectacular way'. This is something which has always kind of irritated me about this country, but at the same time I admire the gaullish pig-headedness that's behind it.

Secondly, this will simply shine the light on another aspect of islam. This is in itself neutral and shining a light is generally a good thing.

Thirdly, it'll give french muslims something to aspire to, instead of burning cars and people. Whether they manage to live up to that aspiration remains to be seen (I'm not too optimistic there myself, but you never know).

Misery seems to spawn great art for some reasonre: #50 calcajun

pmsl

re: #57 uptight
Yeah, I'm not too crazy about the veil thing myself. The only justification for it that I can think of is that it is in fact the single icon that immediately springs to mind when thinking about something Islamic which can serve as a cover.

10% of the French population is Muslim, among the highest in Western Europe. And Middle Eastern oil goes mostly to Europe, not to the U.S. Without it, the French economy stagnates.

The French have no choice but to appease their Muslims, and brown nose the Arabs.

Hmm....anyone else remember that glass memorial to Che that Chavez put up somewhere in rural venezuela?

Glass Monument to Che in Venezuela Shot.

Yup, now it's ground glass...:)

[Link: www.breitbart.com...]

Draw a veil over artistic 'neglect.'? How exactly does drawing a veil which is an imposed covering over something UNCOVER IT?

and.. never mind that ..counting architecture [which is the best thing they've got], and elaborate koranic calligraphy, there is very little islamic 'art'. It is void of humanity and nature.

Well, Parisians better hope that muslims aren't somehow offended by it (my guess is - they'll find a way).

Cheese hummus-eating surrender monkeys.

behead those who reject the giant head scarf!

/

Can't wait for the portraits of Mohammad and cartoons about him to show up in the Louvre. After all, it's about free speech and artistic endaevors. But starting out with a veil? I mean why not start out with a scimitar as well? Both are signs of jihad and oppression.

Exhibits can include:
Palestinian child indoctrination finger painting.
Exhibit which chronicles the evolution of the suicide bomber and airline hijacker.
Talaban fun paints!
French car burnings- an introspective.
Al-Qaeda 'how to' manual complete with illustrated fatwas!
The 'Osama-lisa'- fabuloso!
and no Islamic exhibit would be complete without a painted map of the Middle East.........without Israel, of course.

Will the put the piss mohammed beside the piss Christ?

Bingo! The Islamic Golden Age lasted until all the conquered Dhimmis, who did all the work, either converted to Islam or left for Europe or elsewhere. Things then went downhill...

re: #29 jenv

I'm sure that 99% of this art was actually done by conquered non-Muslims.

re: #9 realwest

Um, what "Muslim Art" are they gonna display?

Prayer rugs
Chastity belts
Bloodstained bedsheets
Shahidin notes
Shahidin videos
Shahidin bomb vests
911 remembrance photos and videos
Flight 93 memorial design sketches
Grade B and C centrifuge tubes
Diagrams of how to tie a noose
Mosque and minaret photos and drawings
Calligraphy (in arabic, of course)
Water fountains
Swords

And last but not least,
A pair of feathers, one of them broken and bloody

It will make a nice enterance for the ladies when they finally turn it into a mosque.

islamic art?

...does not compute.

I think I already know how to say 'You idiots', in French, but how do you say 'you're pissing into the wind'? - Qu'est-ce folie!

I have no real problem with their decision to open an Islamic Art exhibit on some level. But this..."veil" thing....

....I'm trying to find the right words which appropriately describe my feelings in a nutshell....

As someone who loves the Louvre and everything which it contains, all that I can say is that I am really, really fucking offended.

re: #78 Patriot

"Vous pissez dans le vent."

islamic art consists of tile work and calligraphy. it doesn't warrant a whole wing in the lourve or in any art museum. maybe an occasional exhibit.
but why exalt the backward cult of islam? why lend credence to their stone age beliefs?
this is an insult to all the artists and their masterpieces in the lourve, many of which, the islamists will destroy in a second, if they get the opportunity they are pushing for.
the western world must stop elevating barbarians as if they actually are relevant in modern society as a positive influence.

Coming soon to a theatre near you: "The Song of Aisha"!

A re-working of the classic tale!

Finally, the truth can be told!

"Remember that France wasn’t just built on secularism, it was built on a rabid, foaming-at-the-mouth, string-up-the-priests brand of virulent secularism that makes Hitchens look like a drunk kitten." (from the article)

It still baffles me that the Left, French as well as our own affiliates of adamant atheist/materialist socialisms--seem eager to make concessions to Islam. Is it entirely cynical or is there an element of desperation, of delusion, in these propitiations? The live by Reason, which they believe will trump the dangerous elements of Muslim zealotry, flattery will buy respect. These efforts strain with hope for peaceful coexistence. An uglier and related tactic in the strategy of appeasement is to show hostility towards Israel and vile antisemitism, with aggressive insult and contempt directed against Christianity, with special virulence against Catholicism.

re: #65 quickjustice

10% of the French population is Muslim, among the highest in Western Europe. And Middle Eastern oil goes mostly to Europe, not to the U.S. Without it, the French economy stagnates.

The French have no choice but to appease their Muslims, and brown nose the Arabs.

Yes, the strategy of pragmatism and false hope in the power of reason, and the ability to rationalize any atrocity, in order to appease tyranny. We've got the same thing in the U.S., but here it is a faction not the whole nation.

50- yeah, or an "Etch-a-Sketch".

Well Frahnce has the Pompidou Center, plumbers nightmare, and now it has Shmatta CEntral. Muslims don't allow art.So why the effort. Maybe they will stop torchin' cars and this building can be turned into a parking gare later.

I am assuming the Islamic Wing will have blast proof doors.

Just saw this on Yahoo News -- Cat Stevens wins a libel award ([Link: news.yahoo.com...]

And I was listening to NPR yesterday (I'm not a leftist, really) and I heard a show on how easy it is to win libel awards outside the USA.
I thinks the News report should have underscored Cat Steven's religion's view of women; and related how much easier it is to win an award of htis type as long as the case is not brought in the USA.

re: #87 kansas

That as well as a daily 'explosion' in the exhibit area. Blasting times are 10, 12 & 2 each day.

France surrenders.

Again.

I'm sure they'll have a giant glass yarmulke any day now.

One commenter on the original article site has already played the "Racist!" card...

Visit Paris and the Louvre if you have not done so already since it may back in the 7th century by the time the next generation arrives. The Louvre will be razed but some of its contents may be sold to the foreign infidels to pay for new mosques.

re: #61 bill shears

A whole wing for the spirograph stuff that passes for art in islam? At least it won't be a big wing. Maybe it will be about all the art they've destroyed.

That's funny.

When I read the title I had no idea that it was a real glass evocation of a veil.
Sheesh. It can sit there with the Pyramid, the skeletal tinfoil hat.

# 92 " I'm sure they'll have a giant glass yarmulke any day now."

LOL

The Islamic world spends 700 years exploring tiling and tesselation, and then M.C. Escher's free mind turned it into art instead of sterile geometry.