Much of Qatar’s cultural ambitions can be traced back to its emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, and his 26-year-old daughter, Sheikha al Mayassa, an avid film and art buff with a seemingly bottomless purse.
For anyone who has even a little knowledge of the Qatar Museums, they will know that this is a wholesale lie.
The Islamic Museum (as with the photography museum, orientalist museum, library, national museum....) were all being renovated under the watchful eye of Sheikh Saoud. It was Sheikh Saoud who picked the architects, purchased the bulk of the collections, and did all the hard work. He was later found to have stolen about US$500,000,000 and was then quietly put under house arrest, never to be spoken of again.
Sheikha Mayassa just had the good fortune to become the Chairman of QMA at a time when the MIA was almost completed. All the other projects were cancelled following the departure of Sheikh Saoud. It's unfair and untrue to give the credit to undeserving people, while ignoring the massive contribution made by Sheikh Saoud.
I found this comment interesting:
Much of Qatar’s cultural ambitions can be traced back to its emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, and his 26-year-old daughter, Sheikha al Mayassa, an avid film and art buff with a seemingly bottomless purse.
For anyone who has even a little knowledge of the Qatar Museums, they will know that this is a wholesale lie.
The Islamic Museum (as with the photography museum, orientalist museum, library, national museum....) were all being renovated under the watchful eye of Sheikh Saoud. It was Sheikh Saoud who picked the architects, purchased the bulk of the collections, and did all the hard work. He was later found to have stolen about US$500,000,000 and was then quietly put under house arrest, never to be spoken of again.
Sheikha Mayassa just had the good fortune to become the Chairman of QMA at a time when the MIA was almost completed. All the other projects were cancelled following the departure of Sheikh Saoud. It's unfair and untrue to give the credit to undeserving people, while ignoring the massive contribution made by Sheikh Saoud.
If it weren't for him the MIA would not exist.