Baghdad plans Islamic museum on historic Rashid Street

BAGHDAD — Baghdad governorate plans to convert historic houses on Rashid Street into an Islamic museum as part of activities marking the city’s designation as Capital of Culture of the Islamic World for 2026.

Talib Issa, director of the Baghdad Cultural Center, told state-run newspaper Al-Sabah that the center is working to invest in heritage buildings on Rashid Street to establish “a historical and heritage Islamic museum” alongside broader cultural preparations. The proposed museum would include “various sciences, writings and historical activities” and document aspects “that were not previously highlighted,” he said.

Issa said old Baghdad contains neglected archaeological and heritage buildings that should be converted into museums welcoming delegations, visitors and researchers. He noted that Islamic museums already exist under the Sunni Endowment Diwan and in Karbala and Najaf, and that a similar institution is now planned for the capital.

The center is also preparing a special map tracing Baghdad from its foundation to the present day, and plans to publish an encyclopedia on the city’s history. Its archive holds tens of thousands of documents, 700 books and Ottoman- and Abbasid-era maps documenting different periods of the city’s history, attracting researchers and students interested in Baghdad’s past.

A program of events, seminars and forums has been prepared to coincide with the designation, with schools and civil society organizations involved in related campaigns. Issa also called for greater attention to Islamic heritage sites in other parts of the capital, including Nahrawan, al-Mada’in and Aqarquf.

Baghdad’s selection as Capital of Culture of the Islamic World follows its designation as Arab Tourism Capital last year, requiring what Issa described as “practical measures that enhance the status of the capital culturally and touristically on the global level.”