With the hard work and dedication of Co-Founders Mrs. Okolo Rashid and Mr. Emad Al-Turk and a steering team of national and international scholars, experts and community members, the Museum opened in April 2001 with a major exhibition, Moorish Spain: Its Legacy to Europe and the West as part of The Majesty of Spain, an international exhibition at the Mississippi Arts Pavilion in downtown Jackson’s Arts District. The museum attracted over 2,000 visitors in its first month of operation and continues to be a pioneer in sharing the beauty and majesty of the world’s Muslim cultures.