The museum, located in the Lamongan’s Paciran district, depicts the grandeur of Islam throughout the globe through various features displayed across three main zones.

The first zone is the museum’s audio-visual zone, where visitors can watch a short 15-minute film about the history of Islamic civilizations, from the Arab peninsula, the arrival of Prophet Muhammad and the caliphate period, to the worldwide propagation of Islam.

The museum’s second zone features historical objects from the past glory of Islam from ancient kingdoms and empires located in Turkey, Mughal (now Pakistan and India) China and Indonesia.

Golden letters: A Quran written in gold ink believed to date back to the 13th century. (JP/Nedi Putra AW)

Finally, the third zone displays a diorama of three-dimensional miniatures, ranging from the Banten Grand Mosque to the ship of Admiral Cheng-Ho. This area also serves as a photo spot for visitors, who are shown by a guide around the museum for a fee of Rp 15,000 (US$1.04) on weekdays and Rp 20,000 on weekends.   

Islamic Museum Foundation manager Reno Halsamer said he set up the museum on Dec. 28, 2016, in view of Indonesia’s dire need to have a gallery describing the early history of Islam.