Ghana ThinkTank was invited by the Museum De Lakenhal to travel to the Netherlands to spark a dialogue about the problems and concerns of the citizens of Leiden in regards to globalization. The project coincided with the attack on the Charlie Hebdo offices in Paris and the problem most-mentioned was the discrimination of Muslims and the rise of intolerance in the Netherlands.
Solutions proposed by several of the think tanks in Islamic countries called on the Dutch to reconnect with their history with Islam and how it helped foster tolerance during the nation’s founding. (A crescent moon sits over the top of city hall). Ghana ThinkTank sought to bring the tolerance represented by Islam and merge it with a symbolic beacon of tolerance in the Netherlands. They found it in the Anne Frank House.
The result was Monument to the Dutch, an installation that was part of the Global Imaginations exhibit at the Museum De Lakenhal. The centerpiece was a re-creation of the Anne Frank House, depicted as an Islamic prayer room, and featured a video of the think tanks discussing Dutch problems and historical placards linking Islam and the Dutch history as a tolerant nation.
