Why new knight David Khalili wears his art on his sleeve

Scholar, Islamic art collector and philanthropist Sir David Khalili has stressed the importance of interfaith efforts following his knighthood in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.

In his first interview since the announcement of his award, Sir David said he hoped the recognition of his interfaith work would serve as “an exemplar and encouragement to other people to understand that, at the end of the day, there is by far more that unites all the faiths than divides us.

“When you say to someone ‘I tolerate you’, it means that there is something negative that you don’t mind putting up with,” he told the JC. It was important to learn about and respect the way of life of others — “and expect them to learn about our way of life and respect it. Respect is far more important than tolerance.”

Sir David said it must have been destiny that he was born in a British hospital in Isfahan, Iran, which the Queen visited in 1962. “I ended up living in Britain, marrying my wife who is British, having our kids born in the United Kingdom and then be knighted by the Queen.”

His Mizrachi family moved to Tehran when he was a baby. His father was also an art collector and he began accompanying him on buying trips.

He was 12 when his own collection was started with a lacquer pen box, given to him by a former education minister after he had enthused about its design.

Two years later, while studying in yeshivah, he wrote a book profiling more than 200 geniuses. With the proceeds of $750 (about £4,500 today), he left Iran in 1967, going on to study at City University in New York and later receiving a PhD in Islamic lacquerware from London’s School of Oriental and African Studies.

A lucrative career in property development and venture capital provided the funds to expand his collection (he has claimed to have spent £650 million on art, with 35,000 Islamic pieces acquired over 60 years).

What attracted him to Islamic art was its beauty and diversity — “and it has a message”. That message was its ability to assimilate the artistic peculiarities of every culture that had become part of the Islamic world.

“When you go to see a Picasso exhibition, or a Rembrandt exhibition, or any artist’s exhibition, it is one man’s vision,” Sir David elaborated. “Islamic art is a fusion of cultures.”

Asked to select a piece to best represent unity between faiths — which he said was akin to being asked to pick a favourite child — he settled on an illustrated manuscript, telling the story of the three prophets, Muhammad, Moses and Jesus.

“It was produced in the middle of the 15th century in a Muslim country, showing unity among the three [Abrahamic] faiths, which is incredibly important.”

Sir David has tried to promote that respect through the Maimonides Interfaith Explorers, a Unesco-backed educational resource for primary school children.

“I realised the biggest weapon of mass destruction is ignorance. If you treat the ignorance and educate people, you could dilute the hatred.”

He also uses the Khalili Foundation to encourage interfaith harmony.

Sir David reflected that as a Jew, the art didn’t “belong” to him, referring to his collection as “a contribution of one member of the family to another. I always believe that Muslims are our cousins.”

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