Dr. Salim Al-Malik, Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), visited the historic island of Gorée in the Republic of Senegal, and the House of Slaves Museum there, where he was received by several members of the municipal council and Mr. Eloi Coly, the museum’s curator who provided some details about the history of “Slavery Island,” that was discovered in the fifteenth century A.D. and registered on the World Heritage List in 1978.

During the visit, on 9 January 2024, ICESCO Director-General toured the different sections of the Museum, which embodies the history of the charming island located off the coast of the Senegalese capital, Dakar, whose strategic location was the reason for its successive occupation by four colonial powers: Portugal, France, the Netherlands, and England. Its unique buildings still bear witness to this colonial era.

Dr. Al-Malik expressed his admiration for the Museum and the historical importance of the island, which, despite its small surface, was the largest center for the slave trade on the African coast, as more than 15,000 Africans were deported from it to Europe and the Americas between 1726 and 1848. He urged the museum curator to submit a file to register the Island on ICESCO’s Islamic World Heritage List.

At the conclusion of the visit, Dr. AlMalik expressed the Organization’s readiness to cooperate in developing the Island, as part of partnership with Senegal in the cultural fields, and signed in the golden record of the Museum.