Bridge over troubled water

Within the expanding aquatic metropolis that is Istanbul, two late-20th-century bridges straddle the continents of Europe and Asia. These traffic-laden steel bridges, spanning high above the ferries and other boats which ply the busy waters of the Bosphorus below, are visibly useful links between two civilisations. They are also symbols, perhaps, of the noble dream of bringing the mentality of the Muslim world closer to that of the non-Muslim world in a spirit of mutual admiration and respect.

A cultural event like a Rodin exhibition is worthwhile for its own sake. Held in a Muslim country, it may also nurture such a noble dream. Alas, a recent Franco–Italian diplomatic catastrophe with Muslim repercussions — an entertaining one, admittedly — has just been notched up by no less a sporting event than the World Cup Final. Dubbed ‘a genius’ like Rodin, the former French captain Zinedine Zidane may be a non-practising Muslim but he has proved a practised master of the Marseilles head-butt to the solar plexus.