DOHA, Qatar

BREATHTAKING ART in a region best known for conflict may seem unexpected, but Roger Mandle, the president of the Rhode Island School of Design for 15 years and now the new director of the Qatar Museums Authority, seems comfortable in his new job.

“I wouldn’t say I am working against prejudices, rather working towards world understanding,” he says, sitting in his simple office by the gentle Arabian sea. “That is why I am here. It is a mission I’ve had all my life. I have been involved with cultural diplomacy, and I think arts have a leading edge in providing positive support for a better understanding of cultures.”

Just a few months after arriving in Doha, Mandle has settled seemingly effortlessly into his new life here in the Middle East. He says he was lured by the opportunity to “learn more about Islamic culture, something which fascinates me greatly.” It is a culture that Mandle is looking to preserve and display to the world, with the explicit backing of the ambitious country’s leadership.

“What attracted me here was Sheikha Mayassa (chairwoman of the QMA board of trustees and a daughter of the ruling emir) and the Emir of Qatar’s vision of creating a cultural presence in the Middle East that comes from its own soil. They have hired architects from the West to do the design, but they are being extremely respectful about gathering architecture from the soil and the region, which is very exciting.”

Indeed, after more than four decades as an arts educator and senior museum executive, the sparkle in Mandle’s eyes reveals much as he talks about these novel challenges: “Having the chance to work with great architects and objects and design museums for the 21st Century is a great opportunity.”

One of those 21st Century museums — the first of many being planned here in Doha — lies just across the turquoise bay. The Museum of Islamic Arts is a wonderfully understated building in a region where new constructions often tend to be overbearing in the frenzied search for superlatives. All set for a grand opening late this year, it has already received rave reviews, and rightly so, according to Mandle.

“When I first stepped inside it took my breath away. The scale of the building, the drama of the space and lighting, the great open atrium and the dome, the bridges that go from one side to the other and the view out of that window to the bay, it is just breathtaking,” he said. Mandle was pleased to find the museum — designed by renowned American architect I.M. Pei — to be quite brilliant in its integration of regional identity.

“I worked for a number of years in I.M. Pei’s National Gallery [addition], in Washington, and the visual vocabulary is somewhat similar. But when I walked in here I was unprepared for how he had absorbed Islamic tradition architecturally and created this magnificent space. The materials as well are rich and enduring.”

With oil and natural-gas revenues soaring across the very rich Gulf states, and much money flowing into prestigious cultural projects, some have called this the start of a new “cultural revolution.”

Meanwhile, in neighboring Adu Dhabi the rulers have employed their riches to import satellites of the Guggenheim and the Louvre museums, but Mandle points out that Qatar has taken a unique approach.

“In Qatar there is an art evolution, which may be a revolutionary idea in itself. Qatar is contributing to the culture of this region and bringing that up to world-class level. It is perfectly viable to borrow or purchase collections from other museums around the world, but that’s not our approach.”

Is he referring to the imports of Western museums in other Gulf states? “I might be,” Mandle says with an enigmatic smile. “That has its own merits and it is nice to know they are there. But what of this region? What of this culture? What contribution will the Arab World be able to celebrate on the world stage? That is what we are interested in. We will match those museums, based on our own strengths.”

That will be Mandle’s equally staggering and enticing mission. He plans to stay here for the long term, and even wants to learn Arabic. So are there any financial limits to Mandle’s creativity over the coming years? Not necessarily.

“I don’t think anyone has thought about the number. It’s not about the number. It’s about the quality. One of the striking things about Qatar’s approach is that they like to emphasize quality and that is evident in the Museum of Islamic Arts, quite dramatically. You’ll see extraordinary finishes, beautiful installations, very respectful to object and visitor. I think in that climate where quality is the main concern it makes it eminently possible to make great museums.”

Matthias Krug is a German journalist living in Qatar, where he was born. He is writing a novel based in the Middle East.