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Last week the Horniman Museum in south-east London announced it would be returning 72 items, including several so-called Benin Bronzes, to Nigeria. These elaborate sculptures that once decorated the royal palace of the Kingdom of Benin, were looted by British forces in 1897 along with other precious objects. Scattered across more than 160 museums and countless private collections, mostly in the West, the return of these highly decorated items reflects changing attitudes in Britain and other western countries to their colonial past. The legal and moral questions regarding rightful possession of such material can be complex. Museums are educational, social and moral spaces often bringing history to life. And a museum’s defence for continuing to hold onto such artefacts, even stolen ones, is that they have the duty and responsibilities to document, curate and preserve objects – it’s not a question of ownership but one of creating a place where anyone can come and contemplate the rich history of human ideas and civilisations. Today the discussion around the restitution of such objects often defines them as cultural artefacts. They are often religious too. In this sense, their return to indigenous communities should be seen as a recognition and respect for the diverse expressions of the human search for meaning and connection. It reminds me of such quranic verses as `if God had willed he would have made you one community,’ or ` say, to you is your path and to me mine.’ For a long time now, such verses have been used to support the argument that pluralism is God’s will, that we may not be one community but we are one humanity, a sentiment echoed in a native American proverb ` God gives us each a song.’ Yet history shows that in the name of preserving and spreading their own truths, global missionary activities across various religions including Islam, have at times been intolerant, marginalizing, even desecrating local beliefs, monuments and customs. Repatriation is a contentious issue but I think that the return, even a temporary loan of religious objects will enable them to resume their place at the heart of Indigenous cultural life. They will no doubt provide spiritual and artistic inspiration to people who’ve felt that for too long, where their societies were destroyed, their history was also denied. At its heart I think this is a question of restoring honour.