Cairo’s Museum of Islamic art has reopened its doors for the first time since a car bombing targeting the nearby police headquarters.

The car bomb, which detonated outside the adjacent Cairo Security Directorate in January 2014, ripped into the museum, destroying hundreds of priceless objects. Of the 179 damaged artefacts, the museum was able to repair all but ten of them.

Restoration and repair work has been financed by the UAE, with a AED30m (US$8.2m, €7.6m, £6.5m) gift from the emirate and technical support provided by Italy, Germany, the US and Unesco.

Egypt, which is still experiencing violence and extremist attacks, sees the reopening as a sign of stability, with the country’s government hailing the occasion.

“The inauguration of the Museum of Islamic Art embodies Egypt’s victory against terrorism, its capability and willingness to repair what terrorism has damaged, and to stand against terrorist attempts to destroy its heritage,” said Khaled El-Enany, Egypt’s minister of antiquities.

The museum first opened its doors in 1903 and houses one of the most important collections of Islamic art anywhere in the world. Its collection, which charts more than 1,300 years of history, comprises more than 100,000 objects, with only 5,000 able to go on display at any one time.

The museum has remained largely closed during the 2000s, shutting in 2002 for redevelopment and not opening again until 2010. The museum was then forced to close in 2011 as a result of the Egyptian Revolution.