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Leaves, Bark, & Stone
A few days ago, while doing research, I happened upon a book listing works in Islamic law. Dated only about 20 years ago, I saw that many books that I have used in my own research were listed as being "unpublished, in manuscript form only." Wonderful, precious works, such as Ibn Abi Zayd's Nawadir wa'z-Ziyadat, and Fandalawi's Tahdhib al-Masalik, both of which are now safely preserved in printed format. A quick glance at the bibliography of the latter, published only within the last 5 years, indicates that atleast 25% of the editor's sources were even as of then available only in manucript form. Indeed, however much we retain of our own intellectual heritage, it is really only a fraction of what exists. Such is the changing nature of knowledge, even when it is materially fixed.Consider this: The King Faisal Center in Saudi Arabia contains nearly 23K manuscripts, reaching back to the beginnings of Islam. The Dhaka University Library contains about 30K works in various languages, some of which are written on palm and banana leaves, bark, and stone. In Timbuktu, Mali, experts estimate nearly one million texts, that "are probably among the most important unused scholarly materials in the world," says Chris Murphy of the U.S. Library of Congress. At Azhar University in Egypt, some 9K of their 42K manuscripts are unique -- ie, no other copies exist. In Iraq, nearly 12K manuscripts in Karbala and Najaf were destroyed during Saddam Hussein's suppression of the Shi`i revolt in 1991. And more recently, during our country's invasion of Iraq and the aftermath, between 5-10K additional medieval books have been destroyed. It is clear that despite the phenomenal rate at which ancient works are being brought into print, there is a great portion of our Islamic heritage that lies in danger of being destroyed by harsh climate, modern pollution and war. This makes the work of preservation critical. On Sat. May 8th, we will learn about the efforts of one organization to protect the Islamic legacy of Timbuktu. (By Hina Azam) Previous story: April 2004 Gathering Summary Next story: AMILA Condemns Murder In Saudi Arabia
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