Newsletter No. 9 - Winter 2004 by Al-Furqan Islamic Heritage Foundation

Al-Furqan Islamic Heritage Foundation

IRFAN SHAHID DELIVERS PUBLIC LECTURE AT AL-FURQAN

Professor Irfan Shahid is Professor of Arabic Studies at Georgetown University where he has been the Oman Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies since 1982. Over a long and distinguished career Professor Shahid has published books and articles on a wide variety of topics but the majority of his research and publications have centred around three themes: the area where the Graeco-Roman world met the Arab and Islamic worlds in the late antique and medieval times; classical and mediaeval Arabic poetry, and Islamic studies, parti<"iilarly studies devoted to the Qur'an. During his lecture at Eagle House on June 25th, 2003, Professor Shahid discussed the battles for the Holy Land that took place before the Crusades.

were the Arabs and the Byzantines. They had been friendly neighbours for eenturies but suddenly in the seventh century they beeame interlocked in a struggle in which the Holy Land played a crueial part. In the seventh century Islam vanquished Persia and Byzantium in two almost simultaneous victories and, within 100 years of the death of the Prophet, had reached India and Spain Professor Shahid discussed the centrality of the control o f Palestine to the A r^-B yzantine conflict and touched upon the influence of that conflict in the wars later waged by western Europe which were to become known as the Crusades. The lecture shed new light on the concept of the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Holy Landâ&#x20AC;? and traced the development of this concept over a period of 400 years.

In the four centuries preceding the Crusades the contestants for the land

Newsletter NUMBER NINE Winter 2004 CONTENTS Cataloguing........................................ 6 Community Events...........................9 Encyclopaedia....................................3 Foundation Structure and Boards......2 Honours............................................ 15 Library.................................................7 Obituaries......................................... 11 Profile - Institution H) Profile - Personality..........................8 Public Lectures............................1,16 Publications........................................ 4 World News...................................... 12 Professor Irfan Shahid and the Chairman, H. B. Sheikh Ahmed Zaki Yamani

al-Furqan news.

STRUCTURE FOUNDER The Yamani Cultural Foundation

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

THE BOARD OF EXPERTS

Chairman: Sheikh Ahmed Zaki Yamani Members: Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoğlu Dr Zaki Mustapha Mr Sharaf Ahmed z^k‫ ؛‬Vamani

Chairman: Sheikh Ahmed Zaki Yamani Members: Professor Iraj Afshar (Tehran) Professor Ibrahim Chabbouh (Tunis and Amman) Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoğlu (Istanbul) Professor Roshdi Rashed (Paris) Dr Muhammad Isa W aley (London) Professor Jan Just Witkam (Leiden)

THE INTERNATIONAL ADVISORY COUNCIL Chairman: Sheikh Ahmed Zaki Yamani Members: Professor Nasseruddin al-Assad (Amman) Professor George Atiyeh (Washington) Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoğlu (Istanbul) Professor Enes Karic (Sarajevo) Professor Salahuddin al-Munajjid (Jiddah) Professor Seyyed Hossein Nasr (Washington) Professor Abd al-Hadi al-Tazi (Rabat) Professor Juan Vernet (Barcelona)

STATEMENT OF MISSION Al-Furqan Islamic Heritage Foundation has the general brief to care for Islamic manuscripts. The Strategic Aims of the Foundation are: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

to to to to to

identify an^ describe existing collections of Islamic MSS catalogue these MSS where needed help in thepreservation of Islamic MSS re‫؟ ^؟‬d MŞŞ using up-to-the-minute technology publish critical editions of selected Islamic texts

The Foundation realises these strategic aims through: purveys of Islamic MŞŞcollections Cataloguing Islamic MSS collections Imaging Islamic MSS collections or individual MSS Preservation of Islamic MSS collections or individual MSS ^bl]shing critical editions of important texts Conferences on Islamic MSS The Foundation p^m^tes its work and its interests in Islamic culture generally and in the MS tradition specifically through: Fublic Lectures and Events E xhibitions An Annual Newsletter

Community Connections The Foundation has also built up a library as a resource for students and scholars of Islamic MSS. This Library holds most published catalogues of Islamic MSS. The Foundation has also unde^‫^؟‬en to set up training courses for cataloguers and an award for scholarly achievement in the field of Islamic MSS.

AL-FURÇÂN ISLAMIC HERITAGE FOUNDATION NEWSLETTER IX

al-Furqan news.

‫ذ‬ Members ofthe Academic Board (Jiddah ‫ر س‬ Seated‫ هءا‬١٠right: Professor Abd al-Wahhab Abu Sulayman, Sheikh Ahmed Zaki Yamani (Chairman), Professor Omar Falateh. Standing, left ١٥right: Professor Asim Hamdan, Dr Muhammad Abd al-Karim Obayd, Dr Abdullah Shawoosh, Professor Mi’raj Mirza, Professor Abd al-Latif Bin Duhaysh, Professor Abbas Tashkandi, Dr Adnan al-Harithi, Mr Faeq Hamdan

ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF MAKKAH & MADINAH The proj‫ ؟‬ct o f the Encyclopaedia o f Makkah and Madinah is housed in the Jid‫؛‬lah branch o f al-Furqan Islamic Heritage Foundation. The project aims to: Publish an Encyclopaedia o f Makkah and M adinah

Encourage research into the two holy cities, Publish books, studies and theses on Makkah and ^ d i n a h ( w ‫؛‬ththe approval ‫ أ و‬independent judges and the Academic Board o fth e Foundation), Publish critical editions o f historical references o f a‫ ^ ؛‬e c if ic nature that relate to Makkah and ‫ ؛‬Compile and publish a multilingual bibliography o f published works, references, theses and articles o ‫؛‬i Ma^kah and Madinah and Establish an ‫؛‬nformation Centre holding a collection o f texts, references, photographs, documents, maps, theses, travellers’ accounts, journals, microfilms and audio-visual material on Makkah and Madinah The project works through a Council o f Consultants, an A cadem ic Board, a number o f Specialised Committees and an Executive Administration The first meeting o f the Council o f Consultants was held in Jiddah on 4 November 1994.

Status Report: Entries: Encyclopaedia has established its own m ethodology and st^ e for writing, verifying and documenting the entries. They are first formulated in a subject list for publication. The Information Centre: A computerised database has been built up for storing the substantial data o f the entries. This includes indexes o f the resources and references o f the entries, abstracts, full texts o f articles and any necessary illustrations.

The Library: The Library now possesses specialised and fully automated collections ،١٢printed books, periodicals, manuscripts, documents, reports and university theses. Work Manuals: The Eneyclopaedia has produced a ‫ ؟‬umber o f w^rk manuals to ،firect em ployees to perform better. The manuals are: the basic work instrument, the work manual, the writers’ manual and the periodical meetings o fth e em ployees. The First Volume o f the Eni'V(clopaedia: Work on the first volume has started, and ١٦،unc reds o f entries have been written The Academ ic Board : ? ) ١، Eneyclopacdia has always b‫ ؟‬en interest‫ ؟‬d in co-operating and exchanging ideas with the members o f the Board. A meehanism has been developed wh ‫ ؟‬r‫ ؟‬-by the members o fth e Board can con :tribute by the follbw ing ,Studying entries and approving them Part‫؛‬eipat ‫؛‬ng in writing articles with reference to ,their specialisations ,E v a l^ tin g articles according to a set programme providing the library with any materials that can enrich its resources and Formulating rules that gov ‫ ؟‬-rn the scientific pre .cepts o f the Encyclopaedia materials In addit‫؛‬-on_to the above, the Encyclopaedia is now pro moting al-Furqan’s efforts ‫؛‬٨ publishing some literary orks for the occasion o f “Makkah Capital o f Islamic ^ Culture 1425AH”. It digitises books on CDs, revises th‫ ؟‬texts andprepares them for publishing. It has ‫؛‬،us published: The Correspondences o f the Ottoman " Sublime Port to al-Hiiaz Province, (Makka and

Madinah, 1283-1291 H( Other works are now being processed.

AL-FURQAN ISLAM IC HERITAGE FOUNDATION NEW SLETTER IX

al-Furqan news.

al-Furqan news .

PUBLICATIONS New Publications: Catalogues: Since the appearance o f its last English N e w sle tte r , al-Furqan Foundation has published the following titles:

C a ta lo g u e o f M a n u s c r ip ts in N i'im a h a n d W allatah (M au ritan ia) compiled by Ahmad ‫دا ال ي ؛‬

Edited Texts:

Muhammad Yahya, edited by Ulrich Rebstock, revised by Ibrahim Chabbouh, ISBN 1873992505.

K ıtâ b a l- M a w a ' iz w a a l - I ' tib a r f iD h i k r a l- K h ita t w a a l-A th a r d e M a q r iz i, vol. iv (2 parts), edited by

C a ta lo g u e o f M a n u sc rip ts in M a m m a H aidara L ib ra ry (Mali), vol. iv, compiled by Abdelkader

Aym an Fu’§d Sayyid, ISB N s 1873992750.

Mamma Haidara, edited by Ayman Fu’ad Sayyid, ISBN 1873882823.

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Parts i and ii of Volume iv of Kitab al-Mawa'iz wa al-I'tibarfiDhikral-Khitat wa al-Athârde Maqrizi edited by Ayman Fu’ad Sayyid In Preparation For 2004: Edited Texts: K itâ b a l-M a w a 'iz w a a l-1'tibâr ‫ آ م‬D h ik r a l-K h itâ t w a a l-A th a r d e M a q r iz i, v o l . V, edited by Ayman

T a rik h

M uham m ad

a l-Q u d s w a a l- K h a lil, edited by Adnan Bakhit and Nüfan al-Humüd.

Fu^d Sayyid. G e o m e tr y a n d D io p triq u e : al-H an dasa w a '11m 'in k isa r a l- D a w ’ f l a l-Q arn a l-'A s h ir a l-M îlâ d î: Ibn S a h l, A l-Q u h l, Ibn H a y th a m , *

Roshdi Rashed.

A l-Q u d s Tapu, vols i & ii, by Muhammad

A dnan

Bakhit and Nüfan

al-l^![m i~[d

E s sa y s in H o n o u r ٠/ Y u s u f Ibish.

AL-FURQÂN ISLAM IC HERITAGE FOUNDATION NEW SLETTER IX

al-Furqan news.

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CatalogueofManuscripts in Ni'hnah ‫ل ه ه‬ ) Wallatah (Mauritania

Catalogue o f Manuscripts in Mamma Haidara Library (Mail) Catalogues:

Catalogue oflslamic Manuscripts in Aligarh University, vol. ii, compiled by Muhammad Yasin

Ma^har Siddiqui, edited by Qasim al-Sâmarrâ’l.

Catalogue o f Islamic Manuscripts ،‫ ءأ‬the IRSH (Niger), vol. i, compiled by Hassan Mouley, *

edited by Ayman Fu’âd Sayyid. * Catalogue oflslamic Manuscripts in Burkina Faso Libraries, com piled by Baba Yunus Muhammad, edited by John Hunwick. * Catalogue ٠ / Manuscripts in al-Khalidlyah Library Jerusalem, vol. ‫؛‬, compiled by Nazmi alJu'bah and edited by 'Isam al- Shantl. * Catalogue o f al-Aqsa Mosque Library, vol. iv, compiled by Khidr Ibrahim Salâmah. * Catalogue o f Islamic Manuscripts at the IRSH (Niger), vol. ii, qompi‫؛‬ed by Hassan Mouley, edited by Ayman Fu’âd Sayyid.

Catalogue ٠ / Islamic Manuscripts at the Mawhub bin al-Habib Library Bejayan (Algeria), ^ m p iled by Janial Mechehea, edited by Ayman Fu’âd Say^id. Monographs: * The Art Chabbouh.

٠/

Islamic Cuisine, Ibrahim

Future Publications: A Historical Dictionary o f Scientific Arabic The project was articulated in a series o f discussions through 2001 and 2002 between Board

member Professor Roshdi Rashed and the late Direetor of al-Furq‫؛؛‬n Foundation, Professor Yusuf Ibish. It was presented to the Board of -Experts on October 26th, 2002 and was unani .mously adopted The project was inaugurated in .lanuary 2003 as a partnership between al-Furqan Foundation -and the Centre national de la recherche scien tifique (CNRS) in Paris. The project is located in Paris under the leadership of Professor R^s‫؛‬ied who selected the following core team to :work on it )Philifjpe Abgrall (Arabic Mathematics )Andre Allard (Greek and Latin Mathematics )Aline Auger (Editorial )F^iz^ Bancel (Arabic M echanics )Helene Bellosta (Arabic Mathematics )Marouane Ben Miled (Arabic Mathematics )Pascal Crozet (Arabic M ^hem atics )Micheline Decorps (Greek Mathematics Ahmad Hasnaoui (Arabic, Greek and Latin )Fhysics )Tony Levy (Hebrew Mathematics Badawi al-Mabsout (Arabic Mechanics ( ‫) ؛‬lussein Massoumi (Arabic Optics R >‫)؛‬gis Morelon (Arabic Astronomy )Ali Moussa (Arabic Trigonometry )Pierre Pietquin (Latin and Arabic Optics )Muriel Rouabah (Editorial )Mariam Rozanskaya (Arabic M echnics Jean-Pierre Sutto (Latin Mathematics and )Computer Programming )Bijan Vahabzadeh (Arabic Mathematics The scientific research necessary to prepare the Dictionary is expected to take approximately three years before its final writing ‫ ؛‬-The expect ed result will be a historical lexicon o f at least ‫ س ا‬terms 0 .

AL-FURQAN ISLAM IC HERITAGE FOUNDATION NEW SLETTER IX

al-Furqan news.

CATALOGUING Al-Furqan Foundation has now published a total of 43 catalogues and handlists o f collections o f Islamic manuscripts across the world. A l-F u rq ^ ’s currently has projects in (numbers refer to map): 1. Mauritania, 2. Mali, 3. Senegal, 4. Burkino Faso, 5. Ghana, 6. Nigeria, 7. Niger, 8. Algeria, 9. Egypt, 10. Bosnia, 11. Albania, 12. Falestine, 13. Saudia Arabia, 14. Yemen, 15. India, 16. Uzbekistan, 17. Turkmenistan, 18. Indonesia, 19. Sweden.

DISTRIBUTION A l-F ur‫ ؟‬an F ou n d ation ’s pu b lication s can be purchased direc‫؛‬ly from al-Furqan, London and al-Furqan, Jiddah. T h ey are also availab le from:

Saudi Arabia: D ^ l - Q a h i r a h lil-K itab 16 ‫ ا‬rue M uham m ad Farid, Cairo. T el: (+ + 2 0 ) 2 3 9 2 9 1 9 2

France: Librairie Albert B lanchard 9 rue des M ‫ ؛ء؛هج‬s, 7 5 0 0 6 Paris. T el: ( + + 3 3 ) 1 4 3 2 6 9 0 34

Germany: H arrassow itz T aunusstrasse 5, D -6 5 1 8 3 , W iesbaden. T el: ( + + 4 9 ) 6 1 1 5 3 0 0

Hungary: F rospero’s B ook s B udapest W ein er L eo ٧. 20, H -1 0 6 6 , Budapest. T el: (+ + 3 6 ) 1 30 2 8 4 4 4

2 - 1 2 M isak ich o 2 -ch o m e, Chiyodaku, T o k y o 1 0 1 -0 0 6 1 . T el: (+ + 8 1 ) 3 3 2 6 3 7 1 8 9

The Netherlands: Brill Plantijnstraat 2 PO B ox 9 0 0 0 , 2 3 0 0 PA L eid en , T el: (+ + 3 1 ) 71 5 3 5 3 5 6 4

M aktaba Kunuz al-M a'rifah Intersection o f Setteen Street w ith Iskan Street, in front o ft h e M ahm ud Sa'id Centre, Jiddah. Tel: (+ + 9 6 6 ) 2 6 5 1 4 2 2 2 .

Spain: Fortico Librerias ،‫ ؟‬٨ M unoz S eca 6 , 6 0 0 0 6 Zaragoza. Tel: (+ + 3 4) 9 7 6 5 5 7 0 3 9

United Kingdom: F o lio s Ltd 1 9 3 -1 9 5 Brompton Road, London SW 3 1LZ. Tel: (+ + 4 4) 2 0 7581 2 7 0 6 Joppa B ooks 6 8 High Street, B yfleet, Surrey K T14 7QL. Tel: (+ + 4 4 )1 9 3 2 3 3 6 7 7 7 Lindsay and H ow es H o u se, W o o d sid e G odalm ing G U 7 1LG. Tel: (+ + 4 4 ) 1 4 8 3 4 3 5 2 2 2 I.a k e

Fark,

C attesh all

L ane,

S elected al-Furqan publications are also available from am azon.com . C opies o f the new catalogue o f al-Furqan Foundation publications are available on request.

AL-FURQAN ISLAM IC HERITAGE FOUNDATION NEW SLETTER IX

al-Furqan news.

LIBRARY The Library was founded, with the Foundation, in 1991.

Al-Jazarî, Ibn al-Raz^z (C.600AH/1200AD), AlJami' bayn al-'Ilm wa al-'Amal al-Nâff fl Şinâ'at alHlyal, Frankfurt am Main, 2002.

The Library serves as a reference library on two floors. The Reading Room on the first floor houses the major bibliographical tools as well as catalogues of Islamic manuscripts, whereas the ground floor holds the main collection.

This is a facsimile edition of the MS Aya Sofya 3606, copied in the year 755AH/1354AD. It is the most beautiful and comprehensive work that has survived from the field of Arab-Islamic technologica] literature.

The Library as a whole has a collection of c a . ‫ ا‬6 ,‫س‬ volumes. A major focus is our comprehensive collection of catalogues of Islamic manuscripts from countries all over the world. The Library holds important primary and secondary sources in the field of Islamic studies. The main subjects ‫ ؟‬over‫ ؟‬d are Qur’§nic studies, hadith, Islamic jurisprudence, Islamic theology, philosophy and literature, Islamic history and traditional arts and sciences.

Çıkar, Jutta R. and Çtkar, M., comps, German Books on Islam from the 16th Century 1900 ‫؛‬٠ , part i, Saur, München, 2003. This microfiche edition comprises a unique library of German Islamic literature from the beginnings to 1900 with complete texts of approximately 1,500 works. This first part, with approximately 390 works on 800 microfiches, contains a collection of writings on religion and theology, law and customs.

The Library is open to scholars and members of the general public upon completion of a simple membership form. The opening hours are Monday to Friday from 10.00am to 5.00pm. Consultation of the Library is by prior arrangement.

Cortese, D., Arabic Ismaili Manuscripts: ‫^؛‬e Zahid ,All Collection, I B Tauris, London, 2003. This catalogue contains 179 annotated entries. The majority ofthe w ^ ^s listed belong to the theological, philosophical and historical traditions of the Fatimid, post-Fatimid Yemeni and Indian Ismaili literature.

Recent acquisitions include: Abı 'A lî, al-I^asan ibn Ahmad al-F^isI (،1.377AH/988AD), Al-Ighfal wa huwa al-Masa’il al-

Muslahatu min Kitâb Ma'anI al-Qur’an wa I'rabihi li-Abl Ishaq al-Zajjâj, 2 vols, 2003. This is the first publication of this classical work on Qur’‫؛؛‬nic sciences.

McAuliffe, Jane D., ed., Encyclopaedia ofthe Qur’an, vol. iii, Brill, Leiden, 2003. ? ١١، total work will consist of five volumes ‫ل الل‬،‫ ا‬be a very important tool for Quranic scholarship. It is an encyclopaedic dictionary of Q ttr’‫؛‬،n ic terms, themes, personalities, place names, cultural history and exegesis and includes essays on the most important themes. Rosenfeld, A. and Ihsanoğlu, E., Mathematicians, Astronomers and other Scholars o f Islamic Civilization and their Works (7th-19th Centuries), IRCICA, Istanbul, 2003. ‫ ؟‬his work is based on earlier publications and newly discovered sources and comprises the names of 1,423 authors the dates of whose lives are known and 288 authors whose dates are unknown. Sezgin, F., ed., Wissenschaft und Technik im Islam, vols i-v , Institut für Geschichte der Arabisch-Islamischen Wissenschaften, Frankfurt am Main, 2003. This work comprises an introduction to the history of Arabic-Islamic sciences and a catalogue of the collection of instruments of the Institute of the History of Arabic-Islamic Sciences in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

-Facsimile edition of Ibn al-Razzâz’s “Al Jami' bayn al-'Ilm wa al-'Amal al-Nafi' fi Şinâ'at al-‫ ؛‬fiyal”

AL-FURQAN ISLAM IC HERITAGE FOUNDATION NEW SLETTER IX

Wink, A., Al-Hind: the Making ofthe Indo-Islamic World, vol. iii, Indo-Islamic Society 14th-15th Centuries, Brill, Leiden, 2004. This work on Indian history takes the reader from the late Mongol invasions to the end of the mediaeval period and the beginnings of early modem times.

al-Furqan news.

Professor Shakir al-Faljham PROFILE Professor Sl^kir al-Fahham (b. Syria 1921), President of the Arabic Language Academy in Damascus, has made a notable contribution to Arab cultural life as a writer, a teacher, a scholar and an engaged intellectual. In a glittering ceremony in Damascus last September he was honoured by the Arab Writers' Union. It is interesting and instructive to note the points he made in his speech of acceptance. About his own history he chose to speak only of the following: “After high school I was sent to Cairo University where I studied in the Arabic Department for four years. The universities and higher institutes of Cairo were at that time a meeting-place for all Arab students, and national feelings demanding freedom and an end to colonial influence ran high. We all subscribed to the struggle of our Egyptian friends, our feelings were united and we established the Arab Students' Association as a forum for our activities “Upon my return to Syria I worked for ten years as a schoolteacher and did everything I could to bring up a generation that believed in learning and in work. I also worked to encourage a sense of patriotism among the children; a sense of the dignity of their homeland and the need to protect it against the plans of the colonial powers.

“I returned to Cairo as a graduate student and, having gained my ? ‫؛‬١ ٥ in Arabic Studies, was appointed to the Faculty of Arts, Damascus University in 1963. As an academic ١ was committed to nurturing in my students both a love of learning and a love of country - those being crucial in the development of the nation.” Before ending his speech, Professor a l-F a ^ m added: “1 feel it necessary to mention a matter that causes me a great deal of anxiety: the ferocious attack that the Arabic language is currently being subjected to. Arabic is being denigrated, various accusations are levelled against it and regional dialects are being encouraged to replace it. We need to remember that our language has - over the 16 eenturies that we have spoken it - been distinguished by its pliability and flexibility and responsiveness. Its hospitality to derivation and arabisation have made it a language that is always developing, embracing new vocabulary and innovative terminology so that it can represent new meanings and varied expressions. It is in aid of this that the various Academies have been established. They work to arabise foreign terms and to enrich the language with new terminologies of science and art to fulfill the needs of new disciplines ...” We congratulate ourselves on the presence of Professor al-Fa‫؛‬tl)‫؛؛‬m amongst us and wish him a fruitful continuation of a long and useful life.

AL-FURQAN ISLAMIC H ERITAGE FOUNDATION NEW SLETTER IX

al-Furqan news.

COMMUNITY EVENTS The Foundation considers that visits by the public are very important in publicising the work of alFurqan and in strengthening its links with the local community. ‫ ه ه م ا‬0‫ه‬

Open House Weekend 20* and 21‫ م‬Septemter 2003 Al-FurqH Foundation took part in “London Open House” during the weekend of September the 20th and 21st. “Open House” is a European cultural initiative in which buildings of historic and/or architectural significance, across Europe, open their doors to the public for one weekend a year. It is a weekend in which the whole continent celebrates the excellence and diversity of its architecture. During the 2003 “Open House” more than 700 members of the public visited Eagle House. In the course of their visit they were guided by members of the staff and enjoyed the hospitality of al-Furqan. They also learned about the work being done by al-Furqan and many filled out membership applications for the Library or requested that they be placed on the alFurqan mailing list.

During his lifetime Sir Thomas had an almost unrivailed reputation as an architect of collegiate and school buildings and as a sensitive restorer of historic buildings and monuments. He travelled extensively in Europe and often visited the Croatian coast. He wrote a three-volume history ofthe region which is still recognised as the definitive work on its medieval monuments. Mediterranean and Byzantine influences can be detected in many of his buildings, for example the Bridge of Sighs in New College Lane, Oxford or the domed chapel of Giggleswick public school on the Yorkshire moors. Jackson's romantic, scholarly buildings fell out of fashion after his death but there has been a recent revival of interest in his achievements. Sir Nicholas has recently published a beautifully illustrated edition of his grandfather's memoirs and the lecture at al-Furqan coincided with two exhibitions of his watercolours and travel drawings in London: in the Library and Frint Room of the Royal Academy of Arts and at the Croatian Embassy.

Al-Furq‫؛؛‬n sees this event as an important exercise, bringing home to the local community an awareness of the Foundation's work, and creating ties of sympathy and common human purpose with its neighhours

Sir Nicholas Jackson Lecture Wednesday, 12 November 2 3

‫س‬

Eagle House has had a varied and eventful past. Originally built as a wealthy merchant's home in the seventeenth century, it had a series of tenants in the eighteenth century and was converted into a boarding school for boys in the nineteenth. Much altered and undoubtedly the worse for wear - the building was put up for sale in the 1890s. Luckily for alFurq^ and the residents of Wimbledon Village, it caught the eye of Sir Thomas Jackson, an eminent Yictorian architect. One of the most distinguished and prolific architects of his generation, Jackson had tired of the busy life of central London so determined to buy Eagle House. He wasted no time in restoring it to its former glory and its first role, that of a family home. He lived there until his death in 1924. On November 12th, 2003 the architect's grandson. Sir Nicholas Jackson, returned to Eagle House, where he had spent many happy times as ‫ و‬child‫؟‬ to deliver a lecture about his grandfather's life and work. Held jointly by al-FurqH Foundation and the Wimbledon Society, the lecture was enthusiast‫؛‬cally attended by many local residents and historians, keen to learn more about the famous architect. Sir Nicholas illustrated his lecture with slides of many of Sir Thomas's sketches and watercolours: o f Eagle House, of the buildings he designed and of the travels which inspired and informed his work.

AL-FURQAN ISLA M IC HERITAGE FOUNDATION NEW SLETTER IX

Watercolour of Mostar Bridge by Sir Thomas Jackson OTHER VJSJTS

Visit of Indonesian Scholars Wednesday, 8th October 2003 On Wednesday, 8th October the Foundation welcorned a party of scholars from Indonesia. The visitors, who were in England attending a course at the Markfield Institute of Higher Education, were introduced to the work ofthe Foundation by members of staff

Centre for the Study oflslam and Christiai^Muslim Relations

Wednesday, 3rd Decemter 2003 Al-Furqân was pleased to welcome the Centre for the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations at the University of Birmingham to hold its last Board meeting for 2003 at Eagle House.

‫و‬

World news...

IKAOI CENTRE FOR MANUSCRIPTS, BAGHDAD ‫دار ال م خ ط و طا ت ا ن م را قي ة ف ي ب غ د ا د‬ Immediately after the American occupation of Baghdad and overthrow of the Iraqi government in April 2003, museums, libraries and other government institations we«‫ ؛‬subject to widespread looting and destruction. The National Library and Archives, Bayt al-H‫؛‬kmah Library, the Iraqi Academy of Sciences and university libraries all suffered heavy damage and losses to their holdings. As far as manuscripts are concerned, the worst fate befell the Awqaf Library (Central library o f Religious Endowments ‫ ( معت ب _ة مالوق_اف‬٠repository of over 5,000 manuscript volumes containing about 7,500 texts. It is estimated that about 40% of these may have been looted or destroyed in the catastrophic arson attack on the building on 14 April 2003.' Fortunately, however, the largest collection o f Islamic manuscripts in Iraq was saved from theft and immediate destruction. This was in the library formerly known as the Saddam Manuscripts Library ( ‫ ) دا ر ه د ا م لل ح ط و طا ت‬and now called the Iraqi Centre for Manuscripts (‫ ) دا ر ا س ط و ط ا ت ال م< أ ق ي ه‬The director of this library. Dr Usama Nasir al-Naqshabandi, had had the diligence and foresight to transfer the entire holdings to a secure bomb shelter in west Baghdad in the winter of 2002/03, when war was threatened. They were still there at the end of 2003, pending a decision on their r e lo c a tio n At the same time the Centre’s extensive collections of microfilmed and digitised images of its manuscripts were put in different locations for safekeeping. The origins of this library’ lie in the former manuscript holdings of the Iraqi Museum Library, which were started in 1940, and subsequently became a prime national repository for manuscripts, growing from a total of about 4,000 in 1968 to about 38,000 in 1988. In that year, following the example of the former British Museum Library in London, ownership was transferred to a separate library institution, the Saddam Manuscripts Library. This occupied a group of houses in central Baghdad, near the Museum, and its holdings by 2003 have been variously estimated at about 50,000 (Deeb, Albin and Haley) and about 70,000 (Metenier). This rapid expansion resulted from the incorporation of numerous private and smaller institutional collections throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Numerous catalogues of the manuscripts were published, both before and after the transfer from the Museum; they are listed, with a brief survey ofthe holdings up to 1992, in the Iraq sections o fa lFurqan Foundation’s World Survey ٠ / Islamic Manuscripts (written by Dr N^shabandi himself). Following the extensive looting of the Iraqi Museum in April 2003, some confusion was caused by reports

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that some ©٢ all ©f these manuscripts were am©ng the objects stolen. This arose from the fact that they were menti©ned as part ofthe Museum’s holdings in guides and catalogues published before 1988. The confasi©n was compounded by the U.S. Army investigator into the thefts o f antiquities, C©lonel Matthew Bogdanos, who twice claimed to have “located” the Museum’s manuscripts in the bomb shelter, and added the t©tal ©f them (39,453 in his reck©ning) to the museum objects recovered.‘ He also tried to remove 30 trunks c©ntainin§ manuscripts by force (using tanks and tr©©ps) and ،© convey them “back” to the Museum, but was prevented by an angry reaction from the l©cal populace. In fact local volunteers have played a key role in protecting the manuscripts in the shelter.’ At the end of October 2003, a team of three experts from the Library ٠٤ c©ngress in Washington visited the site and examined the holdings and st©rage facilities in the presence of the new director of the Iraqi Centre for Manuscripts, Dr ‫ ه؛ ا ل ال! ا ا ه‬Abbas Samarai and her husband, the former director Dr Usama alNaqshabandi.‘ They reported that the shelter was well maintained, with controlled temperature and humidity. The manuscript volumes were contained in stout aluminium trunks, giving some protection from dust and other adverse atmospheric conditions. They were cared for by an expert staff, including conservation specialists. A temporary reading room has been provided, as well as a small binding and conservation workshop. Nevertheless, some manuscripts were damaged through handling in the process of removal, and there was some insect damage, although the shelter itself did not appear to be infested. Clearly the present situation is very unsatisfactoty, although the staff had done an excellent job in extremely adverse circumstances. The Library of Congress team recommended more equipment, materials and training.' But obviously the most important questions are when and where the collection is to be rehoused. Its original buildings in Haifa Street were attacked and looted in April 2003; fortunately the manuscripts had already been moved by then, but the offices, labor‫؛‬،tory and restoration unit were ransacked and most of the equipment was stolen.’ Clearly a major investment programme would be necessary in order to restore the buildings and facilities to a state in which they can receive back the manuscript holdings, and this is hampered by a dispute over the ownership of the property.'“Alternatively, a new, better and more secure building could be found or constructed. Only then could thi‫ ؟‬collection of priceless Islamic manuscripts, one of the most important in the world, be truly regarded as safe and secure. Geoffrey Roper January 2004

AL-FURÇÂN ISLAMIC HERITAGE FOUNDATION NEWSLETTER IX

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: REroRTS

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INMEMOR1AM

Amoult, Jean-Marie, Assessment

٠ / Iraqi Cultural Heritage: Libraries and Archives, June 27 - July 6,

2003, [Report to UNESCO], Online at www.ifla.org/VI/4/admin/iraq2207.pdf Deeb, Mary-Jane; Albin, Michael and Haley, Alan, The Library o f Congress and ‫^؛‬e U.S. Department of State

Mission to Baghdad: Report on the State ofthe National Library and the House ٠ / Manuscripts, October 27 November 3, 2003, Washington, Library of Congress. Online at www.loc.gov/rr/amed/iraqreport/iraqreport.html Metenier, Edouard, Aperçu surl’etat des bibiotheques et

depots d ’archives irakiens au terme de la guerre d ’avril 2003. Online at

www.sub.uri-goettingen.de/ebene_l/orient/ Biblioth^ue^irakiennes.htm

Iraq Manuscript Collections, Archives, and Libraries Situation Report, 8 June 200^,

Tikriti,

Nabil

al-,

Chicago, University o f Chicago. Online at w w w -o i.u ch ia ^ .d /O l/II^ Q /d o c^ n ^ .h tm l Watenpaugh, Keith; Metenier, Edouard; Hanssen, Jens and Fattah, Hala, Opening the Doors: intellectual life

and academic conditions in post-war Baghdad. A Report ofthe Iraqi Observatory, 15 July 2003. Online www.ifla.org/VM4/adn/iraq2107.pdf Links to other reports and relevant material can be found on the website of the MELA Committee on Iraqi I.ihrarips at www-oi.uchicago.edu/OI/IRAQ/mela/melairaq.html.

1. Amoult, sec 3.4. For information on the holdings, see al-Furqan Foundation’s W orld Survey o f Islamic Manuscripts, vol. ii, pp. 7 - 9 and vol. iv, pp. 216-217. ١٣٢-‫ ؛‬٢١ ‫ص‬. ٢‫ ؛‬. ‫املخطوطات اإلطديمءض امس‬

2. Tikriti, sec. ١; Arnoult, sec. 3.L 3 Information on the library’s history is taken from Naqshabandi’s survey in W orld Survey o f Islamic Manuscripts, vol. ii, pp. 19-20 and vol. ‫؛‬٧, pp. 2 28-230 and ١١، - ١١ • ‫ص‬. ٢٤ . ‫ ا س طو م ال ت اإل سالمية ض ا مس‬with supplementary details from Metenier, sec. 6. 4. U.S. Department o f D efense, N ews Transcript, Washington, 16.5.2003, online at www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/20030516-0202.html and U.S. Department o f D efense News Transcript, Washington, 3 ‫ل‬0.9.2 ‫ س‬, online at www.defenselink.m il/transcripts/20030910-0660.htm l■ 5. Tikriti, sec. u . 6. Deeb, Albin and Haley, sec. I. 7. Deeb, Albin and Haley, sec. II B. 8. Deeb, Albin and Haley, sec. Ill B. 9. Amoult, sec. 3.1; Tikriti, sec. 1. 10. Tikriti, sec. ١.

Professor *Abdullah al-Tayyib (1921-2003) ‘Abdullah al-Tayyib was bom in 1921 in Sudan, in the village of al-Tamlrab, west of the city of al-Damer. His family, al-Majâdhıb, were known for their education and their sufism. He graduated from Gordon University (now the University of Khartoum) in 1940, taught in secondary schools and then was sent to London in 1945 where he obtained his PhD in Arabic language and literature from SOAS in 1951. Al-Tayyib worked as a lecturer at SOAS before returning to Sudan, where he worked at the Institute of Education at Bakht al-Riâ. He took part in establishing the Arabic curriculum and training teachers for the secondary stage of education. He joined the University of Khartoum as a lecturer in Arabic and rose to become Dean of the Faculty of Arts and, eventually. President ofthe university. ‘Abdulteh al-Tayyib founded Bairo College in Kanu in 1964. It later became a university and was the first in Nigeria to have an Arabic language department. He spent some time as Professor of Arabic Literature at the University of Qarawiyln in Fez. His works include publications in both Arabic and English. Among his Arabic works we can mention alMurshid ilâ Fahn Ash'âr al-'Arab wa Şinâ'atihâ in four volumes. The foreword for the first part of al-Murshid was written by Taha Hussein who praised al-âyyib’s work and his knowledge of Arabic poetry. Al-âyyib has also written al-Nathr al-Fannl fi Südân, al-QaşJdah al-Mâdihah, a commentary on four poems by Dhl al-Rimmah, and various articles. Among his English works we can note his long essay on Arabic preIslamic poetry in the Cambridge Encyclopaedia of Arabic Literature, his translation o f Sudanese “ahajT”, his (unpublished) book of poetry of Abı al-'Ala and his book, The Arab Heroes. He was Distinguished Professor at Khartoum University and a member of the Arabic Language Academy in Cairo. He was also awarded the King Faisal Award. When ‘Abdullah al-âyyib was a student in London he married an English lady, Jawharah Griselda al-Tayyib. She is an artist, a critic and an educationalist.

AL-FURQAN ISLAM IC HERITAGE FOUNDATION NEW SLETTER IX

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GLOBAL NOTICE-BOARD

Kampala:

A m m an:

Under the patron‫؛؛‬£e o f H.E. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, President of the Republic of Uganda, IRCICA, in conjunction with the Islamic University in Uganda (1U1U, Mibale, Uganda), held the Second International Symposium on Islamic Civilisation in Africa (focusing on eastern Africa) from 15 to 17 December 2003. The main purpose of the symposium was to highlight the significant features o f a civilisation which developed in the area over centuries, but which has not been fully studied by scholars and writers. Two hundred participants from Britain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, France, Gambia, Germany, Iran, Jordan, Kenya, Malaysia, Nigeria, Oman, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Slovenia, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Turkey, Uganda and the USA attended the symposium. A total of 51 papers were presented.

Al-Majma‘ al-Malakî li-Buhüth al-Hadârah alIslâmıyah (Mu'assasat Al al-Bayt) Within its project for a comprehensive catalogue of the Islamic MSS heritage, the Majma' completed during 2003 - ten further parts of Fihris al-Fiqh wa Uşüluh. Part X ends w i t h the last ofthe entries for the letter “mlm”. The Majma‘ is also compiling two new subject catalogues, one for history and geography (including among other topics biographies, tabaqat and cities) and the second for science and mathematics (including medicine, pharmacology, astronomy and other subjects). Ismâ'îl Rida 'Amirah

Frankfort: Institut für Geschichte der Arabisch-Islamischen Wissenschaften an der Johann Wolfgang Goethe Universitât The Institute has published a facsimile edition of “Al-Jami' bayn al-'Ilm wa al-‘Amal al-Nâfi' fl Şinâ'at al-HIyal” by Ibn al-Raz^z al-Jazari (2003). Professor Dr Fuat Sezgin

Istanbul: ISAR Foundation has published Ismail Biçakçi, Yunanistan ‫ و د‬Türk Mimarı Eserleri, Foreword by Ekmeleddin Ihsanoğlu (2003). This comprehensive book (in 435pp) is a study ofthe Islamic architectural monuments which were built within the boundaries of present-day Greece during the Ottoman period. It covers both extant and vanished architectural works and is the product of some 18 years of research. Some of the information to be found in it was previously published in Greek and Turkish journals. The author has personally examined many of the monuments and details the historical background of their locations, their architectural characteristics, the changes that they have undergone and their present conditions. There is an alphabetical list of towns and cities. The book includes a total of 18‫ ؟‬black and white photographs and engravings, including selected photographs from IRClCA’s archives. As far as he has been able, the author has included the original texts and inscriptions of almost all of the historical monuments. Among the wide range of monuments Biçakçi examines are mosques, madrasahs, schools, places of worship, dervish lodges and convents, public kitchens, bathhouses, bridges, mausoleums, public fountains and so on. The author was bom in 1928 in Komotini, Western Thrace and educated in Egypt. He subsequently taught for 25 years in the Hayriye Medrese in Western Thrace until his retirement in 1991.

The keynote address was given by Frofessor Ali Mazrui, Director ofthe Institute of Global Cultural Studies at the State University of New York, USA, on “The Impact oflslam ic Civilisation and Culture on the Societies of Eastern Africa” The symposium noted that Islam’s spread through the eastern African region was peaceful and that the history of Muslims has been negatively presented by colonial writers and their followers. This trend continues into the present time and there is a need to reinterpret the history of east Africa from an objective perspective in order to offset the negative intellectual and psychological impact of a history written from a Eurocentric perspective.

Makkah: Al-^Jaram al-M akki al-Sh arif Library (established in 160A H /7 7 7 A D ), contains m ore than 0 ,0 0 0 ‫ل‬ original M S S and 5 ,5 0 0 M SS on m icrofilm . The cataloguing o f the collection has n ow been com pleted and published in elev en volum es: 1. Catalogue o fth e M S S ofT afsIr, Tajwld, Qira’at and 'Ulum ai-Qur’ân, 2. Catalogue ،he M SS H istory, SIrah and Biography, 3. Catalogue o fth e M S S ofF iqh, 4. Catalogue o f'th e M SS o f M edicine, Pharmacolgy and Veterinary Science,

٠/

Catalogue ofthe MSS ofHadlth and 'Ulum alHadith, 5.

6. Catalogue o f th e M SS

٠/

'Aqa’id, Taw hld and Rudüd, 7. Catalogue o f the M S S o f M awa'iz, Taşawwuf, Ad'iyah and Adhkâr, 8. Catalogue o fth e M S S ٠/ Üşül al-Fiqh, 9. Catalogue •of the M SS o f Logic, Philosophy, Arithm etic, A lgebra and G eometry, 10. Catalogue ٠/ the, M SS o f the Siddiqiyyah Library, 11. Catalogue ٠/ the M S S ٠/ the Siddiqiyyah Library (compendia).

AL-FURQAN ISLAMIC HERITAGE FOUNDATION NEWSLETTER IX

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Twenty of the Library's oldest MSS have been restored in the King Faysal Centre in Riyadh. Since then the Library has set up its own restoration and conservation laboratories 1،‫ ا ا ا؛‬has so far restored ten of its own MSS. The Library is digitising all its catalogues to make them easier to use by its researchers. It aims to put its catalogues on the worldwide web in the near future. Dr Muhammad ibn 'Abd Allah Bajudah Director

Raba(: Institut des Etudes Africaines Üniversite Mohammed V - Souissi The Institute has published a new critical edition of Shaykh 'Abd ibn al-Qadi Muhammad alHajj's “Risâlah fl al-Ta'rîf bi al-Muştafa alTawrudI”. It was edited by Dr 'Abd al-'AlT alWadghirT and was printed by al-Najah al-Jadidah Fress in Casablanca in 2003, 142 pp. Fublishing Department

Riyadh: King Fahd National Library, has recently acquired a rare autograph MS of “Al-Lami' al-Yamânı fl TarTkh al-Yaman wa al-Mikhtöf al-Sulaymâni” by QadI 'Abd Allah ibn 'All al-'Amüdî. This is possibly the sole exisiting autograph copy and was long considered to be lost. The MS chronicles the history of the southern part of the Arabian Feninsula up to the reign of H.M. King 'Abd al-'AzIz ibn Saud.

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The MS consists of 216 folios inscribed in black ink wi،h titles in red ink. Some folios are missing from the beginning and end of the MS and nothing remains of the binding except the spine. The Library has also acquired an important MS of grammar. Both the title and the author are unknown. It consists of 212 folios measuring 240mm X 180mm and containing 23 lines each. It is written in black ink (although red ink has been used for certain phrases) on Arabic paper in naskh script with full diachritics. The beginning is missing three folios. There are some commentaries and corrections in the margtns. The MS was completed eleven nights before the end ofJumadâ al-Akhirah, 619AH/31 July 1222AD. Four papers have been added to the beginning ofthe MS. At the top of one paper someone surmises that this copy is by al-Mufaşşal al-Zamakhsharl. A later hand contradicts this - and is correct. The MS is well and strongly bound but the binding is not of the same date as the MS. There is some writing on the inside cover and an ownership phrase dated 1277AH/1860AD. The MS is in an excellent condition. The Library has presented the legislative authorities of the Kingdom with a memorandum for a project entitled “Frotecting the Written Heritage”. The authorities responded with Royal Decree Number M/23 dated 24/5/1422AH. The decree contains eight articles the most important of which authorise the Library to: acquire original MSS through purchase, donation or endowment, record all MSS in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in public, private or individual ownership, keep a copy of each MS in the Library and compile and publish a union catalogue o f these M SS-

It is interesting to note that the author made a fair copy of his MS in 1358AH/1939AD and offered it to the Makkah notable, Muhammad Naşlf, for publication. The outbreak of the second world war and the consequent rise in the price of paper prevented its publication. In 1371AH/1952AD the author copied out the MS once more, introducing additions. This copy, acquired by the Library, falls into two large volumes. The author continued to add comments and marginalia until well after the death ofH.M . King ‘Abd al-'AzIz. Another recent acquisition is a register from the Tax Department of al-Mu’ayyad, one of the Rasülid kings of Yemen. It is a rare and valuable MS which dates to the seventh century AH, a time when the area enjoyed a flourishing economy. It contains, besides financial tables, wonderful coloured maps of Yemen and the southern parts of the Arabian Peninsula It lists the borders o f the various provinces, their planting and harvesting schedules and their crops. It also lists the developmental needs of each province.

AL-FURÇÂN ISLAMIC HERITAGE FOUNDATION NEWSLETTER IX

'All ibn Sulayman al-Şuwayni' Director Tirana•

The Second International Symposium on “Islamic Civilisation in the Balkans” was held in Tirana, Albania from 4 to 7 December 2003. It was opened by H. E. Fatos Nano, Frime Minister of Albania, and was attended by approximately 100 international scholars and specialists. It was jointly organised by IRCICA (The International Research Centre for Islamic Culture and Art), the Academy of Sciences of Albania, the General Directorate of Archives (Albania), the University of Tirana, and 1SAR Foundation. Ninety-seven papers were presented during the symposium, in Albanian, English or Turkish.

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Speaking at the inaugural session, Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoğlu, □ ‫؛‬rector General of IRCICA and Vice-Chairman of al-Furqan F‫ ؟‬undat‫؛‬on, expressed his ^ p p iness at what Albania had achieved since 1992 when he had first visited Tirana as a member of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference delegation. Professor Ihsanoğlu reviewed the progress of co-o{*‫؛‬ration between the Albanian government and Albanian institutions, and emphasised the importance of this symposium. He said that it was the first large-scale scholarly activity hosted by Albania in the field of Islamic civilisation studies. It was the manifr-Ktation ofthe active role undertaken by Albania within the framework of the cultural activities of the OIC. Professor Ihsanoğlu said that the last two decades had seen important developments in the Balkans. Some were negative, such as economic problems and the outbreak of ethnic strife and VİOlence. But positive developments were the establishment of friendly relations between countries in the region, economic development, international co-operation and improvements in the status and rights of minorities. “This new situation”, he said, “has started to yield its results in various fields, including the scientific and scholarly fields, and the present symposium is a good example of this”. The symposium was aimed at promoting scholarly regional co-operation within and around the Balkans and encouraging Balkan studies, as well as studies on regional aspects of Islamic civilisation. A new chapter in Balkan studies had been opened with the initiatives taken after the first such symposium, held in Sofia in 2000. In the closing session of the symposium on 7 December, the following view was expressed: “We all agree that we are at a new era for the study ofthe Balkans. There emerges a new scholarship, free of bias, hatred, preconceived ideas and ideologieal dogmas. It has an open mind. It is scientific and objective. Its new approach will replace the old historiography. It is not isolated from other contemporary scientific currents and scholarship. We have to respect history and work for peaceful coexistence.” A network of scholars has already been established through the two symposia organised by IRCICA on “Islamic Civilisation in the Balkans”. An idea bom out of an informal meeting between Professor Ihsanoğlu and some of the participants was that the symposium should be “self-perpetuating, auton‫ ؟‬i‫ ؟ ؟‬us and dynamic”, ^he participants wel‫ ؟‬om‫؟‬d this suggestion, ^he idea ‫ إ ه‬institutionaling the symposium, in the form of an association with its own statutes, was strongly supported, ^pon th‫ ؛؟‬proposal of Professor Ihsanoğlu the closing session was considered the founding meeting for the association

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HONOURS

Professor w. Montgomery Watt In 2002 BRISMES (the British Society for Middle East Studies) decided to set up an award for services to Middie East studies in the United Kingdom. The award is intended to recognise outstanding contributions to the field from both individuals and institutions The first award was voted unanimously for Emeritus Professor w. Montgomery Watt of Edinburgh University and founding m‫ ؟‬mber of the International Advisory Council of al-Furqan Foundation. BRISMES President, Noel Brehony, in presenting the prize to Professor Watt, said that he was regarded as “a giant - one of those great figures that emerge from tim‫ ؟‬to tim‫ ؟‬and change perceptions, thinking and understanding”. Professor Wat،, he said “is regarded as one ofthe outstanding scholars of the age”, not just by western but also by Muslim scholars who recognise that his works have been ground-breaking. He has also contributed enormously to the Christians’ understanding of Islam.

AL-FURQAN ISLAM IC HERITAGE FOUNDATION N EW SLETTER IX

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HONOURS

‫م‬

Published W orks Of Iraj A fshar

C o m p ile d By: B abak A fsh a r. B a h ra in A fshar. K o o sh iar A fsh a r A rash A fsh a r

‫ ل م ا‬A n g e le s, 2003

In memory o f our beloved late mother Shayesteh Afsharieh who for more than fifty years had supported works o f our father lraj Afshar

Al-Furqan Foundation has received a copy of a bibliography ofthe works of Professor Iraj Afshar. Compiled by Baba^, Bahnun, Kooshiar'and Arash, Professor Afshar's four children, it is clearly a labour of love. The volume is dedicated to the late Mrs Afshar.

Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoğlu, Director General of IRCICA and Vice Chairman of al-Furqan Fo^n^a^on, received me UNESCO medal, onthe occasion ofthe completion of volume V of Culture ‫ ل ه ه‬Learning ‫ ط‬Islam, of which Professor Ihsanoğlu is the editor.

A L-F U R Q Â N ISLA M IC HERITAGE FOUNDATION NEW SLETTER IX

‫وا‬

al-Furqan news.

Eagle House, headquarters o f al-Furq^ Islamic Heritage Foundation

EAGLE HOUSE

PUBUC EVENTS

Al-Furq‫؛؛‬n Foundation's headquarters is Eagle House, a gracious seventeenth-century manor house in Wimbledon, a suburb in the south west of London. The house was built in 1613 as a home for one of the founders of the East India Company and retains several architectural features of the period, not least of which arc the fine plasterwork eeilings in four of the publie rooms.

LECTURES

The Yamani Cultural and Charitable Foundation acquired the house in 1988. The process of rcstoring the house took three years and Eagle House was officially opened in 1991. Yisitors to the house today invariably comment on its sensitive restoration: the authentic features of the house have been lovingly restored and elements of Islamic design and decoration have been sympathetically introduced. The result is a unique blend of the eastern and western.

Wednesday, 25th February 2004, 7 pm At Eagle House, Wimbledon Fete‫ ؛‬Clark del ivered ‫ ة‬leetnre entitled: Imagination and Responsibility: Tasks, Trials and Tribulations o f Literaty Translation. Dr Clark has translated eight books from Arabic into English and spoke about the role of the translator as cultural mediator. His first translation from Arabic was Karari the Sudanese: Account ofthe Battle ofOmdurman by Ismat Hasan Zulfo, a Sudanese historian, which was published in 1980. Since then he has translated works from most Arab countries - novels, history, short stories and plays. He has also written a literary biography Marmaduke Pickthall, British Muslim (1986) aboil» a scholar who wrote novels about the Middle East, embraced Islam and translated the Holy Qur^n. Feter Clark has degrees from the Universities of Keele and Leicester and has spent nearly 3 0 years ‫؛‬٨ the Middle East, working for the British Council.

Address for correspondence: Al-Furqan Islamic Heritage Foundation Eagle House High Street W imbledon London S W I9 5EF UK

T e l:( + + 4 4 20) 8944 1233 Fax: (++ 44 20) 8944 1633 Email: info@al-furqan.com

AL-FU RQ AN ISLAM IC HERITAGE FOUNDATION N EW SLETTER IX