Al-Furqan Islamic Herbage
Foundation
Newsletter NUMBER SIX November 2001
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From the Chairman I have the pleasure to introduce the sixth issu e o f al-Furqan Islam ic H eritage Foundation's Newsletter, w hich is now entering a new phase o f its life: from this issue onwards it w ill be published biannually, every spring and autumn. In the months since the publication o f our last N ew sletter, alF u rq ^ Foundation has continued its work to save, catalogue, preserve, edit and promote Islamic manuscripts and the heritage contained and em bodied within them. Great progress has been made in the project o f the Encyclopaedia o f Makkah and Madinah (pages 4-5). A high-capacity computer network has been acquired, entries o f the encyclopaedia have been finalised and materials for the trial issu e have been put together ready to be submitted to a carefully selected panel o f experts. A l-F u rq ^ has also organised a training course for com pilers o f -manuscript cata .logues in A frica This ran in
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and was held 2001 A w ard ........................................................... 10 C hairm an’s A d d ress ......................... 1 C t ^ o g u i n ^ ^ n i n g C o u rse........... 6 -C om m unity E v en ts.......................... 18
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-otner A in can coun tries w hiie lectures were given by
L ectures .......................................................a number o f distinguished spe9 O bituaries .................................................... cialists in the field o f cod icology. 13 -F rofile 3 The course was a good opportuni
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exchange view s and to establish -relationships for future co-opera tion and co-ordination. Three similar courses were previously
organised by a l-F u rq ^ : in Istanbul, Cairo and London. A fifth training cou rse is in the pipeline for com pilers o f manuscript catalogues in Central Asia. In Novem ber 2001 an international con feren ce on Thabit ibn Qurrah, the brilliant and innovative Baghdadi mathematician was held at the Foundation's headquarters in London. A select group o f experts on the subject attended the conference, whether as speakers or participants. A con feren ce ©n Thabit ibn Qurrah, a Sabian in a M uslim state, at this particular historical juncture is a testim ony to the im portance o f dialogue betw een civ ilisa tio n s, to the virtues o f tolerance and co-operation and to the fact that Islamic civilisation has throughout its history provided a valuable m odel for □pholding the values o f dialogue, co-operation and harmony. Al-Furqan Foundation, with its interest in the Islamic heritage, is now paying tribute to Ibn Qurrah's scientific achievem ent, recognising that Islam ic civilisation encom passed the work o f all those,whether M u slim s or nonM uslim s, w ho lived under its aegis. They were all citizens o f the Islam ic state, contributing to its developm ent and the flow ering o f its culture. Today, at al-Furqan Foundation, scholars and experts, M uslim s and non-M uslim s, are working together to fulfil a com mon, noble goal, b elieving that the pursuit o f know ledge, truth and learning must be beneficial to all humanity. M ay G od guide and help us in our endeavour. Ahm ed 7.aki Yamani Chairman o f al-Furqan