28th May: National Day of Ethiopia
A brief about Ethiopia’s Islamic written heritage
Among the 106 countries included in the “World Survey of Islamic Manuscripts” (the flagship project undertaken by Al-Furqan Islamic Heritage Foundation between the years 1989 – 1994) was Ethiopia.
Ethiopia’s Islamic written heritage was surveyed in 1993, by Hussein Ahmed.
This survey brought to light a wealth of information about the Country’s collections of Islamic manuscripts, by indicating: the cities and libraries that hold these manuscripts, the approximate number of manuscripts within each collection, the subjects and languages in which they are written, the conditions in which they are and whether they have been catalogued and studied, the particular significant manuscripts which they contain, etc.
According to this Survey, Ethiopia has just over 150 manuscripts, held in Institute of Ethiopian Studies: Manuscript and Documentation Centre in the city of Addis Ababa. This library was established in 1986.
| Source note: This information was published in the following book: “World Survey of Islamic Manuscripts” (English version), 1997-2002, Al-Furqan Islamic Heritage Foundation, London, UK, Vol. 4, pp. 127-130. Please note that some of the images used in this online version might not be part of the published version of this article within the respective book. Disclaimer: The data figures, the names, and other details are reflecting overall those of the time when the Survey was conducted. Important note: The Foundation is striving to update these details in progress; and, Your help in this regard would be much appreciated. Please use the feedback form (below) to send us your comments and feedback. |