National Day of Lebanon

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22nd November: National Day of Lebanon

A brief about Lebanon’s Islamic written heritage

The Mohammad al-Amin mosque in Beirut. Photo by Fred Nassar on Unsplash

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 Lebanon.

Lebanon’s Islamic written heritage was surveyed in 1991, by Yusuf K. Khoury, with additional material by G. J. Roper.

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, Lebanon has just over 12,400 manuscripts, held in 45 libraries (private and institutional). These libraries have mostly been established between 1000 – 1985, and their collections vary between 5 and 3,000 manuscripts.

Bacchus Temple, Baalbek (Heliopolis), Lebanon (2017). Photo by Fred Nassar on Unsplash
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. 2, pp. 183-214.

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 overall reflecting 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.

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