22th September: National Day of Mali
A brief about Mali’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 Mali.
Mali’s Islamic written heritage was surveyed in 1992, by Baba Yunus Muhammad.
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, Mali has just over 5,900 manuscripts, held in 17 libraries (private and institutional). These libraries have mostly been established between 1950 – 1990, and their collections vary between 40 and 800 manuscripts.
| 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. 273-288. 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. Please use the feedback form (below) to send us your comments and feedback. |