National Day of Mauritania

Share this:

28th November: National Day of Mauritania

A brief about Mauritania’s Islamic written heritage

Chinguetti Mosque is a historic mosque located in the medieval city of Chinguetti in Adrar Region, Mauritania

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 Mauritania.

Mauritania’s Islamic written heritage was surveyed in 1993, by Genevierve Simon-Khedis.

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, Mauritania has just over 27,000 manuscripts, held in 42 libraries (private and institutional). These libraries have mostly been established between 1600 – 1990, and their collections vary between 10 and 6,000 manuscripts.

Mauritanian folkloric dance
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. 279-308.

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.

Feedback Form

We would love to hear your thoughts, suggestions, concerns or any problems so we can improve.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

A brief about Latvia’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 Latvia.

Latvia’s Islamic written heritage was surveyed in 1991, by Oleg Akimushkin

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, Latvia held in Latvijas Valsts Bibliotēka (Latvian State Library). This library was established in 1919.

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. 179-182.

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.

Feedback Form

We would love to hear your thoughts, suggestions, concerns or any problems so we can improve.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Back to Top