While there has always been a high regard for the written word in Islamic teachings, this has not necessarily translated to adequate levels of funding for libraries and museums across the Islamic world. Without institutions in place to support the conservation of knowledge resources, the preservation of Islamic manuscripts of historical significance has been neglected.
The Islamic Manuscript Association (www.islamicmanuscript.org) aims to bring attention to this critical area of knowledge preservation. The association was established at the Second Islamic Manuscript Conference at the University of Cambridge in August 2006 by 45 founding members. Over the last two years the group’s membership has doubled. Members take an active role in guiding the direction of the association by proposing new projects and finding constructive and sustainable solutions to the problems facing institutions and individuals working with Islamic manuscripts.
The Islamic Manuscript Association (TIMA) will be holding the Fifth Islamic Manuscript Conference at Christ’s College, University of Cambridge, UK from July 24-26, 2009. The conference will be hosted by the Thesaurus Islamicus Foundation and the Centre of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, University of Cambridge. The Fifth Islamic Manuscript Conference will specifically address the issue of access to manuscripts. TIMA believes that is it essential to improve access to Islamic manuscripts through digitization and electronic ordering and delivery systems while ensuring their proper long-term preservation. Such access is fundamental to the successful future study of the Islamic heritage.
According to TIMA, technologies are available that have the potential to transform the way manuscripts are studied. However, the access these technologies can allow is counterbalanced by collection holders’ concerns regarding their legal rights and the financial sustainability of their organizations. During the Fifth Islamic Manuscript Conference these vital issues will be discussed by invited speakers and selected paper presenters.
The conference will be organized around the association’s four main interest groups: cataloging, conservation, digitization and publishing and research. The first day will also feature two special panels, a “Collections” panel introducing less well-known collections from Africa, the Balkans and Turkey, and a panel devoted to the conference theme of Access. Speakers of note who will be presenting at the conference include Oliver Watson, director, Museum of Islamic Art, Doha; David Jacobs, senior conservator, British Library; and Buhaija Chadhli, senior lecturer, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University of Hassan II, Morocco. One of the more unusual highlights at the conference will be a presentation on Islamic Manuscripts from Cambodia by Philip Bruckmayer, Ph.D. candidate at the Institute of Oriental Studies, University of Vienna.
According to Jenny Wright, assistant director of The Islamic Manuscript Association, the group is about to commence a major drive to reach out to the Arab World. They are hoping to encourage more professionals from the Middle East who have an interest in conservation and library science to attend the upcoming conference and provide input on the future direction of the Association.
“We are aware that we don’t have as many members from the Middle East as we would like,” said Wright. “We are in the process of overhauling our online presence and next week will launch a new website which will include much more Arabic content and resources to support Islamic manuscript conservation efforts in the Arab world. The site will also enable online registration for our upcoming conference. We will continue to hold the bi-annual meetings of TIMA at different libraries around the world in order to interface with scholars and conservation professionals in their home environments. We have been growing mostly by word of mouth but we now have the resources in place to use technology to help support and encourage our international membership.”
Wright was frank in explaining that in many countries in the developing world, the latest innovations in library sciences have been slow to find acceptance and adoption. This is due in part to the challenges of knowledge dissemination as well as the costs of training and funding. She pointed out that experienced conservators too often aren’t held in high regard in nations where funding for libraries is extremely limited. TIMA does provide grants to support efforts focused on preserving historically important Islamic manuscripts.
TIMA is also starting a new program in which individuals and organizations will be able to sponsor the travel costs of experts from the developing world in order that they could be speakers at TIMA conferences and meetings. TIMA has estimated that it only costs about 1,000 GBP to enable such individuals to share their knowledge with the greater conservation community and be a part of the international efforts to preserve Islamic manuscripts of historical importance for future generations.
