The Juma Al Majid Center for Culture and Heritage grew out of the public library set up in Dubai by the businessman and philanthropist of the same name. Born in 1930 in Al Shandagah, Dubai, Al Majid became a successful trader.
From the 1950s he donated a substantial portion of his income to charitable causes in Dubai. Eventually he set up schools to offer quality education to both Emirati and expatriate students from needy families. In 1991, Al Majid came to know that scholars and researchers were in dire need of access to historical manuscripts. He created a public library and purchased books from around the world to line its shelves.
The Juma Al Majid Center for Culture and Heritage employs a complete staff of restoration professionals on site. For years it has been offering assistance to national organizations worldwide which have requested advice on the care of documents of historical importance. The center has developed an advanced manuscript restoration “leaf casting” machine and made donations of these machines to 14 other nations. Leaf casting machines fill the holes and tears in the paper on which historical documents are printed. They are essential tools in modern restoration techniques.
Now the center has turned to the Internet in an attempt to extend its reach well beyond Dubai.
“We have created a website at www.almajidcenter.org,” said Mohammad Nidal Kawaf, head of the publication restoration section, Juma Al Majid Center. “In addition to showing all of the activities of the center, the website gives an idea of our facilities and also allows us to share some of the historical items in our collections.”
Additionally, the center will use the website to reach out to private collectors and families in the Middle East who are holding books and documents of historical value. These might be government documents, religious texts or paperwork from the early days of a business. The center has a focus on historical manuscripts in the Arabic language, but is interested in helping to conserve any document or book. The climate in much of the Middle East makes it very difficult to preserve history on paper.
Kawaf explained that fungi and bacteria thrive in warm, moist environments and can quickly spread throughout an entire manuscript. But even heavily infected manuscripts can be restored if the proper treatment is applied, and of course prevention of damage is always better than restoration.
He added, “we have posted a handbook online called ‘The Art of Restoration.’ It shows conservation in a step by step manner from sterilization of documents through to binding. We have noted that in other countries there are some restoration efforts underway in the private sector, but the process is too often not being carried out in a complete and perfect way. People need to be educated on the steps in conserving historical documents and manuscripts so they are not misguided and they take all the proper measures to protect these treasures.”
