Wednesday, December 18, 2024

OA Book: Venice and the Ottoman Empire: A Tale of Art, Culture, and Exchange

 Venice and the Ottoman Empire: A Tale of Art, Culture, and Exchange


"Accompanying a major traveling exhibition, this book examines the unique artistic and cultural exchange between the Republic of Venice and Turkish Ottoman culture and identity over a three-hundred-year period. 

From the early Renaissance to the end of the eighteenth century, Venice held a central position in the global trade network. This book explores how artistic and cultural ideas originating in the Ottoman Empire arrived in Venice and were reinterpreted through the decorative arts, printed books, painting, drawing, and architecture. 

Featuring a richly diverse selection from the collections of the Musei Civici di Venezia, this volume showcases the creative contributions of well-known Venetian artists such as Vittore Carpaccio, Gentile Bellini, Michele Giambono, and Mariano Fortuny alongside works created by the best anonymous craftspeople both in Venice and the Ottoman Empire, including textiles, metalwork, armor, and ceramics. With newly researched essays by esteemed international scholars on topics such as trade routes, the involvement of international communities in Venice, diplomatic interactions, and military power dynamics, this important volume offers freshly reviewed and new perspectives on the intricate artistic relationship that existed between Venice and the Ottoman Empire. 

About The Author Stefano Carboni was the inaugural CEO of the Museums Commission of the Ministry of Culture of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (2019–23); director and CEO of the Art Gallery of Western Australia (2008–19); and curator and administrator in the Department of Islamic Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (1992–2008). He is adjunct professor at the University of Western Australia."

URL: https://insight.randomhouse.com/widget/v4/?width=600&height=800&isbn=9780847838790 


OA Journal: The Arabist: Budapest Studies in Arabic

 


"A double-blind peer-reviewed journal in the field of Arabic and Islamic studies, founded in 1988.

ISSN: 0239-1619

Founding Editor: Alexander Fodor (1941-2014)

Editor-in-Chief: Kinga Dévényi

Editors:

Antonella Ghersetti 

Anne Regourd

Avihai Shivtiel

Review Editor: Tamás Iványi

Publisher: Eötvös Loránd University Chair of Arabic Studies & Csoma de Kőrös Society Section of Islamic Studies

For enquiries and submission of articles to the journal please write to arabist@korosicsomatarsasag.hu"

URL: https://arabist.hu/



Saturday, November 9, 2024

Country of Words A Transnational Atlas for Palestinian Literature




Country of Words :  A Transnational Atlas for Palestinian Literature
Refqa Abu-Remaileh

"Country of Words: A Transnational Atlas for Palestinian Literature is a digital-born project that retraces and remaps the global story of Palestinian literature in the twentieth century, starting from the Arab world and going through Europe, North America, and Latin America. Sitting at the intersection of literary history, periodical studies, and digital humanities, Country of Words creates a digitally networked and multilocational literary history—a literary atlas enhanced. The virtual realm acts as the meeting place for the data and narrative fragments of this literature-in-motion, bringing together porous, interrupted, disconnected, and discontinuous fragments into an elastic, interconnected, and entangled literary history."


Tuesday, October 15, 2024

İstanbul Ansiklopedisi: Reşad Ekrem Koçu


"A joint project initiated by Salt and Kadir Has University in 2018, istanbulansiklopedisi.org offers access to the printed volumes of Reşad Ekrem Koçu’s Istanbul Encyclopedia and thousands of related documents. It brings together over 40,000 digitized documents, incorporating published encyclopedia articles and a body of archival material that forms the basis for subsequent volumes. Enabling an in-depth analysis of the archive, the online platform provides a basis to trace and explore the visual and textual connections between various sources. 

Blending common facts with unusual accounts, the Istanbul Encyclopedia —and the relevance of the knowledge it entails— is worthy of further scrutiny."

URLhttps://istanbulansiklopedisi.org/  

Wednesday, October 9, 2024

Accountability Archive

 


"The Accountability Archive is a crowdsourced record of journalists, politicians, and public figures endorsing or encouraging the ethnic cleansing of Gaza and/or defaming pro-Palestinian activists.
We have a vision of a public resource to be used by future historians, and researchers, helping understand how power holders attempted to manufacture consent for the genocidal aggression towards the Palestinian people. We hope this resource will serve to hold them to account."

Wednesday, August 21, 2024

Open Access Book: Early Civilization and the American Modern : Images of Middle Eastern origins in the United States, 1893–1939




Author: Eva Miller
Published: UCL Press, 2024
Series: Modern Americas

ISBN: 9781800087200

"In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, a particular story about the United States’ role in the long history of world civilization was constructed in public spaces, through public art and popular histories. This narrative posited that civilization and its benefits – science, law, writing, art and architecture – began in Egypt and Mesopotamia before passing ever further westward, towards a triumphant culmination on the American continent.

Early Civilization and the American Modern explores how this teleological story answered anxieties about the United States’ unique role in the long march of progress. Eva Miller focuses on important figures who collaborated on the creation of a visual, progressive narrative in key institutions, world’s fairs and popular media: Orientalist and public intellectual James Henry Breasted, astronomer George Ellery Hale, architect Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue, and decorative artists Lee Lawrie and Hildreth Meière. At a time when new information about the ancient Middle East was emerging through archaeological excavation, ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia appeared simultaneously old and new. This same period was crucial to the development of public space and civic life across the United States, as a shared sense of historical consciousness was actively pursued by politicians, philanthropists, intellectuals, architects and artists."


Open Access Book: Aspects of Ottoman Economy and Culture


Title: Aspects of Ottoman Economy and Culture: Papers presented at the 24th Symposium of the Comité International des Études Pré-Ottomanes et Ottomanes (CIÉPO)

Editors: Phokion Kotzageorgis & Dimitris Papastamatiou
Published: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, School of History and Archaeology, Thessaloniki 2024
195 pages.

ISBΝ: 9786185649555

CONTENTS

Preface

PART 1: ECONOMY
Stratis Anagnostou: The Transaction of the Foreign Trade between Lesvos and France and the Collection of Customs Taxes in the Island during the 18th Century, According to Relevant French Archives

Yasar Tolga Cora: "It is Contraction not Crisis": the Panic in the Ottoman Markets in 1906-1908

Melina Grammatikopoulou: European Perceptions of Ottoman Labour

Phokion P. Kotzageorgis: Taking the Baton from J.C. Alexander: the Great Meteoron Monastery in the Early Ottoman Period (15th-16th centuries)

Sevinç Kiiçiikoglu: Financial Supervision in Ottoman Provinces During the era ofSelim III: Emerging Actors

Fatma Öncel: Visualising Confiscation Records of Early-nineteenth Century Ottoman Greece

Dimitris Papastamatiou: Conversing with the Sublime Porte: a Moreot Magnate's Political Interplay with the Ottoman Authority

Onur Usta: What do Gristmills Tell us about the Social and Economic History of Ottoman Anatolia in the Early Seventeenth Century? Rethinking the Wrath of Nature: the Case of Urfa (Ruha), 1629-1631

PART 2: CULTURE

Antonis G. Katsarakis: The ‘‘Yali Camii” in Crete, Greece. An Interpetation of its Layout and Distinctive Dome

Seda Kula: Ottoman Imperial School of Fine Arts’ Role in Architectural Heritage Related Studies and Practices in Late Ottoman Era

Dr. Melpomeni S. Perdikopoulou: The Double Hamam of Ottoman Zichna; an Effort to Interpret an Unknown Bath

Georgios Salakidis: An 18th Century Greek Translation of Mehmed b. Pіr Ali Birgivi’s Vasiyetname

Monday, August 5, 2024

New OA Journal: The Olive Tree: An international collection of art protesting the ongoing genocide of Palestinians.

 The Olive Tree: An international collection of art protesting the ongoing genocide of Palestinians.


"The Olive Tree

This publication is a direct response to the war in Gaza, the ongoing genocide and ethnic cleansing campaign, and the illegal settlements and apartheid system that Palestinians are subject to.

 

We are a group of students who believe in the power of art to make a change to this suffering. Where political rhetoric has failed, where news reporting agencies have faltered in delivering truth, we believe that art has a massive potential to capture and convey the plight of the Palestinian people to those who seem otherwise unbothered. As foreign observers of this conflict, ones whose tax dollars are used to fund the bombs being dropped indiscriminately, we feel we must do something.

 

This publication is the result of that feeling. We aim to use the power of art to address the nuance of the situation, to build empathy for the Palestinian struggle, and to shine a light onto the situation with the hopes of bringing these emotions into the public conversation and affecting change. Most importantly, we aim to use the power of art to protest and convey the unconditional immorality of this situation. If you have strong feelings about the war in Gaza or have produced artwork that grapples with this subject, then this publication is for you. Furthermore, we want to emphasize our commitment to elevating Palestinian voices in this collection. This collection seeks to center the art and writing of Palestinian artists and bolster their voices with the art of other communities and allies who stand with them in protest."

The Olive Tree: https://theolivetreecollection.wordpress.com/   


Sunday, July 28, 2024

Arabic and Persian Seals and Amulets in the British Museum

Porter, Venetia

This catalogue is the first on the outstanding collection of Arabic and Persian seals and amulets in the British Museum, by a specialist in the field. The first part focuses on the 638 Arabic, Persian and Indian seals covering material from the 8th to the 20th century. The introduction covers seal practice in different periods and levels of society; the role of the seal and the "alama" or motto, the use of figural representation on the seals, seal engravers, the forgery of seals and the importance of the stones used are described. The features of the seals themselves, in particular the palaeography and dating of early Islamic seals, some grammatical features of the inscriptions, and the range of designs present on the seals are analysed. The types and form of Islamic names, the range of phrases that commonly appear and the characteristics of later seals are also discussed. The second part focuses on 170 amulets in the collection preceded by an introduction to the subject. Research into the engraving techniques is presented with analysis of the stones used. This publication will be a standard work of reference for years to come.

 

Tuesday, July 23, 2024

Open Access Book: نهج البلاغة = Nahj al-balāghah : the wisdom and eloquence of ʻAlī

Nahj al-balāghah : the wisdom and eloquence of ʻAlī : a parallel English-Arabic text / compiled by al-Sharīf al-Raḍī (d. 406/1015)., et al. 

نهج البلاغة : من كلام امير المؤمنين علي بن أبي طالب صلوات الله عليه. 

Translated by Tahera Qutbuddin.

Published: Brill, Leiden, 2024

ISBN: 9789004682603, 9004682600


Saturday, June 8, 2024

Fallacies in the Arabic, Byzantine, Hebrew and Latin Traditions

Publication Cover
pISBN: 978-2-503-60819-8
eISBN: 978-2-503-60820-4
doi: 10.1484/M.ADARG-EB.5.135309
Download: PDF(2.37MB)

Fallacy studies are a well established and fast expanding field of argumentation theory. Without notable exception, however, the evergrowing literature on argumentative failure suffers from a conspicuous lack of interest in medieval fallacy theory - arguably the most creative stage in the whole history of argumentation theories. The standard story is that after Aristotle got off to a tentative start, the study of fallacies lay dormant until people at Port Royal and John Locke revived it in spectacular fashion. The volume will show that this picture is both inaccurate and misleading. By working its way from the inside out within each medieval world, Fallacies in the Arabic, Byzantine, Hebrew and Latin Traditions will provide ample and unambiguous record of the exegetical proficiency, technical expertise and argumentative savoir-faire typically displayed by medieval authors on issues about flawed arguments which are all too often our own.

Table of Contents


Open Access

Open Access

Open Access

Open Access

Open Access

Open Access

Open Access

Open Access

Open Access

Open Access

Open Access

 

Wednesday, May 15, 2024

Nakba Day Anniversary, 2024: Archives, Libraries, Memory and Narrative


Please take a look at the post published published by Global Studies at Columbia University Libraries on today's anniversary of Nakba :


The post reminds us of the ongoing horrific loss of Palestinian lives but focuses on systemic attacks on Palestinian libraries, museums, archives, cultural and heritage institutions.  
Short bibliographies of selected resources are available in each of these four sections: 


Monday, May 6, 2024

Newly Open Access Journal: Getty Research Journal

Getty Research Journal

Getty Research Journal, No. 19 book cover

The Getty Research Journal is an open-access publication presenting peer-reviewed articles on the visual arts of all cultures, regions, and time periods.

The journal is published through Getty’s Quire software and freely available in web, PDF, and e-book formats. Topics often relate to Getty collections, initiatives, and broad research interests, although this is not a requirement for consideration. The journal welcomes a diversity of perspectives and methodological approaches, and seeks to include work that expands narratives on global culture. We encourage topics and cultural perspectives that remain marginalized in art history and related fields, as well as work by scholars of underrepresented backgrounds.

Previously available via subscription, the Getty Research Journal converted to a diamond open-access publication with the spring 2024 (no. 19) issue. Past issues (nos. 1–18) are available via subscription from Project MUSE while an evaluation is underway to determine the feasibility of making them freely available.

Getty Research Journal, No. 19

2024

Table of Contents

Past issues by subscription at Muse: Past Issues

 

Arabic Documents from Medieval Nubia

Arabic Documents from Medieval Nubia - cover image

his volume presents an edition of a corpus of Arabic documents datable to the 11th and 12th centuries AD that were discovered by the Egypt Exploration Society at the site of the Nubian fortress Qaṣr Ibrīm (situated in the south of modern Egypt). The edition of the documents is accompanied by English translations and a detailed analysis of their contents and historical background.

The documents throw new light on relations between Egypt and Nubia in the High Middle Ages, especially in the Fatimid period. They are of particular importance since previous historical studies from the perspective of Arabic sources have been almost entirely based on historiographical sources, often written a long time after the events described and distorted by tendentious points of view.

Contents

1. Introduction

(pp. 1–14)
  • Geoffrey Khan
  • Geoffrey Khan
  • Geoffrey Khan

5. Legal Documents

(pp. 145–184)
  • Geoffrey Khan

6. Coinage

(pp. 185–192)
  • Geoffrey Khan

7. Taxes

(pp. 193–194)
  • Geoffrey Khan
  • Geoffrey Khan

9. Titles of Officials

(pp. 205–234)
  • Geoffrey Khan
  • Geoffrey Khan

12. Script and Layout

(pp. 263–276)
  • Geoffrey Khan

13. Language

(pp. 277–284)
  • Geoffrey Khan

14. Maps

(pp. 285–286)
  • Geoffrey Khan

Contributors

Geoffrey Khan

(author)

Book Series

Copyright

Geoffrey Khan

Published On

2024-05-06

ISBN

Paperback978-1-80511-230-3
Hardback978-1-80511-231-0
PDF978-1-80511-232-7

Language

  • English

Print Length

854 pages (xiv+840)

Dimensions

Thursday, April 25, 2024

 



"Funded through two grants from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Phase One of the Open Islamicate Texts Initiative Arabic-script OCR Catalyst Project (OpenITI AOCP) is the first undertaking of its kind to tackle the technical and organizational barriers that historically have stymied the development of Arabic-script OCR and digital text production for Islamicate Studies.
OpenITI AOCP is led by an interdisciplinary team of humanities, computer science, and digital humanities co-principal investigators from Roshan Institute for Persian Studies at the University of Maryland, College Park, Northeastern University’s NULab for Texts, Maps, and Networks, the Aga Khan University’s Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations in London, and the Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities at the University of Maryland, College Park. We are proud to partner with the SHARIAsource project of the Program in Islamic Law at Harvard Law School and the eScripta project of Université Paris Sciences et Lettres for the technical development portion of the project.

The primary technical goal of the first phase of OpenITI AOCP is to achieve ≥97% character accuracy rates (CARs) for OCR on the most used Persian and Arabic print typefaces. 

The second major deliverable of OpenITI AOCP is an open-source and user-friendly digital text production pipeline for Persian and Arabic texts."


Friday, April 19, 2024

Digital archive : Middle East Women’s Activism

"Middle East Women’s Activism digital archive is a collection of interviews with 96 women of different generations in Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon, which form the basis of a monograph, entitled, Embodying Geopolitics: Generations of Women’s Activism in Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon. All interviews were conducted by Nicola Pratt, University of Warwick, in 2013-2014 as part of a British Academy Mid-Career Fellowship exploring the relationship between gender and geopolitics in the context of the Middle East."

Monday, April 15, 2024

AMBULO (Arabic Manuscripts in the Bologna University Library Online)

AMBULO (Arabic Manuscripts in the Bologna University Library Online

"AMBULO" Project (acronym of Arabic Manuscripts in the Bologna University Library Online) is promoted by the King Abdulaziz Chair for Islamic Studies – University of Bologna. The project is carried out under the supervision of Prof. Ahmad Addous, and coordinated by Dr. Valentina Sagaria Rossi. "AMBULO" has actually started in September 2017 and it envisages the revaluation of one of the most important and richest collections of Arabic manuscripts hosted in a public library in Italy: the Oriental Manuscripts Fund of the University"

Wednesday, March 20, 2024

Persian Manuscript Materials

 

Persian Manuscript Materials

"This website is dedicated to the study of the material technology of Persian manuscripts. Our goal is to investigate the intricate materials utilized in historical Persian manuscripts, shedding light on the methods and techniques derived from historical recipes mainly between the Taimurid to Qajar dynasties of Persia (15th-19th centuries).

Accompanied by images captured during the reconstruction process following the historical recipes, we aim to provide an immersive exploration into the material heritage of Persian manuscripts."

Friday, March 15, 2024

Ibn Gabirol Digital Project

logo

This project endeavours to provide a comprehensive overview of the philosophy of Ibn Gabirol, an 11th-century Jewish philosopher from Andalusia. Within this framework, both his biographical details and philosophical writings are examined on this website through the use of multiple digital methodologies. Categorized under the domain of Digital Humanities, the project aims to expand the accessibility of Ibn Gabirol's philosophical ideas to a broader audience. By adopting this multifaceted approach, the project aims to offer a comprehensive and scholarly view of Ibn Gabirol's life and works, enriching both contemporary and future scholarship in the realm of philosophy.

The project is sponsored by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK).

Visit the User Manual for detailed instructions to improve your experience.

 

 

Thursday, March 7, 2024

LAMINE 4. An Armenian Futūh Narrative: Łewond’s Eighth-Century History of the Caliphate

Sergio La Porta and Alison M. Vacca
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Series Editors: Antoine Borrut and Fred M. Donner

Purchase Download Terms of Use

The History of the Armenian priest Łewond is an important source for the history of early Islamic rule and the only contemporary chronicle of second/eighth-century caliphal rule in Armenia. This volume presents a diplomatic edition and new English translation of Łewond’s text, which describes events that took place during the century and a half following the Prophet Muḥammad’s death in AH 11/632 CE. The authors address Łewond’s account as a work of caliphal history, written in Armenian, from within the Caliphate. As such, this book provides a critical reading of the Caliphate from one of its most significant provinces. Reading notes clarify many aspects of the period covered to make the text understandable to students and specialists alike. Extensive commentary elucidates Łewond’s narrative objectives and situates his History in a broader Near Eastern historiographical context by bringing the text into new conversations with a constellation of Arabic, Greek, and Syriac works that cover the same period. The book thus stresses the multiplicity of voices operating in the Caliphate in this pivotal period of Near Eastern history. 

Wednesday, March 6, 2024

Syriac Manuscripts in the British Library: A New Digital Edition of Wright’s Catalogue


Syriac Manuscripts in the British Library: A New Digital Edition of Wright’s Catalogue

Editors: David A. Michelson and William L. Potter

"Syriac Manuscripts in the British Library (SMBL) is a digital enhancement of William Wright's Catalogue of Syriac Manuscripts in the British Museum acquired since the year 1838 (London, 1870-1872), published by Syriaca.org: The Syriac Reference Portal in partnership with the British Library as an open access online resource. Using new methods of digital representation, SMBL enables users to engage with the manuscript collection from diverse perspectives, facilitating exploration of the collection according to new and multiple criteria..."

Wednesday, February 28, 2024

Open Access Book: The Musical Heritage of Al-Andalus

 

Title: The Musical Heritage of Al-Andalus
Author: Reynolds, Dwight
Routledge, 2023
ISBN 9780367653613

Summary:

"The Musical Heritage of Al-Andalus is a critical account of the history of Andalusian music in Iberia from the Islamic conquest of 711 to the final expulsion of the Moriscos (Spanish Muslims converted to Christianity) in the early 17th century. This volume presents the documentation that has come down to us, accompanied by critical and detailed analyses of the sources written in Arabic, Old Catalan, Castilian, Hebrew, and Latin. It is also informed by research the author has conducted on modern Andalusian musical traditions in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Lebanon and Syria..."

Saturday, February 17, 2024

ALEPPO HERITAGE CATALOGUE دليل تراث حلب

 Museum for Islamic Art in Berlin
 متحف الفن الإسلامي في برلين
Edited by Dima Dayoub, Zoya Masoud & Hiba Bizreh

Aleppo is probably the world’s oldest continuously inhabited urban centre, and its Old City is among the most important in the eastern Mediterranean region. Partially destroyed, in some quarters razed, the city is threatened by further deterioration and ad hoc reconstruction works. In response to these threats, the Museum for Islamic Art – Berlin State Museums is creating a catalogue documenting the Old City’s most prominent monuments. The built heritage of the city, whose importance is recognized worldwide, is being recorded for posterity and attested to as worthy of preservation in the present. This multifaceted documentation will also provide concrete help with the reconstruction.

The Aleppo Heritage Catalogue is an important part of the Syrian Heritage Archive Project at the Museum for Islamic Art in the Pergamon Museum. Since 2017, it has been financed by the Gerda Henkel Stiftung. Each catalogue entry focuses on the following elements of a major historic building:

  • Photos, showing the monument before 2011, based on the digital databank of the “Syrian Heritage Archive Project”
  • Reports and materials concerning damage, carried out by the “Aleppo Built Heritage Documentation Project”, being part of the “Syrian Heritage Archive Project” (which is also financed by the Gerda Henkel Foundation)
  • Art and architectural history of the buildings, written by Aleppine and international researchers and art historians.
  • Endowment history: the social history/urban historical background of the structures.
  • Memories of Aleppine people in relation to these buildings and its neighbourhoods in the form of texts, voice records and films.
  • Detailed drawings and plans of the buildings.

The Aleppo Heritage Catalogue aims to raise awareness. This means communicating with Aleppines and other Syrians about the cultural heritage of their city and country in their mother language, regardless of their political affiliation or economic and social status. Such communication could help launch a discussion among the inhabitants of Aleppo, groups with different interests, and experts. This also entails raising awareness of the Old City’s value, especially as regards its social and historical worth, responsible preservation and reconstruction.

 

Friday, February 9, 2024

Collection of Ottoman censuses on the website of the Hungarian National Archives

 


"„Oszmán összeírások gyűjteménye” a Magyar Nemzeti Levéltár honlapján"

by Szepesiné Simon Éva, National a Hungary

The database "Collection of Ottoman censuses", available at Adatbázisok Online of the National Archives of Hungary, provides an insight into the Ottoman period and the struggling daily life of the Ottoman-Hungarian border region. The database, which currently contains some 26 300 records, primarily focuses on income and property records obtained from the Ottoman tax registers (tapu defterleri) covering the territory of the Kingdom of Hungary and makes them accessible to all, but the structure of the database is suitable for displaying all administrative units of the Ottoman Empire in the future. The collection, which offers both easy and quick access and comparative research, is recommended not only for historians, but for those interested in military history or the past of their localities, too."


Ottoman Censuseshttps://www.archivesportaleurope.net/blog/collection-of-ottoman-censuses-on-the-website-of-the-hungarian-national-archives/

Thursday, February 8, 2024

The Kingdom and the Qur’an: Translating the Holy Book of Islam in Saudi Arabia

The Kingdom and the Qur’an: Translating the Holy Book of Islam in Saudi Arabia - cover image
This book presents a detailed analysis of the translation of the Qur’an in Saudi Arabia, the most important global actor in the promotion, production and dissemination of Qur’an translations.

From the first attempts at translation in the mid-twentieth century to more recent state-driven efforts concerned with international impact, The Kingdom and the Qur’an adeptly elucidates the link between contemporary Islamic theology and the advent of modern print culture. It investigates this critical juncture in both Middle Eastern political history and the intellectual evolution of the Muslim world, interweaving literary, socio-historical, and socio-anthropological threads to depict the intricate backdrop of the Saudi ‘Qur'an translation movement’.

Mykhaylo Yakubovych provides a comprehensive historical overview of the debates surrounding the translatability of the Qur'an, as well as exploring the impact of the burgeoning translation and dissemination of the holy book upon Wahhabi and Salafi interpretations of Islam. Backed by meticulous research and drawing on a wealth of sources, this work illuminates an essential facet of global Islamic culture and scholarly discourse.

Book Series

Copyright

Mykhaylo Yakubovych

Published On

2024-02-08

ISBN

Paperback978-1-80511-176-4
Hardback978-1-80511-177-1
PDF978-1-80511-178-8
HTML978-1-80511-181-8
EPUB978-1-80511-179-5

 

 

Monday, February 5, 2024

Israeli Damage to Archives, Libraries, and Museums in Gaza, October 2023–January 2024

A Preliminary Report from Librarians and Archivists with Palestine

Download a PDF of the report here.

The destruction of cultural heritage in Gaza impoverishes the collective identity of the Palestinian people, irrevocably denies them their history, and violates their sovereignty. In this report, we offer a partial list of archives, libraries, and museums in Gaza that have been destroyed, damaged, or looted by Israeli armed forces since October 7, 2023. This report is necessarily incomplete. It is very difficult to determine the status of archives, libraries, and museums in Gaza during the ongoing Israeli bombardment. Current conditions in Gaza, such as the targeting of journalists, frequent communication blackouts, and extensive damage to the built environment pose an immediate threat to safety. Moreover, archivists and librarians have been repeatedly displaced, injured, or killed, making it even more difficult to take stock of the damage to cultural heritage. As a result, it should be assumed that this report represents only a fraction of the extent of damage and death, not a complete picture.

We compile and offer this information with the understanding that the erasure of Palestinian culture and history has long been an Israeli tactic of war and occupation, a means to further limit the self-determination of the Palestinian people. In 1948, during the Nakba, 30,000 books and manuscripts were looted from Palestinian homes; in 1982, during Israel’s invasion of Lebanon, Israel looted and confiscated the library and archives of the Palestine Liberation Organization; libraries and archives were damaged during the Second Intifada, and have been repeatedly targeted in Gaza. Furthermore, the intentional destruction of cultural heritage has been recognized as a war crime and prosecuted in the International Criminal Court.

This report joins those issued by Heritage for Peace (November 7, 2023), the Palestinian Ministry of  Culture (December 6, 2023), the Arab Regional Group at the International Council of Monuments and Sites (January 9, 2024), and others. These reports document the destruction of religious sites, archaeological evidence, cultural institutions, and more. We bring a focus on libraries, archives, and museums as sites of knowledge, community spaces, and repositories of cultural heritage. Irreplaceable historic materials have been lost in the destruction of institutions such as the Central Archives of Gaza City and the Rafah Museum. The destruction of libraries represents the loss of not only book collections, but the efforts of Gaza’s librarians to acquire, care for, and provide access to reading materials, despite Israel’s ongoing blockade of the Gaza Strip. 

Finally, we include information about the librarians and archivists who have been killed in the ongoing Israeli bombardment. We mourn the deaths of our colleagues and their families.

February 1, 2024
Librarians and Archivists with Palestine

 

 

Saturday, February 3, 2024

Open Access Books from the Centre d’études et de documentation économiques, juridiques et sociales

CEDEJ - Égypte/Soudan: Centre d’études et de documentation économiques, juridiques et sociales
Le Centre d’études et de documentation économiques, juridiques et sociales (Cedej) est un centre de recherche pluridisciplinaire, dont les travaux portent principalement sur l’Égypte et le Soudan contemporains. Il publie également, depuis 1990, la revue Égypte/Monde arabe, en ligne sur Revues.org.

Tous les livres