Al-Azhar Seeks to Recover Quran Manuscript
Egypt’s Al-Azhar institute said on Thursday that legal measures were under way to recover a Quranic manuscript taken from Cairo in the 18th century during Napoleon’s invasion.
French auction house Osenat withdrew the manuscript after the Egyptian embassy in Paris lobbied against its sale.
Al-Azhar, considered the most prestigious seat of Sunni Muslim learning, said legal measures were under way “to bring back the manuscript and other relics from Azhar’s great human heritage.”
The 47-page manuscript of the opening Suras of Islam’s Holy Book was taken from Al-Azhar’s mosque. Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt in 1798 triggered a revolt in Cairo and the mosque was the rebels’ headquarters. During an attack on the mosque, the manuscript was saved from being destroyed by fire by Jean-Joseph Marcel, an Orientalist who had accompanied Napoleon.
The manuscript now belongs to a private collector.
“We are aware of the feelings that the proposed sale has provoked in Egypt and after friendly exchanges with the embassy, we decided to withdraw the manuscript from this weekend's sale,” company director Jean-Pierre Osenat said. “It is a decision we took independently,” he added, insisting that the auction house had not been subject to any kind of threat.
Egypt's ambassador to France, Mohamed Moustafa Kamal, thanked Osenat for his understanding.
Source: AFP
Al-Azhar, considered the most prestigious seat of Sunni Muslim learning, said legal measures were under way “to bring back the manuscript and other relics from Azhar’s great human heritage.”
The 47-page manuscript of the opening Suras of Islam’s Holy Book was taken from Al-Azhar’s mosque. Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt in 1798 triggered a revolt in Cairo and the mosque was the rebels’ headquarters. During an attack on the mosque, the manuscript was saved from being destroyed by fire by Jean-Joseph Marcel, an Orientalist who had accompanied Napoleon.
The manuscript now belongs to a private collector.
“We are aware of the feelings that the proposed sale has provoked in Egypt and after friendly exchanges with the embassy, we decided to withdraw the manuscript from this weekend's sale,” company director Jean-Pierre Osenat said. “It is a decision we took independently,” he added, insisting that the auction house had not been subject to any kind of threat.
Egypt's ambassador to France, Mohamed Moustafa Kamal, thanked Osenat for his understanding.
Source: AFP
