Al-Fadl Center in Iraq Revives Rare Islamic Manuscripts
It has been launched by the Astan (custodianship) of the holy shrine of Hazrat Abbas (AS).
The experts strive to revive the precious cultural heritage related to the school of Ahl-ul-Bayt (AS).
Layth Lufti, head of the center, says the Astan, which attaches great importance to preserving the Islamic heritage and rare manuscript, has provided advanced equipment for the restoration works.
He said the experts and technicians working with the equipment and machinery have attended courses and workshops in the European countries where they have been manufactured.
Al-Fadl Center has three main sections and various units like biologic lab, chemistry lab, restoration unit, arts and decoration unit, and a manuscripts treasury, he noted.
According to Ali Muhammad Jasim, the center’s deputy, the equipment and machinery used by the experts team have been imported from Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Japan and the US.
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He says there are 22 experts and technicians in the team who are highly trained in the field of restoration of manuscripts.
They have attended many workshops and specialized courses in different countries, including some in the Islamic Republic of Iran, he said.
The center, for its part, organizes training and educational programs for the staff of libraries, universities, and government departments, he added.
The center has also signed an agreement with Iraq’s ministry of culture and ancient heritage to train new experts, he stated.
Ali Muhammad Jasim, another deputy of Al-Fadl Center, says its treasury contains very rare and precious manuscripts that cannot be priced.
One of them is a manuscript copy of the Mus’haf attributed to Imam Sajjad (AS), he said.
It has 16 pages made of deer skin and dates back to more than 12 centuries ago, the official added.
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Latif Abdul Zurah, a microbiologist who has been working at the center for more than 12 years, says one of the Mus’hafs the center has revived dates back to five centuries ago.
He said the copy has Tazheeb (illumination) and other decorations but was in a dilapidated state.
The restoration work was carried out meticulously, using veracious equipment and methods, he noted.
Saeed Zamizam, an Iraqi historian, believes that restoring and reviving the remaining old manuscripts is very important.
He said the Astans of the holy shrines of Imam Hussein (AS) and Hazrat Abbas (AS) have made valuable efforts in this regard but the Iraqi government should also attach more importance to it.
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