Celebrating 30 Years of Al-Furqan
Islamic Heritage Foundation
Dr. Mozammel Haque
Al-Furqan
Islamic Heritage Foundation celebrated 30 years of its establishment with a
public lecture on Illustration of History in Islamic Manuscripts by Professor
Charles Melville and an exhibition on Manuscripts and the Decorative Arts in
London on 29th of November 2018.
I had
the opportunity to accompany Dr. Ahmad al-Dubayan, Director General of the
London Central Mosque Trust & Islamic Cultural Centre, to attend the celebration
of the 30 years of Al-Furqan Islamic Heritage Foundation which was held at its
premises in London on 29th of November, 2018.
To celebrate the 30th
anniversary of the establishment of Al-Furqan Islamic Heritage Foundation,
founded in 1988, the Foundation was exhibiting a selection of sources from the
special collections held at Al-Furqan Library on “Manuscripts and Decorative
arts.” The exhibition was divided into two sections:
1. The book display area
2. The panel display area.
About the Founder and the
Foundation
The Managing Director of the
Foundation, Mr. Sali Shahsivari, in his Welcoming Words, first talked about the
founder, his upbringing, dream and fulfilment of his dream into reality in the
form of the foundation of the Al-Furqan Islamic Heritage.
The Managing Director of the
Al-Furqan Foundation, Mr. Sali Shahsivari, first of all gave an introduction about the
founder of the Foundation, Dr. Zaki Yamani. He said, when Zaki Yamani was
surrounded by scholars in his early stages of life, he developed an appetite
for knowledge as well as to protect and preserve the Islamic heritage by
building a foundation.
Sheikh Ahmed Zaki Yamani was
born in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, on 30th June 1930. He is a lawyer by profession,
with Master's degrees from New York University School of Law and Harvard
Law School, whilst also having a doctorate from the University of Exeter.
Before that, he studied at the University of Cairo and graduated with a
Bachelor’s degree in Law in 1951.
He was Saudi Arabia's Minister
of Oil (Petroleum) and Mineral Resources from 1962 until 1986, first Secretary
General of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), and is
regarded as the architect of a number of the Kingdom’s modern laws and
regulations. In 1990, he founded the Centre for Global Energy Studies (CGES),
an energy market analysis group in London.
The Saudi government sent him to
New York University's Comparative Law Institute for non-American lawyers at NYU
Law School and in 1955 he received a Master's degree in Comparative
Jurisprudence. Sheikh Yamani spent the next year at Harvard Law School earning
his second Master's degree in 1956 and then returned to the Ministry of
Finance, joining the new Department of Zakat and Income Tax. The same year Sheikh
Yamani founded the first law firm in Jeddah, bearing his name. One of his
activities in his early professional career was to write articles in Saudi
papers. These arose interest in various circles.
The Foundation
and its activities
In 1988 Sheikh Yamani established
The Al-Furqan Islamic Heritage Foundation through The Yamani Cultural
and Charitable Foundation, which endeavours to preserve and publish
historically important Islamic works.
The foundation’s Managing Director,
Mr. Sali Shahsivari, then talked about
the Foundation and its activities. He mentioned, in brief, the activities and
achievements of the Foundation. He said, thirty years after the Foundation,
Al-Furqan Thirty years after foundation – Al-Furqan Foundation is a leading
publishing Islamic heritage in many fields manuscripts – Makkah Magasids.
Let me give you some ideas about
the aims, objectives and activities about the Foundation. AI-Furqan Islamic
Heritage Foundation aims to participate in the preservation of the Islamic
written heritage and make it more accessible both to scholars and to the
interested general public. Part of the work of the Foundation is publishing the
outcome of the research carried out in its three centres, which fall into
different categories.
According to its brochures, The Manuscript Centre aims to
document and preserve the Islamic written heritage through surveying, imaging,
cataloguing, editing and publishing Islamic manuscripts, which constitute a
significant part of the Islamic heritage. The Manuscript Centre's publications
fall into the following categories: World Survey, Catalogues of Islamic
Manuscripts of private and national collections, Edited Text, Studies,
Conferences, Symposia, Lectures and Courses.
Three Centres of the Foundation
The Manuscript Centre organises
conferences on various aspects and topics related to the Islamic written
heritage. The Foundations selects and publishes the most relevant conference
proceedings which include the precious contributions of the participant
scholars and researchers.
The Maqasid Centre
concentrates on the study of the philosophy of Islamic law and its objectives.
It aims to broaden the horizons of knowledge for students of Islamic studies
and encourages studies and research which contribute to the Islamic philosophy
of law.
The
aim of the Makkah and Madinah Centre is to
support the research into the two holy cities of Makkah and Madinah, to publish
articles, books and university dissertations dealing with them, and to publish
a comprehensive Encyclopaedia specialised in the various fields related to
them. Al-Furqan Foundation is taking charge of the publications of this
centre which fall into the following categories: Encyclopaedia, Edited
Texts, Studies and Lectures.
Featured Title
Introduction
of the Lecture –
Illustration
of History in Islamic Manuscripts
After speaking about the Founder
and about the Foundation and its activities, the Director gave a brief
introduction about the subject of the lecture and also about the speaker. First
of talking about the topic Illustration of History in Islamic Manuscripts, he
mentioned, “Little attention has been paid, even in work such as Haskell’s
History and its Images (1993) on the way history was visualized at the time,
how writers and artists in the past recorded their own contemporary or past
history in texts and images. Even less attention has been paid to either of
these aspects of ‘historical’ imagery in the scholarship on the Islamic world,
despite some fine studies of individual historical manuscripts and their illustrations.”
This lecture concentrated on the illustration of historical
narrative in medieval manuscripts from different regions of the Islamic world –
Iran, India, Central Asia and Turkey – and sought to compare their
visualisation of both contemporary and ancient history. It also touched on to
what extent these images provide modern historians with useful tools to
interpret the past.
Speaking about the lecture and
the lecturer, the Director of Al-Furqan mentioned about the Study of the
Textual context; Qur’anic detailed drawings; secular-cultural manuscripts –
decorative practice as well as artistic elements. He also said, “What influence
of early Greek Romanic from this? Where did they derive their inspiration of history?
“Tonight the lecturer – Professor Charles Melville will concentrate Islamic
worlds – contemporary and Islamic history with useful tools – pictures is
thousand worlds and Professor Melville illuminates us with his thoughts.”
About the speaker, Charles P.
Melville is a British academic who has been Professor of Persian History at the University of Cambridge since 2008. He is the
President of the British Institute of Persian Studies. He was one the editors
of The Cambridge History of Iran (volume 7) and History
of Literature of Iran.
Professor Charles Melville lecture
Professor
Charles Melville started his lecture first by asking three questions; first
question why illustrates history? To make accessible to one of the key points;
history involves; there are some choices; decision has to be made. There are Elements
of choices by individuals; how closer that picture to the text; most of the
pictures are interesting
Second
question is; “Are the pictures can be taken as the real accumulation of what is
happening. He said History has two sides; one is recording of the past and the
other is the putting pictures; representing the past. One is illustrating the
past – illustrating the present – what happened.
Professor
Charles said the Final question – what uses for the historian in the context of
Middle East; Are the pictures really authentic; another dimension; How is
history understood by people; how they perceived it? Regardless of perceptual
history.
Muslim world
Professor
Charles started with Compendium of chronicles and showed Sheila Blair’s study
of Rashid al-Dins - Jami al- Tawarikhs; scientific and ethical literature but
no illustrative; no Arabic historical chronicles.
Then
Professor Charles talked about the Iranic chronicles and Mughal chronicles and
said about Persian translations and elaboration of Tabari’s chronicles –
Iskandar succeeds Dara Frear Bal’ami –
illustrated 14th century. He also mentioned Persian audience in his
book – depicting – Alkharid coronation. Also showed Mongols – showed a court
scene: Diez album – Berlin. Mongols history documents - Paris
How
the choices of picture has some documentary records – enormous escape of
illuminating history.
Professor
Charles also showed through the pictures Saljug Sultan Malikshah (c.1072-1092):
enthroned ; Rashid al-Din (1307) and Hafiz –i-Abru (1425); Ahmed Tegulder
receives an embassy Juvanini 1438) and Taimur receives wedding guests (Ali
Yazdi, 1436); Enthronement of Timur (Zafarnama, 1480); Timur’s marriage to
Dilshad Aga, (‘Ali Yazdi, Zafarnama, c.1486, Shiraz); Hulagu Khan enthroned 15
century, Jami al-Tawarikhs, 15th century; Conversion of Ghazan Khan
(1295), Jami al-Tawarikhs, c.1425; Dara
and coronation of Chenggis Khan, Kuhistani Tarikhe Abul Khair Kbani 1540s and Jalal-ud-Din
Khwarazmshah confronts Chenggis Khan across the Indus, Kuhistani Tarikhe Abul
Khair Kbani 1540s.
Professor
Charles also illustrated history through the images about Safavid illustration
of Timurid History – Defeat of Toqtamish Khan 1391, Ali Yazdi, Zafarnama; Safavid
illustration of early Islamic history Mirkhwand, Randat al-Safa 1469.
He
then also mentioned through the images about Popular History of Shah Ismail
(1501-1524) – Ismai’l proclaims Shi’ism, Reza Abbasi Museum, 1690; Ismai’l at
Chaldiran, David collection; Ismai’l Battle at Chaldiran and fighting against
Uzbeks, Reza Abbasi Museum Tehran; Fath ‘Ali Shah enthroned and fighting the
Russians
Then
Professor Charles through the images talked about the The Ottomans depict
Ottomans History – Ottomans confront the Safavid before Chaldiran (1514); showed Ahmed Feridun Nuzhar al-Akhbar
(1568-69): Selim II receives the Safavid envoy at Edirne in 1567; Selim at the Funeral of Suleiman (1566); Ottomans
depict the lives of the Prophets – Murad III Noah’s Ark, Loqman, 1583; Princes
of the House of Timur (detail)
After
this Professor Charles illustrated through the pictures The Great Mughals and
the History of Babur, 1526-30 : Humayun 1530-40, 1555-56; Akbar 1556-1615;
Tarikhe Khandani Timur (Timurnama); Tarikhe Alfi, Akbarnama, Baburnama, Jami
al-Tawarikh; Jahangir 1615-27;
Quick
Facts about the Library at Al-Furqan
As
this is about the 30th anniversary of the Al-Furqan Foundation, it
is not out of place to mention about the Library at Al-Furqan.
*Al-Furqan
Library is the only library in the world that holds more than 2,000 catalogues
of Islamic manuscripts
*
This is the only library in the UK that features the complete collection of the
series edited by the renowned Turkish scholar Fuat Sezgin. Here, you can find
all the series arranged together, following Sezgin’s encyclopaedic vision of
knowledge production in Islam.
*
This is the only library in the world that allows free and full access in house
– to its collection of more than 150,000 manuscripts in digital copy, from
Bosnia, Bulgaria, Egypt, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Germany, Syria, Turkey, and the
United Kingdom.
*
The reading room features a special collection dedicated to rare editions and
translations of the Qur’an.
*The
Digital Library has 121,450 cataloguing cards of manuscripts from 234
collections around the world. This number increases every day, as the
Foundation dedicates daily efforts to the cataloguing of endangered and unknown
Islamic manuscripts.
*
The Digital Library has the facility to search manuscripts by filter categories
such as: illuminations, illustrations, drawings and maps, together with many
other filters for type of scripts or type of documentary notes available on
manuscripts.
*
Among the publications by Al-Furqan Islamic Heritage Foundation, there are 35
printed catalogues of Islamic manuscripts from different collections; as well
as a monography that is fully dedicated to the study of the codicology of
Islamic manuscripts. All publications are free to consult in the library.
*
Specialized librarians are available to help students and scholars with their
search of sources related to the Islamic manuscript heritage.
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