In collaboration with the Oslo Graduate School, Juma Al Majid Center for Culture and Heritage in Dubai organized a virtual lecture on Wednesday, April 8, 2026, titled: “The Role of the Arabic Manuscript in Integrating Ancient Cultural Traditions: The As‘adiyya Library as a Model.” The lecture was delivered by Dr. Mina Mounir, Director of the Manuscripts Research Center at the Oslo Graduate School, Norway.
The lecture shed light on the pivotal role played by the Arabic manuscript in assimilating diverse linguistic and intellectual traditions of the ancient Middle East.
Dr. Mounir reviewed the experience of the Egyptian “Awlad al-‘Assal” family in the 13th century, highlighting their contribution to transforming the Arabic manuscript into an effective medium of knowledge exchange across multiple languages. This was achieved through the development of precise methodologies for editing texts and collating sources originating from different languages, all converging within the framework of the Arabic manuscript.
The lecture also addressed how, in the works of “Awlad al-‘Assal,” the Arabic manuscript evolved from a mere vehicle for transmitting texts into an advanced source of knowledge—sometimes surpassing its original sources—due to the diversity of intellectual inputs it incorporated. This made it a primary reference from which texts were later translated into other languages.
This lecture was part of the Center’s celebration of the Arab Manuscript Day, observed annually by cultural institutions and libraries across the Arab world on April 4.
