Juma Al Majid Center for Culture and Heritage in Dubai participated in a scientific symposium titled “Arabic Manuscripts: Study and Preservation,” organized by the Al-Otbi Center for Cultural and Heritage Studies at Sohar University in the Sultanate of Oman. The event brought together a distinguished group of researchers and scholars specializing in manuscript studies.
Representing the center, Ms. Sheikha Abdullah Al-Mutairi, Head of the National Culture, Public Relations, and Media Departments, presented a research paper titled “The Experience of Juma Al Majid Center for Culture and Heritage in Cataloging Manuscripts.” In her lecture, she discussed the varying levels of manuscript cataloging across different libraries, depending on the agreed-upon system of the manuscripts department and the nature of the users of manuscript catalogs. She also highlighted the significance of cataloging manuscripts, emphasizing the following points: identifying and documenting the intellectual output of manuscripts, understanding the sciences and knowledge authored by early scholars, assisting researchers and scholars in accessing manuscripts for their studies, and reconstructing missing sections of manuscripts believed to be lost.
Al-Mutairi also pointed out the services provided by Juma Al Majid Center, particularly its online database for manuscripts and references, facilitating researchers’ access to these valuable resources.
Also participating in the symposium was Professor Abdelbasset Kouader, Professor of Inheritance and Bequests Jurisprudence at the University of Zitouna in Tunisia, who spoke about the importance of manuscripts, traditional and modern methods of manuscript verification, and the necessity of establishing clear criteria for manuscript editing before engaging in the process.
The symposium, which witnessed significant engagement from attendees, concluded with a set of recommendations presented by Professor Nidal Al-Shamali, Head of the Al-Otbi Center. These recommendations included the establishment of specialized heritage centers for Arabic manuscripts and their verification, integrating “Manuscript Editing” as a mandatory university course, holding regular forums for scholars and researchers, strengthening collaboration among heritage institutions, and utilizing artificial intelligence for manuscript digitization and archiving.
