Do you know where the oldest library in the world is located? According to UNESCO, the oldest library in the world is in Morocco. Yep, that’s right, the library is called the Al-Qarawiyyin library, which is the oldest library in the world that is still operating since it was first opened to visitors.
The Al-Qarawiyyin Library is located in the former capital of Morocco, Fez, Al Qarawiyyin is home to a variety of the rarest and unique manuscripts in the world. Apart from that, this rare manuscript can only be accessed by a curator when handling special cases.
In 2016, the library’s administrators built a laboratory with the aim of converting and protecting 4,000 important and classic manuscripts into digital form.
Fatima al-Fihri was a progressive Muslim female scholar who built the Al Qarawiyyin library in 859 AD. Fatima is known by many as the daughter of a wealthy merchant from Tunisia named Muhammad al-Fihri who lives in Fez. After her father died and bequeathed all her abundant wealth, Fatimah then donated her wealth for the benefit of the people.
Next, Fatimah, armed with her father’s inheritance, began to build the al-Qarawiyyin Mosque. Thanks to that, the idea of establishing a library emerged and was realized. Fatimah doesn’t just want the mosque to be a center for social interaction, but wants to turn the mosque into a library by donating her family’s private library collection for the benefit of the community.
The oldest library in the world contains various classic books of Islamic teachings. There are 4,000 original manuscripts that contain history, law, and Islamic teachings. One of the most important collections in this library is the Al Qur’an from the ninth century written in Kufic calligraphy and the oldest book of Sirah which tells the story of the life of the Prophet Muhammad SAW.
A curator of the Al-Qarawiyyin library named Abdulfattah Bougchouf said that the Al-Qarawiyyin library actually has a guard room which is locked with four padlocks. Each of the room’s lock keys is owned by a different person, each of these people is separate, so in order to open the library collection, they must meet and open it together.
Initially the Al-Qarawiyyin library was closed to the general public. However, thanks to support from the Moroccan minister of culture, the restoration of collections in the library and the mosque around the Al-Qarawiyyin library can help the public to access existing collections.
Meanwhile, the restoration process for the Al-Qarawiyyin library was carried out by Aziza Chaounis as a female architect native to Fez Dia. He said that restoration is not only about repairing damaged buildings or floors, but also making the library more comfortable for visitors to visit.
The Al-Qarawiyyin library restoration process is in collaboration with the Institute of Computational Linguistics from Italy. The aim of this restoration project is to implement the digitization of cultural heritage and make the collection of reading materials available to the wider community in the world.
Vito Pirelli as an ICI representative said that around 20% of rare manuscripts in the Al-Qarawiyyin library had been scanned with a machine which was also used to detect holes in ancient manuscripts that needed repair. Currently, the Al-Qarawiyyin library, which holds the title of being the oldest library in the world, is one of the tourist destinations that is very busy with domestic and foreign tourists visiting to broaden their scientific knowledge. Interested in visiting this library, Literacy Friends?