In a landmark initiative, a joint committee between the High Islamic Council and the Supreme Council for the Arabic Language has successfully cataloged and digitized the contents of dozens of manuscript vaults, both within Algeria and abroad, since its establishment in 2017.
Ammar Hamdadou, the committee’s head, in a statement to the National News Agency, revealed that this 11-member committee, comprising researchers from various national universities and research centers, has diligently worked on the “Algerian Manuscripts Marker” project. This extensive project aimed at quantitative inventory of Algerian manuscripts, pinpointing their locations, and conducting a general survey to compare them in terms of the number of copies, identifying characteristics of each manuscript including field, subject, source, form, and acknowledging the author or the transcriber. Additionally, the digitization and computerization of these manuscripts allow researchers to fully utilize their components and features, with plans to incorporate them into the websites of the aforementioned councils post-verification.
The committee has identified 18 knowledge fields for the marker, facilitating researchers’ access to varied content including Quranic studies, Prophetic biography, exegeses, studies of Prophetic hadith, translations, history, archaeology, literature, and poetry.
Furthermore, the committee has undertaken the task of enumerating, cataloging, and indexing numerous manuscript vaults within the nation and abroad, like the Ahmed Baba Centre for Documentation and Historical Research in Timbuktu, Mali, and the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin, Ireland.
This groundbreaking endeavor highlights Algeria’s commitment to preserving its rich cultural heritage and making it accessible to researchers worldwide, thus contributing significantly to the global understanding of its historical and literary legacy.
