Tunisian Consul Visits the CSMC

9 October 2024

Photo: CSMC

From left to right: Doreen Schröter, Konrad Hirschler, Nizar Jebabli, and Davidson MacLaren.

On 8 October, representatives of the CSMC welcomed the Tunisian consul, Nizar Jebabli, to Warburgstraße, who came to get an impression of the research and cultural heritage management activities at the cluster, especially our work in Tunisia.

The CSMC has been involved in Tunisia since 2018 through the Kairouan Manuscript Project (KMP). The project is dedicated to facilitating and advancing the care, management, study, and promotion of an extraordinary collection of Islamicate manuscripts that comprise the holdings of the National Laboratory for the Preservation and Conservation of Parchment and Manuscripts (NLPCPM) in Raqqada, Kairouan, Tunisian. Prior to their incorporation into the NLPCPM, these manuscripts were part of the libraries of the city’s Great Mosque and other religious institutions. Scholars of the Kairouan collection assert that it is the world’s oldest near-intact library of Islamicate manuscripts. In addition to several thousand folios from early Qur’an manuscripts, it holds the largest number of early – pre-9th century CE – Islamicate literary manuscripts worldwide.

During his visit, Mr Jebabli met Konrad Hirschler, the director of the centre; Doreen Schröter, who coordinates the CSMC’s cultural heritage initiatives; and Davidson MacLaren, who is responsible for international cooperation at the CSMC and has been involved in the KMP since its inception in his role as a cultural heritage manager.