Gateway to the Qur'an of Kansuh al-Ghuri

The Gateway to the Koran of Kansuh al-Ghuri
project was funded by The Islamic Manuscript
Association. The fundamental aim of the
project was to digitise Rylands Arabic MS 42
[704] which is possibly the largest Koran of its
age [late fourteenth or fifteenth century].

However, its size and weight have prevented
ready access to scholars, so its research
potential has remained largely untapped. The
project sought to enable access to what is, in
effect, an inaccessible manuscript, whilst
contributing to the preservation of the original
codex.

Prior to digitisation it was important that a
methodology was developed in association
with the Collection Care Department in the
JRL for safely digitising such a large, heavy
volume. Our conservators created a bespoke
cradle style support for the manuscript which
was flexible yet rigid enough to be adjusted
throughout the digitisation to keep the Koran
comfortable.

Very soon high-resolution images of the
manuscript will be available on-line using
Turning The Pages. The Turning the Pages
software has also enabled two missing leaves
from the manuscript which are housed in the
Chester Beatty Library in Dublin to be virtually
reunited with the original. Currently a test
section of the Koran is installed onto a touch
screen kiosk in the new atrium of The John
Rylands Library.

Internationally we hope that this project will
raise the profile of the Rylands Arabic
manuscript collections; certainly the media
interest in the digitisation so far has been
immense and our progress can be followed at
our blog Gateway to the Koran. The blog is in
both English and Arabic thanks to the
translation skills of Manchester staff.