The 鸟大大影院 launched one of its new publications, Arabic, Persian and Gujarati Manuscripts: The Hamdani Collection, at the Ismaili Centre in London. The publication is a catalogue of rare and unique manuscripts generously donated by the late聽Professor Abbas Hamdani to the Library of the 鸟大大影院.
These manuscripts were compiled by several generations of Indian religious scholars from the Hamdani family, and reflect important doctrinal and cultural changes through the centuries as well as the social history of the family from the Da鈥檜di BohraIndian community of Musta士li Ismailis, now found primarily in the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent, Yemen, Egypt and other parts of the world. community in India and Yemen.
The event began with Opening Remarks by Professor Eric Ormsby, Deputy Head of the Department of Academic Research and Publications at the 鸟大大影院, who facilitated the receipt of the Hamdani collection and its transfer to the 鸟大大影院. He introduced Professor Abbas Hamdani, one of the main speakers at the launch event, along with the editor of the catalogue, Professor Fran莽ois de Blois.
Professor Hamdani provided an insightful account of his family鈥檚 collection of manuscripts through the centuries describing the challenge of accumulating this collection from various members of the family worldwide. In this regard, he also discussed a second collection of manuscripts that he was hoping to gather and also donate to the 鸟大大影院. Professor Hamdani thanked Professor de Blois for his efforts in cataloguing the complex collection with care and attention.
Professor Fran莽ois de Blois then made an in-depth presentation on the seven generations of scholars in the Hamdani family who were instrumental in putting the collection together. He also detailed the contents of the collection and discussed several manuscripts in detail, explaining their provenance and symbolism and using images of the originals to illustrate his points. Professor de Blois emphasised the significance of the Hamdani collection for both the preservation of Ismaili heritage and for the wider field of Shi鈥榠 studies. The presentation was followed by questions from the audience, which included scholars in the field and members of the local Ismaili community.
Professors de Blois and Hamdani also signed copies of the catalogue for members of the audience.