The Birmingham Qur'an

The Birmingham Qur’an is one of the oldest surviving Islamic manuscripts. This course will explore the origins and the journey of the Birmingham Qur’an from the Islamic heartlands, the significance of the Birmingham Qur’an, the methods used to determine its age and how it is cared for at Cadbury Research Library, University of Birmingham. Learn how to identify features of Qur’an manuscripts and how they influenced the arts of the book in Islamic manuscript culture. You will also learn more about the Mingana collection of Middle Eastern manuscripts and their relevance to the 21st century. Week 1 The Journey of the Birmingham Qur’an manuscript; How the radiocarbon dating of the manuscript became a world-wide news sensation; The significance of the dating and its origins Week 2 The Qur’an and the Arts of the Book; How the Birmingham Qur’an manuscript relates to the development of the Arabic written tradition; Qur’an manuscripts and Arabic calligraphy; The Arts of Qur’an manuscripts and Islamic manuscript culture Week 3 Using radiocarbon dating to date manuscripts; Modern technology in the research and analysis of historic manuscripts; Techniques and preservation methods in the conservation and care of historic manuscripts; The value of primary historic sources as a valuable resource for research Week 4 The Birmingham Qur’an and other historic manuscripts of the Mingana collection; The Islamic Arabic & Persian manuscripts in the Mingana collection held in the Cadbury Research Library as a collection of international importance; The relevance of the Birmingham Qur’an and other manuscripts to the contemporary world, local communities, researchers and academics; The ethics of collecting from different cultures By the end of the course, you'll be able to... This course is designed for anyone who has an interest in the history of religious texts, the study of Islam, manuscript culture, Islamic arts, how historic collections are cared for, and their value for research The University of Birmingham is a public research university, consistently listed as a leading UK university and ranked among the top 100 in the world.