With the launch of alazharonline.org the Islamic world's oldest university enters cyberspace, reports Sherine Bahaa The medium may once have been the message but now it is documentation that is the solution. Or that at least is the thinking behind alazharonline.org, a project that aims to promote an enlightened image of moderate Islam, mainly by making available, at the push of a button, Al-Azhar's holdings of manuscripts. The project began in April 2000 when his Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Rashed Al- Maktoum, crown prince of Dubai and the United Arab Emirates' defence minister, was visiting Al-Azhar. Sheikh Al-Maktoum met with the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Sheikh Mohamed Sayed Tantawi, who expressed concern over the condition of many of Al- Azhar's priceless manuscripts which were in desperate need of restoration. Sheikh Al-Maktoum, whose infatuation with IT led him to found the Dubai Knowledge Village, conceived the idea of allowing Internet users access to over 42,000 rare manuscripts and books in Al-Azhar's library. Five years, and $5 million later, the project has reached fruition and is operating at full capacity. Exact copies of manuscripts, scanned with newly-developed technology designed so as not to damage the ancient texts, are now available online. Though the finance and equipment for the project have been sourced internationally, it is staffed entirely by Egyptians, 30 of whom are currently hired to run the website. Once the necessary infrastructure had been set up, and the overall design of the website determined, the laborious task of scanning the manuscripts began. That was in June last year. Now, following a month-long transitional period during which staff received additional training, the running of alazharonline.org has been handed over to Al- Azhar. On 21 May a ceremony, attended by religious figures and academics from Egypt and the Islamic world, was held to mark the completion of the project. In addition to exact replicas of the manuscripts, some dating back 1,400 years, the website offers digital translations in a number of languages. According to Abdullah Al-Karam, executive director of the Dubai Knowledge Village, the project is the largest of its kind in the world. "It is unique, both in terms of size, and in terms of the age of the documents being scanned, which involved the use of technology that had to be specially developed for the project," he said.
