- Email: [email protected]
Towards a universal bibliographic system for islamic literature
ht.
Libr.
Rev.
( 1983)
15, 257-261
Towards a Universal Bibliographic System for Islamic Literature* MUMTAZ
A.
ANWART
During the last one hundred years or so, a number of scholars have shown interest in Islamic bibliography. The work done by Muller, Gabrieli, Brockelmann, Pearson and Sezgin is well-known. Most of it, however, has been done by non-Muslim orientalists with obvious limitations which need not be gone into here. Muslims have rarely done much in the recent past (Sezgin excepted) to list materials in the field. The reasons for this lack of effort are not far to seek. Muslim countries are perhaps the weakest, other weaknesses discounted, as far as the bibliographical control of information produced by them is concerned. It may be interesting to note that out of 41 member countries of the Organization for Islamic Conference (Palestine excluded) only 23 have national libraries of some sort, 19 have legal deposit laws, and 20 publish national bibliographies-some in mimeographed form. Muslim countries which have developed minimum indexing and abstracting services are exceptions rather than the rule. In these circumstances, it is not at all surprising that no Muslim organization has ever attempted to list or even planned a listing of materials produced about Islam and Muslims. The only suggestion “Towards total bibliographic control of Islamic studies” has come from an orientalist librarian1 This situation persists mainly because of backwardness of Muslims in the information field. There are, however, other factors which have made it much more difficult and somewhat complicated. Geographical dispersal of Muslims and linguistic scattering of their literature are two major obstacles. There are over 907 million Muslims spread all over the world.2 They speak scores oflanguages and comprise about 300 distinct *Given
at the First Conference ofMuslim 1982. t Director of Libraries, King Abdulaziz
Librarians
and Information
Scientists,
Indiana,
USA,
3-5 September
University,
PO Box 3711, Jeddah,
Saudi
Arabia.
‘J. D. Pearson (1975). Towards total bibliographic control of Islamic studies. British Middle Eastern Studies Bulletin, 2, 112-l 16. 2 World Muslim Ga.&teer (1975 ed.). K arachi: Umma Publishing House, p. 985.
0020- 7837/83/030257
+05
$03.00/O
0
1983 Academic
Press Inc.
(London)
Society
for
Limited
258
M.
A.
ANWAR
ethnic groups.i Literature has been and is being produced by them and about them in almost all the languages of the world. Considering the lack of adequate bibliographic control in Muslim countries and the linguistic and geographical dispersal of relevant literature, a programme for a “Universal Bibliographic System for Islamic Literature”, on the face of it, seems to be an impossible proposition. The size of literature to be bibliographically controlled will to a large extent depend on the definition and scope of “Islamic literature”. It may be better to leave this point out for future discussion. Pearson estimates that “at least 2,000 significant articles are published every year in Western languages on Islamic subjects”.2 This is a highly conservative estimate and represents only a small fraction of Islamic literature that is being produced in all the languages of the world. It may also be added that the growth rate of book production in Muslim countries is gaining momentum and should increase further as educational and research facilities expand in these areas. The Muslim nation at this particular time is passing through a critical period in its history. Muslims, already poor in technology, cannot make any headway while remaining poor in information. It is therefore, imperative that immediate steps be taken to boost the infrastructure of information services in Muslim countries. During the last few years several important events have taken place which provide encouraging signs for a promising future. The Turkish Ministry of Culture has started a project to publish a catalogue of manuscripts available in Turkish libraries. It is estimated that the number of manuscripts will be in the neighbourhod of 250 000. Several volumes of the catalogue have already been published.3 The Organization for Islamic Conference has recently set-up the Islamic States Economic, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) .4 The latest development is the creation of the Arab-Islamic Institute at the Goethe University, Frankfurt, under the direction of Professor Fuad Sezgin. 5 These and other developments will certainly lead to something concrete in the area of bibliographic control of Islamic literature. As good fortune would have it, this Conference appears to have come, albeit unconsciously, at the right time. In the light of what has been said before, it seems only appropriate to
1 Mutlim Peopler: a World Ethnographic Survey (1978). Westport, Con.: Greenwood xvi-xviii. * J. D. Pearson (1970). Orientalist libraries today. International Library Keviem 2, 13. 3 Preparation of catalogue for collection of Turkish manuscripts (md.). Brochure. 4 Arab .News, 5 May 1982, p. 3. 5 Arab News, 20 May 1982, p. 2.
Press,
pp.
ISLAMIC
BIBLIOGRAPHY
259
engage in a serious discussion and to try to find out ways and means of developing a sound and comprehensive bibliographic apparatus for Islamic literature. It may not be out of place to add that the continuation of Index Islamicus which only partially covers the relevant literature is uncertain after its founder, Professor J. D. Pearson, retires in the near future. News has it that it is already up for adoption. It is understood that efforts are being made to seek funds to establish a Centre of Islamic Bibliography at Cambridge University. This may be a good opportunity to expand the service to a fuller index. The volume and diversity of the material to be listed is such that no one centre can aspire to accomplish the task single-handed. Even if such a scheme was developed, the chances are that it may not succeed. The very nature of the project calls for a decentralized system oflisting at the source. Under such an arrangement National/Regional Islamic Bibliographic Centres could be established in each Muslim country or a upon the volume of literature being group of countries, depending produced and the facilities available in the area. These centres could be linked with a centre to be known as the World Islamic Bibliographic Centre. The national/regional centres could be financially supported by the governments of the countries concerned and should preferably be housed in the national libraries. Some regional centres could more appropriately be established in non-Muslim countries and may have to be funded by the World Islamic Bibliographic Centre. The World Islamic Bibliographic Centre should preferably be established at the Arab-Islamic Institute of the Goethe University. Responsibilities of national/regional and world centres should be clearly defined. A broad division of their work may be as follows: National/Regional
Centres
1. Scanning and indexing (in the original language) all relevant literature produced in the country or the region; 2. Abstracting (in the original language) all indexed documents of importance; 3. Producing English translations, of the abstracts; 4. Publishing indexes and abstracts in the original languages on periodic and cumulative basis; 5. Transmitting English language abstracts of significant documents to the World Centre; 6. Serving as the focal point for the supply ofcopies ofdocuments, free or on charge, dependiirg on the resources available to the centre; 7. Performing such other bibliographic functions as may be entrusted to it by the World Centre.
260
M.
A.
ANWAR
World Centre 1. Establishing centres in non-Muslim countries or making alternative arrangements for the acquisition and indexing of literature generated by these countries on the pattern indicated above; 2. Publishing a comprehensive index on periodic and cumulative basis of documents produced in the Western languages; 3. Preparing abstracts of significant documents produced in Western languages and publishing them together with translations of abstracts furnished by the national/regional centres, on a periodic and cumulative basis; 4. Making arrangements wherever resources permit to index and abstract earlier materials; 5. Serving as a clearing-house for materials produced in non-Muslim countries and for such other materials as are not available through the national/regional centres. It will be fitting if the World Centre negotiates and takes over the Index Islam&s. The project as outlined above will not succeed unless initiated and supported by an agency like the Organization for the Islamic Conference. The OIC has already created several agencies which are making substantial contributions in their respective fields. This project if accepted by the OIC should by its very nature become the responsibility of the Islamic States Economic, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO). If this much is accomplished, other steps will, sooner or later, follow as logical consequences. After the project has been accepted, the ISESCO should try to pursue the following goals: 1. To make concerted efforts to ensure that all Muslim countries have national libraries; 2. To urge all Muslim countries to enforce copyright and legal deposit laws where such laws do not exist (a model copyright and legal deposit law may be circulated among all Muslim countries); 3. To persuade Muslim countries, where need be, to start publication of their national bibliographies; 4. To provide guidance and support, as far as possible, for the establishment of National/Regional Islamic Bibliographic Centres; 5. To establish the World Islamic Bibliographic Centre with a permanent endowment; 6. To create a permanent committee and appoint a project director to plan and coordinate the implementation of the project.
ISLAMIC
BIBLIOGRAPHY
261
The prescription given above provides for a really heavy dose. But the times and our ailments are such that we cannot hope to survive with anything less than that. The choice still is ours--to revitalize ourselves and to try to accomplish a task which though difficult is not unattainable.
Libr.
Rev.
( 1983)
15, 257-261
Towards a Universal Bibliographic System for Islamic Literature* MUMTAZ
A.
ANWART
During the last one hundred years or so, a number of scholars have shown interest in Islamic bibliography. The work done by Muller, Gabrieli, Brockelmann, Pearson and Sezgin is well-known. Most of it, however, has been done by non-Muslim orientalists with obvious limitations which need not be gone into here. Muslims have rarely done much in the recent past (Sezgin excepted) to list materials in the field. The reasons for this lack of effort are not far to seek. Muslim countries are perhaps the weakest, other weaknesses discounted, as far as the bibliographical control of information produced by them is concerned. It may be interesting to note that out of 41 member countries of the Organization for Islamic Conference (Palestine excluded) only 23 have national libraries of some sort, 19 have legal deposit laws, and 20 publish national bibliographies-some in mimeographed form. Muslim countries which have developed minimum indexing and abstracting services are exceptions rather than the rule. In these circumstances, it is not at all surprising that no Muslim organization has ever attempted to list or even planned a listing of materials produced about Islam and Muslims. The only suggestion “Towards total bibliographic control of Islamic studies” has come from an orientalist librarian1 This situation persists mainly because of backwardness of Muslims in the information field. There are, however, other factors which have made it much more difficult and somewhat complicated. Geographical dispersal of Muslims and linguistic scattering of their literature are two major obstacles. There are over 907 million Muslims spread all over the world.2 They speak scores oflanguages and comprise about 300 distinct *Given
at the First Conference ofMuslim 1982. t Director of Libraries, King Abdulaziz
Librarians
and Information
Scientists,
Indiana,
USA,
3-5 September
University,
PO Box 3711, Jeddah,
Saudi
Arabia.
‘J. D. Pearson (1975). Towards total bibliographic control of Islamic studies. British Middle Eastern Studies Bulletin, 2, 112-l 16. 2 World Muslim Ga.&teer (1975 ed.). K arachi: Umma Publishing House, p. 985.
0020- 7837/83/030257
+05
$03.00/O
0
1983 Academic
Press Inc.
(London)
Society
for
Limited
258
M.
A.
ANWAR
ethnic groups.i Literature has been and is being produced by them and about them in almost all the languages of the world. Considering the lack of adequate bibliographic control in Muslim countries and the linguistic and geographical dispersal of relevant literature, a programme for a “Universal Bibliographic System for Islamic Literature”, on the face of it, seems to be an impossible proposition. The size of literature to be bibliographically controlled will to a large extent depend on the definition and scope of “Islamic literature”. It may be better to leave this point out for future discussion. Pearson estimates that “at least 2,000 significant articles are published every year in Western languages on Islamic subjects”.2 This is a highly conservative estimate and represents only a small fraction of Islamic literature that is being produced in all the languages of the world. It may also be added that the growth rate of book production in Muslim countries is gaining momentum and should increase further as educational and research facilities expand in these areas. The Muslim nation at this particular time is passing through a critical period in its history. Muslims, already poor in technology, cannot make any headway while remaining poor in information. It is therefore, imperative that immediate steps be taken to boost the infrastructure of information services in Muslim countries. During the last few years several important events have taken place which provide encouraging signs for a promising future. The Turkish Ministry of Culture has started a project to publish a catalogue of manuscripts available in Turkish libraries. It is estimated that the number of manuscripts will be in the neighbourhod of 250 000. Several volumes of the catalogue have already been published.3 The Organization for Islamic Conference has recently set-up the Islamic States Economic, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) .4 The latest development is the creation of the Arab-Islamic Institute at the Goethe University, Frankfurt, under the direction of Professor Fuad Sezgin. 5 These and other developments will certainly lead to something concrete in the area of bibliographic control of Islamic literature. As good fortune would have it, this Conference appears to have come, albeit unconsciously, at the right time. In the light of what has been said before, it seems only appropriate to
1 Mutlim Peopler: a World Ethnographic Survey (1978). Westport, Con.: Greenwood xvi-xviii. * J. D. Pearson (1970). Orientalist libraries today. International Library Keviem 2, 13. 3 Preparation of catalogue for collection of Turkish manuscripts (md.). Brochure. 4 Arab .News, 5 May 1982, p. 3. 5 Arab News, 20 May 1982, p. 2.
Press,
pp.
ISLAMIC
BIBLIOGRAPHY
259
engage in a serious discussion and to try to find out ways and means of developing a sound and comprehensive bibliographic apparatus for Islamic literature. It may not be out of place to add that the continuation of Index Islamicus which only partially covers the relevant literature is uncertain after its founder, Professor J. D. Pearson, retires in the near future. News has it that it is already up for adoption. It is understood that efforts are being made to seek funds to establish a Centre of Islamic Bibliography at Cambridge University. This may be a good opportunity to expand the service to a fuller index. The volume and diversity of the material to be listed is such that no one centre can aspire to accomplish the task single-handed. Even if such a scheme was developed, the chances are that it may not succeed. The very nature of the project calls for a decentralized system oflisting at the source. Under such an arrangement National/Regional Islamic Bibliographic Centres could be established in each Muslim country or a upon the volume of literature being group of countries, depending produced and the facilities available in the area. These centres could be linked with a centre to be known as the World Islamic Bibliographic Centre. The national/regional centres could be financially supported by the governments of the countries concerned and should preferably be housed in the national libraries. Some regional centres could more appropriately be established in non-Muslim countries and may have to be funded by the World Islamic Bibliographic Centre. The World Islamic Bibliographic Centre should preferably be established at the Arab-Islamic Institute of the Goethe University. Responsibilities of national/regional and world centres should be clearly defined. A broad division of their work may be as follows: National/Regional
Centres
1. Scanning and indexing (in the original language) all relevant literature produced in the country or the region; 2. Abstracting (in the original language) all indexed documents of importance; 3. Producing English translations, of the abstracts; 4. Publishing indexes and abstracts in the original languages on periodic and cumulative basis; 5. Transmitting English language abstracts of significant documents to the World Centre; 6. Serving as the focal point for the supply ofcopies ofdocuments, free or on charge, dependiirg on the resources available to the centre; 7. Performing such other bibliographic functions as may be entrusted to it by the World Centre.
260
M.
A.
ANWAR
World Centre 1. Establishing centres in non-Muslim countries or making alternative arrangements for the acquisition and indexing of literature generated by these countries on the pattern indicated above; 2. Publishing a comprehensive index on periodic and cumulative basis of documents produced in the Western languages; 3. Preparing abstracts of significant documents produced in Western languages and publishing them together with translations of abstracts furnished by the national/regional centres, on a periodic and cumulative basis; 4. Making arrangements wherever resources permit to index and abstract earlier materials; 5. Serving as a clearing-house for materials produced in non-Muslim countries and for such other materials as are not available through the national/regional centres. It will be fitting if the World Centre negotiates and takes over the Index Islam&s. The project as outlined above will not succeed unless initiated and supported by an agency like the Organization for the Islamic Conference. The OIC has already created several agencies which are making substantial contributions in their respective fields. This project if accepted by the OIC should by its very nature become the responsibility of the Islamic States Economic, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO). If this much is accomplished, other steps will, sooner or later, follow as logical consequences. After the project has been accepted, the ISESCO should try to pursue the following goals: 1. To make concerted efforts to ensure that all Muslim countries have national libraries; 2. To urge all Muslim countries to enforce copyright and legal deposit laws where such laws do not exist (a model copyright and legal deposit law may be circulated among all Muslim countries); 3. To persuade Muslim countries, where need be, to start publication of their national bibliographies; 4. To provide guidance and support, as far as possible, for the establishment of National/Regional Islamic Bibliographic Centres; 5. To establish the World Islamic Bibliographic Centre with a permanent endowment; 6. To create a permanent committee and appoint a project director to plan and coordinate the implementation of the project.
ISLAMIC
BIBLIOGRAPHY
261
The prescription given above provides for a really heavy dose. But the times and our ailments are such that we cannot hope to survive with anything less than that. The choice still is ours--to revitalize ourselves and to try to accomplish a task which though difficult is not unattainable.