The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), in cooperation with the Tahqiq scientific platform, organized a virtual training session titled “The Islamic Manuscript: From Paleography to Critical Text Editing,” benefiting hundreds of researchers and specialists in Islamic manuscripts from 54 countries.

In the opening session of the three-day training, which concluded on Wednesday, 29 July 2026, Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO Director-General, said in a recorded address that serving the Islamic manuscript requires careful and continuous analysis of its components, drawing inspiration from its values and ideals, publishing it through sound scholarly methods, and ensuring its protection and preservation.

Dr. AlMalik stressed the importance of nurturing generations of researchers who are aware of the value of this heritage and equipped with the necessary scholarly tools and methodologies. He also commended the role of ICESCO’s Calligraphy and Manuscripts Center in this regard and expressed his satisfaction with the strong interest in the training session, given its important topic.

The training featured five scientific lectures covering the geography, codicology, paleography, and cataloguing of manuscripts, as well as the fundamentals of critical editing, auxiliary sciences, and supporting technologies. The lectures were delivered, respectively, by Dr. Idham Hanash, Head of ICESCO’s Calligraphy and Manuscripts Center; Dr. Ahmed Abdelbaset, expert at the Center; Dr. Mustapha Toubi, Professor of Manuscript Studies at Mohammed V University in Morocco; Dr. Nizam Yaquby, a Bahraini researcher and editor of manuscripts; and Dr. Bashar Awad Marouf, an Iraqi scholar specializing in Islamic heritage studies.

The closing session witnessed strong engagement from participants. It featured a number of proposals for future training sessions and activities.