WEB DESK
World’s third largest book fair opened on Wednesday at Sharjah. It began with a glittering opening ceremony at Expo Centre, in the presence Dr Shaikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, other shaikhs and guests. The theme of this year’s Sharjah International Book Fair, SIBF is ‘A World inside My Book’.
The opening ceremony featured a short documentary about the four new titles authored by His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah: Poetry Debates between Sheikh Sultan Bin Saqr Al Qasimi and His Friend, Sheikh Muhammad bin Abdul-Aziz Al Siddiqui; Tale of A City – Second Volume; Very Important Journey; and I Owe, which were all signed by His Highness and presented to senior guests from around the world.
HE Ahmed Al Ameri, Chairman of the Sharjah Book Authority (SBA), said: “Year after year, Sharjah extends its cultural message through science and knowledge, a message which this fair has established over many years, reflecting the country’s ideals and the people’s principles.
“This has led to Sharjah being recognised as the Islamic Cultural Capital and Cultural Capital of the Arab World. The emirate’s ever-increasing international status as a source of knowledge, positivity and ambition has now also helped it to achieve the title of UNESCO’s World Book Capital 2019.”
Close to 1600 publishing houses from 60 countries are participating in the event. More than 1.5 million titles will be on display throughout the 11-day celebration of literature, knowledge and culture. Spreading across an area of over 14,000 square metres, this year’s edition will feature 393 guests from 48 countries who will take part in more than 2,600 events. It will also feature famous authors and celebrities across the globe.
The India Pavillion saw the participation of more than 120 publishing Houses including Publications Division, National Book Trust, National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language , Malyalam Manorama, Mathrubhoomi , DC Publishing etc.
Indian Pavilion was jointly inaugurated by Sadhna Rout , Director General of the Publications Division, Vikas Swarup, Indian High Commissioner to Canada and Neeraj Aggarwal, Head of Chancery at the Indian Consulate in Dubai.
The most extensive of the programmes on offer at this year’s edition is the Kids’ Programme. A special Comics Pavilion has been set up which is a huge draw amongst the school children. Large cut outs of super heroes and other popular children’s figures including Harry Potter were on display at the Comics Pavilion.
Copy of Rare Qu’ran Manuscript takes Pride of Place at SIBF 2017
A reproduction of a rare Qu’ran manuscript is taking pride of place at the 36th edition of Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF), which opened yesterday (Wednesday) at Expo Centre Sharjah. On display at the UK’s University of Birmingham stand at the fair – which runs from November 1-11 at Expo Centre Sharjah – the work is a copy of the original that has been carbon-dated to AD 468-645.
The provenance of the four-page manuscript, which has been in the possession of University of Birmingham since the 1930s, had not been properly determined until recently when a professor noticed that the binding appeared uniquely different from known vellum bindings of existing old manuscripts. It was subsequently carbon dated and found to be at least more than 1,350 years old, with the fact that it had been written on animal skin as opposed to paper ensuring its longevity. The Hijazi script in the pages also ties in with this period, meaning that the handwriting matches this chronology.
In an interesting twist, the four pages of the University of Birmingham’s script correspond with four missing pages of a rare Qu’ran script archived in Paris. Unfortunately, the latter has not been subject to carbon dating which could help verify whether the missing pages and the existing pages are one and the same.
The University of Birmingham’s Qu’ran script will be on display throughout the duration of the 11-day SIBF 2017, which is themed ‘A World in My Book.’ This year’s edition of the world’s third largest book fair is witnessing the participation of 1,650 publishing houses from 60 countries. More than 1.5 million titles are on display at the event, which spreads across 14,625 square metres. SIBF 2017 features 393 guests from 48 countries taking part in more than 2,600 events.