TRIPOLI — With the arrival of the
Muslim holy month of Ramadan in war-scarred Libya, a group of volunteers work around
the clock to restore old or damaged copies of the Quran.
اضافة اعلان
Khaled Al-Drebi, one of
Libya’s best-known restorers
of Islam’s holy book, is among the artisans who arrive at a Tripoli workshop
daily to meet the needs of the influx of customers during Ramadan.
For Muslims, Ramadan is a month of spirituality,
where a daily dawn-to-dusk fast is accompanied with prayer and acts of charity
— often translating into a surge in sales of Qurans.
“The purchase of new Qurans traditionally increases
before the month of Ramadan, but this has recently changed in Libya,” Drebi
told AFP.
For many, tradition has been interrupted by an
increase in the cost of Qurans, especially “since the state stopped printing”
them in Libya, he added.
The
North African nation has endured more than a
decade of conflict, leaving many of its institutions in disarray and dealing a
major blow to the oil-rich country’s economy.
“The cost of buying (Qurans) has increased, and so
the turnout for restoring old Qurans has gained unprecedented popularity,”
Drebi said.
Compared to the cost of a new Quran — at more than
$20 depending on the binding — Drebi’s workshop charges just a few dollars to
restore one.
‘Indescribable joy’
But cost is not the only
factor — for many, the older copies also have a sentimental value.
“There is a spiritual connection for some
customers,” Drebi said, adding that many choose to preserve Qurans passed on
from relatives. “Some say this Quran has the smell of my grandfather or
parents.”
At the back of the room, Abdel Razzaq Al-Aroussi
works on sorting through thousands of Qurans based on their level of
deterioration.
“The restoration of Qurans with limited damage takes
no more than an hour, but for those that are very damaged, they could require
two or more hours,” Aroussi said.
They “must be undone, restored and then bound”, he
said — a meticulous process that requires a great deal of “time and
concentration”.
Mabrouk Al-Amin, a supervisor at the workshop, said
the restoration process “requires a good number of artisans”.
“Working with the book of God is very enjoyable and
we don’t get bored... there is an indescribable joy in this work,” he said.
Restorers say they have repaired a staggering half a
million Qurans since the workshop opened in 2008, and more than 1,500 trainees
have graduated from 150 restoration workshops.
Women restorers
In recent years, more and
more women have been joining the ranks of the volunteer restorers.
“A large number of women were trained on restoring
the holy Quran and today they have their own workshops,” Drebi said.
One female restorer, Khadija Mahmoud, has even held
training sessions for blind women.
“We would not have been able to think of doing
this... were it not for this capable woman,” Drebi added.
For Mahmoud, who trains women at a workshop in
Zawiya, 45km west of Tripoli, restoring Qurans in a women’s workshop allows
them to work comfortably and at a faster pace.
She added that the restoration work has given many
women a meaningful way to fill their “spare time”.
“A large segment of trainees and restorers are retirees,”
she said. “For them, there is nothing better than spending their spare time in
the service of the Quran.”
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