U.S. Funds Efforts to Preserve Islamic Sites and Manuscripts

By Vicki Silverman
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- In Annau, Turkmenistan, on October 11, the Turkmen Minister of Culture Orazgeldy Aydogdiyev and U.S. Ambassador Laura E. Kennedy joined two sections of azure blue mosaic to mark U.S.-Turkmen cooperation in saving one of Turkmenistan's holiest sites, the 15th century Seit Jemmalatdin Mosque.

"U.S. involvement in this project symbolizes our profound respect for Turkmen culture and our continuing support for Turkmen independence, the tenth anniversary of which we celebrate in a few days. It also symbolizes our respect for Islam, a great world religion. America is also a nation of Islam. Millions of our citizens are Muslim," Ambassador Kennedy told assembled dignitaries at the site of the mosque.

Restoration of this world treasure is one 61 projects inaugurated around the globe this year under the Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation. The Department of State and the U.S. Congress created the Fund in early 2001 to help nations preserve their heritage and demonstrate America's respect for other cultures. In pursuing these objectives, priority was given to projects that would assist developing nations, as defined by the UN Human Development Index.

"The Fund offers a new opportunity to direct help to countries with great needs in cultural preservation but few resources to address those needs," said Maria Kouroupas, who has worked for 18 years with the State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, which works to ensure the integrity of world treasures.

"What is so striking is the breadth of proposals, which in itself tells the exciting story of world culture. Communities from Dhaka to Tashkent, Oman, Kampala to Kingstown will be working on projects supported by the Ambassador's Fund. These projects encompass basic museum needs, such as object conservation and collections management, the preservation of archeological and historic sites and rare manuscripts. Some seek to preserve other traditional forms of expression, including language and music," Ms. Kouroupas noted.

In Damascus, Syria, the Ambassador's Fund will be used to support training for the next generation of museum curators. U.S.-Mauritanian cooperation will lead to the preservation of 7000 Islamic manuscripts documenting the history of the great Saharan trade routes.

The Ambassador's Fund for Preservation will help experts in Mali preserve and display 13th and 14th century Islamic manuscripts in Timbuktu, a center of Islamic learning and the repository of important texts. Based on the Koran, the texts being preserved were used by "ambassadors of peace," a corps of Islamic diplomats, or Holy Men, who traveled throughout this part of the world using Islamic texts on tolerance.

In Mali, U.S. Ambassador Michael E. Ranneberger traveled to Timbuktu where, in the home of the Imam of Djenne, he met with local notables who discussed the value of ancient Islamic manuscripts. He then visited the Sankare Mosque, the library of the ancient university of Timbuktu and the center where the manuscript preservation project is getting underway. He and the Grand Mosque of Djenne joined in prayer.

Although the majority of Ambassador's Fund projects were linked to historic sites and museums, grants were also awarded to projects that preserve culture in the form of music, photography and the documentation of marriage rituals. Those who work with the Fund want not only to safeguard a piece of history, but also support the educational and exchange elements inherent in these projects.

On August 3, 2001, U.S. Ambassador to Malaysia, B. Lynn Pascoe and representatives of Badan Warisan Malaysia (Malay for "Heritage Trust", the preeminent national preservation-related NGO in Maylasia) launched the restoration of a Malacca "shophouse", a typical merchant home and commercial store front built in the 1700's. Special emphasis is being placed on the use of original materials and techniques in the restoration so that, once complete, the shophouse will highlight proper restoration techniques, educate the public about the importance of historic preservation, and serve as a starting point for heritage tours now under development.

With strong congressional support for the Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation, the program is likely to continue, according to a State Department official who oversees the Fund grants.

As Congress noted at the creation of the Fund, "Cultural preservation offers an opportunity to show a different American face to other countries, one that is non-commercial, non-political, and non-military. By taking a leading role in efforts to preserve cultural heritage, we show our respect for other cultures." A complete list of projects supported by the Ambassador's Fund for Cultural

Preservation may be viewed at http://exchanges.state.gov/education/culprop/afcp/afcp_list.htm