CHAPTER XIII : MUSEUMS, ARCHAEOLOGY INSTITUTES, ASSOCIATIONS, AND LIBRARIES IN AL-QODS

Museums

The most important museum in Al-Qods is the Palestinian Museum of Antiquities (previously called the Rockefeller Museum). This museum was founded with the generous donation in 1927 by the American J.D. Rockefeller of two million dollars, of which half a million was paid out for the construction of the building, and another half million served for the acquisition of furniture and books for the museum. The other million was deposited in the Bank of England so that the yield could be used to cover the expenses of the museum management. This museum was opened in 1933 and started up its own review, known as the Review of the Palestinian Museum. (437)

The museum is located at the north-east angle of the ramparts of Al-Qods, in the vicinity of Bâb As-Sâhira and the Wâdî Al-Jaouz Quarter.

In 1967, the Israeli occupation forces seized the museum and forbade its employees to pursue their job activities. The Dead Sea Scrolls (the Qamrân manuscripts) as well as the Tell Ad-Dowayr manuscripts were taken away from the museum. Moreover, these authorities changed the lay-out of the exhibited objects in such a way that it served their own interests. (438) They also changed the identification comments on the exhibited pieces, replacing them with other comments in Hebrew, and they stuck up tendentious advertising posters on the museum walls. (439)

The museum collects antiquities which date back to various periods of Palestinian history from pre-history to the Ottoman era. It contains a library 437. Al'Aref, A History of Al-Qods, p. 200.

Qâssimiyya Khairiyya, The Issue of Al-Qods, pp. 55-56. This author reports in her book that before they left Palestine, the British took the care to separate this museum from the Division of Antiquities and constituted an international group of scholars for it. In 1966, the museum became attached to the Jordanian Department of Antiquities.

438. Al-Ahmad Najîb, The Judaicization of Al-Qods, p. 40.

439. Qâssimiyya Khairiyya, Ibid., pp. 56-57.

A view of the front of the Islamic Museum with a great deal of books and references of interest to any researcher in the history of Palestine. (440)

The Islamic Museum

On the initiative of the Supreme Islamic Legislative Council, the Islamic Museum was founded in Al-Qods Al-Shareef in 1923, which makes it the oldest museum in Palestine. The museum was first housed in Ribât Al-Mansûrî, which dates back to the reign of King Al-Mansûr Qalâwûn (681 A.H. / 1282 A.D.). In 1929, it was transferred to the precincts of Al-Haram Al-Shareef, where it was housed in two rooms standing at a right angle to each other south-west of the Mosque of Al-Aqsâ. This museum was created for the purpose of giving prominence to the Islamic cultural heritage, preserving and exhibiting the various antiquities of interest presented to the Mosque of Al-Aqsâ and the Dome of the Rock, and providing a research centre for those interested in Islamic studies.

The Islamic museum contains various antiquities of great importance, like Umayyad carved-wood pieces, antique hand-written copies of the Qur'ân, in-lays in metal and marble, glass and metal objects, and porcelain and stained glass objects. (441)

Archaeology schools

There are many schools in Al-Qods which specialize in archaeological research. Among these, there is the British Institute of Archaeology, which is attached to the British Academy. It should be pointed out that there are several similar institutes in the Near-East area, like the British Institute of Archaeology in Cairo, and the British Institute of Archaeology in Ankara.

The British Institute of Archaeology in Al-Qods has undertaken many excavations in Al-Qods and in Palestine in general, (442) in addition to 440. Cf. the descriptions in The Guide to the Palestinian Museum of Antiquities under the following headings :

* Exhibits in the Stone Age and the Bronze Age Room (Al-Qods, 1937);

* Exhibits in the Iron Age Room (Al-Qods, 1940); and

* Exhibits in the room for the Persian, Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine Ages (Al-Qods, 1943).

441. Abdulhaq Marwân, The Islamic Museum in Al-Quds : Its History and its Heritage in

Proceedings of the Third Congress on the History of Al-Shâm, pp. 302-303.

442. Al-'Aref, A History of Al-Qods, p. 201.

Palestine Encyclopedia, Vol. 1 : Archeology Schools in Palestine.

archaeological surveys, particularly the survey within Al-Qods of Mameluke constructions, part of which was studied by archaeologist Burgoyne. (443) There is also the French School for Biblical and Archeological Studies, the American School of Oriental Studies, the German Institute of Oriental Studies, the Anglo-German Institute for the Study of Medieval Vestiges in the Holy Land, the British Fund for Excavations in Palestine, the American Association for Oriental Research, and the Jewish Association for Excavations in Palestine.

All these schools played a destructive role concerning the history and the ancient monuments of Palestine at a time when the natives of Palestine were not yet aware of the importance of archaeological excavations for their national cause and were merely concerned about safeguarding their lives and their property. (444)

Cultural Associations

Various literacy associations, some of them politically oriented, have been in existence in Palestine. Some of them date back to the Ottoman era, like the Zâhira Literary Association (1898).

In 1908, Khalîl As-Sakâkînî founded a literary association called "Arab Brotherhood" (Al-Ikhâ' Al-'Arabî). On visiting Al-Qods, the writer Selim Sarkîs stated in a letter addressed in 1920 to Khalîl Badîs that "I was very pleased to know that Al-Qods Al-Shareef has a Guild of Writers of a calibre that I have not found in Damascus or Jaffa." He further writes that "in Al-Qods, the lions of literature frequent a special den that those below their level fear to tread." He concludes that "I like their meetings in Al-Qods so much that, as you may imagine, I was the first to arrive at the meeting place and the last to leave it." There was also in Al-Qods an association by the name of An-Nâdî Al-'Arabî (the Arab Club), which used to arrange contests for literary prizes known as "Sûq 'Ukâdh" (1924). This Club gave poetry prizes during Prophet Moses annual festivals.

In the summer of 1945, Al-Qods saw the coming into existence of "the Commission for Arabic Culture", whose objective was to preserve and promote Arabic culture by various means. This Commission, which was presided by Moussâ Iss'hâq Al-Husseinî, organized many lectures and book exhibits. (445)

443. Michael Burgoyne, A Chronological Index to Muslim Monuments of Jerusalem. Michael Burgoyne, The Development of the Haram in Jerusalem under the Bahre Mamluks (O.U.P., 1979).

444. Palestine Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, pp. 1-13 : Archeology Schools in Palestine.

445. Palestine Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, p. 62.

Up to the end of 1945, Al-Qods had a total of two thousand and twenty-three literary, cultural, and sports associations and clubs. (446) The most important of these today is Al-Moultaqâ Al-Fikrî Al-'Arabî (the Arab Culture Forum), which is a non-profit autonomous Palestinian association whose main objective is to promote and consolidate cultural and economic development in the West Bank. Its motto is "Combative Resistance". Its projects are financed by members' contributions and by donations from non-government associations and associations with aims like its own.

Thus, Al-Multaqâ Al-Fikrî seeks to encourage development activities in the occupied territories based on local potentialities and according to a strategy that would enable Palestinian communities to overcome cultural and economic difficulties; it also promotes further exploitation of the economic and cultural resources at the local level.

Likewise, Al-Multaqâ Al-Fikrî guides the activities of other associations which operate in the Palestinian cultural area by means of cooperation, consultation, and dialogue. It encourages development operations through programmes, workshops, and long-term studies. It looks upon all existing associations, whether their vocation is agricultural, economic, cultural, or social, as both a prelude to efficient work that will bring about radical change in the present situation and a transition to the imminent independence of Palestine.

Various study groups within Al-Multaqâ Al-Fikrî are currently working on projects in the following areas : study and research, culture, education, economy, information, and computer science. Al-Multaqâ has a specialized library (the only one in the area) of books and references dealing with development issues from a scientific point of view and according to an original strategy, which is that of development under occupation. This Association has to its credit hundreds of activities, particularly cultural ones; it has also achieved a comprehensive study of the socio-economic reality of the villages in the areas of the Valley and a comparative study between a village that relies on a consumer economy and a village that relies on an economy that boycotts the products of the occupant …

In the cultural field, Al-Multaqâ does everything it can to promote the potential of the young writers and artists. One of the Association's most important achievements over the last several years was the organization of a Colloquium on "Development at the Service of Resistance", and the publishing of all its proceedings. It is trying to organize similar colloquia in the future. (447)

446. Al-'Aref, A History of Al-Qods.

447. The information above was provided by Professor Muhammad Al-Batrâwî, the president of "Al-Multaqâ Al-Fikrî Al-'Arabî". A glimpse at the current year's programme of activities (1986) will show that this is a dynamic association which seeks the participation of the largest possible number of its members.

It should be pointed out that this Association has a board of governors composed of 32 members who are Palestinians highly trained in such areas as economics, culture, social science, and humanities.

Libraries

Before it was occupied, Al-Qods had some forty-nine public and private libraries. The oldest of these is called "Al-Qodsî Al-Mokliss", which dates back to A.D. 558 and the most recent one was established in 1944 and carries the name of "Qalam Al-Matbû'ât".

Other well-known libraries are :

- The Al-Khalîlî Library (1725)

- The St. George Library (1890)

- The French Evangelic Archeological Library (1890)

- The Al-Khâlidiyya Library (1900)

- The Library of the American School of Oriental Research (1801)

- The Library of the German Evangelical Institute (1902)

- The Library of the Arab Faculty (1902)

- The Library of the British Institute of Archeology (1920)

- The Library of the Mosque of Al-Aqsâ (1927)

- The Library of the Palestinian Museum (1928)

Additionally, there are such private libraries owned by some intellectuals from the city of Al-Qods as the library of Abdullah Mokhliss, that of Iss'hâq Moussâ Al-Husseinî, that of Al-Khalîl As-Sakâkînî, that of 'Aref Al-'Aref, and so forth. There are also libraries owned by well-known families from Al-Qods;

some of these are the Al-Hosseiniyya Library, the Ad-Dawâdiyya Library, the Abû-As-Sa'ûd Library, and the Al-Imâm Library. Finally, one should also mention the libraries of the higher education institutions in Al-Qods.