Shafaq News- Baghdad

The Imam Ali Holy Shrine is displaying a rare Quran manuscript dating to the late first century AH (late 7th to early 8th century CE) at the Baghdad International Book Fair, according to officials at the shrine’s pavilion.

Zain Al-Abidin Al-Aboudi, a member of the shrine’s Department of Intellectual and Cultural Affairs, told Shafaq News that the manuscript is attributed to Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib.

“The manuscript was written in Kufic script on parchment, an animal skin traditionally used as a writing material,” Al-Aboudi said.

He said it had been sent to a laboratory at the University of Oxford for radiocarbon dating to determine its age, describing the manuscript as “extremely rare.”

The 27th Baghdad International Book Fair opened on September 2 with more than 600 Iraqi, Arab and international publishing houses participating. The fair runs through September 12.