Early Muslim Libraries

Saad Eskander (born 1962) is a academic and researcher. He was born in Baghdad,. He received his B.A. in modern history from the University of North London and his PhD in international relations and history from the London School of Economics. Through his own free will, Saad decided to return to his home city of Baghdad in 2003 after 23 years of absence. After Sadaam had been removed, Saad and a group of Iraqi artists, writers and academics from the UK returned to their country to see what they could do. The entire group except for Saad returned to London almost immediately because they were so shocked by the security situation. Saad alone was prepared to risk his life in order to assist with the rebuilding of the nation that he loves. Since 2003 he has served as the director of the Iraq National Library and Archive. During the height of civil war in Iraq, he wrote a blog diary about the experience of living in Baghdad, which was subsequently published on the British Library's website. The diary was written between November 2006 and July 2007(his last entry).

It is quite good to know that the National Heritage of Iraq is still preserved even after the war. Iraq, especially the City of Baghdad was a prosperous city in the trade route between Asia and Europe. So, this archive not only house the documents related to the Arab world but also the whole Europe and Asia.

Reflection:
Cohen Patricia 2007,” Baghdad Day to Day: Librarian’s Journal” , vieved 21 May 2010,


http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/07/books/07libe.html?_r=2&th=&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&emc=th&adxnnlx=1170866346-+uBqalT0NVEF/ownjX4hcw