The Relocation of Al-Azhar Library Artifacts project involved the careful transfer of the library’s precious collections to a new state-of-the-art facility. The original library was an extension of the historic library established before 517 AH (1123 AD) within the Al-Azhar Mosque. In 1897, the Al-Azhar Administrative Council issued a decree to establish the library upon the recommendation of Imam Muhammad Abduh, the Grand Mufti of Egypt at the time, who envisioned consolidating the scattered books from the mosque’s corridors and major mosques into a single location for better preservation and utilization.

The library housed rare works across many disciplines, particularly writings by scholars of Al-Azhar and Islamic scholars worldwide. Despite repeated raids on the libraries of the corridors and mosques that formed its collection, it retained many rare treasures obtained through donations. A new library was established using the latest international library systems befitting Al-Azhar’s stature, housing precious manuscripts and publications to fulfill its role in disseminating Islamic culture and making its rare resources available to students and researchers. The contents of the old library were transferred following professional standards and security protocols to preserve these treasures of knowledge.