2024年4月9日
照片: Fr. Michael Calabria (left) and Dr. 阿迪尔Al-Humadi examine an ancient Qur’an from the Rare Books Collection at St. Bonaventure’s Friedsam Memorial 图书馆.
Dr. 阿迪尔Al-Humadi, a retired Olean physician who helped establish the 阿拉伯中心 and 伊斯兰教研究 (CAIS) at St. Bonaventure University, has donated his extensive personal library to the center.
集合, 约,500 volumes in 阿拉伯语 and English, includes multivolume works in Islamic history, poetry and literature, 神学, 科学, 医学, and political 科学.
“It’s a really diverse collection comprising many specialized and out-of-print items that you would find only in very good research collections, if you were to find them at all in this country,”他说。. Michael Calabria, O.F.M., associate professor of Arab 和我slamic studies and CAIS director.
A native of Iraq, Al-Humadi came to the United States in 1968 and moved to Olean in 1974. He helped establish the Islamic Society of the Southern Tier and for more than 20 years directed a weekend school to teach children basic principles of Islam. A colorectal surgeon of more than 50 years, he retired from his Olean practice in 2016 and now lives in Ashburn, 维吉尼亚州.
His relationship with St. Bonaventure began shortly after his arrival in Olean, when he was asked to examine books in 阿拉伯语 in the university’s Friedsam Memorial 图书馆 collection. The relationship flourished, and in 2015 he and his son, Dr. Mohaned Al-Humadi, an orthopedic surgeon in Olean, donated funding to establish the CAIS.
“Given my relationship with St. Bonaventure University and the 阿拉伯中心 and 伊斯兰教研究, it gives my wife, 接过话头, 和我, as well as our children and grandchildren, great pleasure to donate my library to the center for the benefit of students and faculty who wish to research topics related to Islam and Arab culture,” 阿迪尔Al-Humadi said.
集合, much of it in 阿拉伯语, was built primarily through the elder Al-Humadi’s travels to Iraq and the Middle East.
“Dr. Al-Humadi’s a real bibliophile,” 卡拉布利亚说. “Among these books are several multi-volume sets of important reference works, and they run the gamut of Arab studies. In addition to the biographical, historical and theological works, particularly noteworthy are the classic texts of Islamic 医学. 由于博士. Al-Humadi’s background in 医学, he was very interested in finding those medieval texts on 医学 from the Islamic world, which became foundational for European 医学 during the Renaissance.”
The 阿拉伯中心 and 伊斯兰教研究, located in the university’s Plassmann Hall, was established to promote an understanding of Arab 和我slamic cultures and to foster respectful relations between Muslims and Christians. Its creation was inspired by the historical encounter between St. Francis of Assisi and Sultan al-Malik al-Kamil of Egypt during the Crusades in 1219.
A number of volumes in the Al-Humadi collection have already been moved to CAIS bookshelves, 卡拉布利亚说.
“It’s unique for an institution our size and in this location to have a 阿拉伯中心 and 伊斯兰教研究,他说. “How fortunate we are to have the support of Dr. Al-Humadi and his family, and how fortunate we are that he chose the center to receive his personal library.”
For more information about the 阿拉伯中心 and 伊斯兰教研究, go to
www.在布.edu/cais.
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