Stefanie Brinkmann is a senior research fellow in the Bibliotheca Arabica project (2018- 2035) at the Saxon Academy of Sciences, Leipzig. After completing her Ph.D. in Arabic and Islamic Studies at the University of Göttingen, she was a research assistant at the University of Leipzig (2004-2010). For many years she was a team member in two manuscript cataloguing projects at Leipzig University Library (funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG)). She has been a visiting professor at the Universities of Freiburg (2011-2012) and Hamburg (2014-2018). At the University of Hamburg, she was also Principal Investigator of a subproject (2016-2018) within the Collaborative Research Centre (SFB) “Manuscript Cultures in Asia, Africa and Europe”. For many years she was a board member of “The Islamic Manuscript Association”. Dr Brinkmann has published books and articles in the fields of hadith (especially hadith commentary, hadith manuscripts and material culture in hadith), manuscript studies and classical Arabic poetry.

“Thinking of all the unknown ibraries in the world fills everyone working with manuscripts with awe. When you discover new ones, you approach them very humbly. When Tarık Tüten contacted me and made me aware of the Hafız Ahmed Ağa Library, this is precisely what happened to me. Since then, I have been priviledged to cooperate with Tarık and to discover, step by step, this rich collection, like leafing through a book. This includes discoveries for my own research, too. The conservation and preservation of these voices from the past is a huge merit of Tarık Tüten and the foundation. However, another decisive step has been taken, too: These treasures can best unfold their impact when known to many others. Through digitisation and online cataloguing (Yazma Eserler Kurumu Başkanlığı) these manuscripts can now be studied in their historical contexts – with the multi-cultural and multidisciplinary breadth that is best reflected in the “Conversation” project.”

Stefanie Brinkmann

* With the kind permission of Manuscript Cultures Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures (CSMC), Universität Hamburg

** Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Hamburg