Saved 30,000 books from damage and loss

The departure of Alia Muhammad renews the story of an inspiring Iraqi woman

• Alia is a source of inspiration to many who are interested in the world's human heritage.

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About 70 years ago, the Iraqi Alia Muhammad Baqir, the former secretary of the Central Library in Basra, passed away, affected by the complications of her infection with the “Corona” virus, to bring to mind once again the story of the heroic woman who was able, with her intelligence and courage, to save nearly 30,000 titles that varied between valuable books and rare manuscripts. Which I saved from the damage and destruction that was about to befall it during the bloody war on Iraq.

Among the rare knowledge treasures that the late woman recovered is the manuscript of a rare book on the biography of the Noble Prophet, dating back many centuries, at a time when the story of her exceptional equanimity was a source of inspiration and inspiration for many who are interested in global human heritage.

safe hideout

In 2003, coinciding with the invasion of the Basra region, Alia feared that the library’s contents of rare books, volumes and manuscripts would be damaged, so she asked the governor of Basra to allow her to transfer the library’s contents to a safer place, but she was met with his unjustified rejection, which prompted her to rely on herself. And a decision was taken to start the process of transferring books at night, with the help of a group of people from the neighborhood, to a nearby restaurant, to succeed, after only 10 days of work, in transferring 70% of the contents of the precious library, which was quickly exposed, one week after Aliya transferred her treasures, to a fire A mystery led to the destruction and destruction of thousands of references, and to her having a heart attack that almost killed her.

But Alia did not abandon her goals and returned immediately after her crisis, to transport the books from the nearby restaurant to her home, which she considered the safest hideout for Iraq’s knowledge treasures, affecting keeping them in the bedrooms and the reception hall of the family home until October 2003, at that time, Alia decided to return them again. To the new library building, which was completely reconstructed with the assistance of a number of international cultural organizations, who heard her story, through what the New York Times reporter published about the courage of this rare woman.

for the child

Immediately after returning her to work as curator of the Central Library in Basra, the late Alia succeeded, through her personal efforts, in establishing the Children’s Library. Comprehensive the heritage of Basra and its literary and urban history, but the “Corona” crisis upended the scales of her life, as her infection with the virus prevented her from achieving this noble human goal and her departure on August 13, leaving behind a great legacy that ranked her as an inspiring icon for women in the region and around the world.

Librarian of Basra

While the news of Alia Muhammad’s initiative to preserve the treasures of her country aroused the interest of children’s book authors who touched in it a story of unprecedented heroism, as Mark Alan Stamati wrote a book entitled “A High Mission: Saving Iraq’s Books” in December 2004, and writer Janet Winter also published In January 2005, he published a book entitled "The Librarian of Basra: A True Story from Basra", which gained worldwide fame after being translated into several languages ​​for a true story that deals with the struggle of the librarian of Basra, to save the mothers of books.

• Al-Rahila transferred 70% of the library's contents, before it was exposed to a fire, during the invasion of Basra in 2003.

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