The latest cultural headlines in the media.

Tehran unveils copy of Quran manuscript from Topkapi Museum

Tehran Times: A copy of the 11th century manuscript of the Holy Quran kept at the Topkapi Palace Museum in Istanbul was unveiled here in Tehran on Sunday.

The book inscribed by Uthman ibn Husayn al-Warraq in Kufic is the eighth book of the 14-volume series, Mohammad Haeri Emadi, translator of the book into Persian, said at the opening ceremony held at Iran’s Majlis Library, Museum and Documentation Center.

Majlis speaker Ali Larijani, Director of the Topkapi Museum Ilber Ortayli, and Turkish Ambassador to Tehran Umit Yardim were among the guests at the opening ceremony, the Persian service of MNA reported on Monday.

Emadi added that all the words bear vowels and Uthman Warraq had inscribed in Kufic to show the significance of Kufic inscription among the Muslims.

Ilber Ortayli also spoke briefly and said that this is the first time the Topkapi Museum has donated a copy of such a priceless treasure to Iran’s Majlis Library and hoped this will help strengthen cultural relations between both countries.

Larijani next said that the Holy Quran is the most important entity that can help different Islamic nations relate to one another.

“Quran is a true light in which we can seek shelter and find its truth,” he added, asking different Islamic nations to be more united under the shadow of the Quran.

Expert on Quranic texts Hojjatoleslam Mohammad-Ali Mahdavi Raad, also present at the ceremony, said that this copy is a significant one for its text, translation and art.

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Reps of 28 intl. troupes invited to Iranian Theater Market


Tehran Times: Theater festival organizers, officials of theatrical institutes and stage artists from 14 countries have been invited to the Iranian Theater Market (ITM 2012) of 30th Fajr International Theater Festival at Vahdat Hall.

Participants from Germany, Canada, Italy, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, Ireland, Romania, Colombia and Georgia will attend the event.

A total of 34 Iranian theater troupes also attend the event, the secretary of the market Nassim Soleymanpur mentioned in a press release.

Alongside the panels of Iranian theater artists, there will be also some panels of secretaries of foreign festivals from countries that have communalities and will be discussing various issues, she said.

She said that some of the participants of the ITM are those who were invited in past years, however some of them will participate for the first time at this year’s event.

The ITM will be held on February 10 and 11 and 15, and Iranian theater troupes will introduce their plays on each day, she said.

Tehran’s City Theater Complex, Iranian Artists Forum, Vahdat hall, Sangelaj hall and different theaters in the provinces of Alborz, Golestan, Kermanshah, Lorestan and North Khorasan are hosting the Fajr International Theater Festival which will be held until February 11.

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Iran opens new research library in Harare

Presstv: The Cultural Center of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Zimbabwe has officially opened a new research library in Harare, Press TV reports.

The library has been equipped with computers and designed to accommodate forty people at a time.

It also offers thousands of books with a wide range of topics including specialized literature for students of religious and political studies, visual arts, photography, graphic designing and storytelling.

A further donation of thirty thousand dollars was also availed for the expansion of the library, which will improve its capacity to hundred people at a time.

At the official opening of the library, the head of the Iranian Cultural Centre in Harare Mohammad Asadi explained how Islam as a religion encourages education in order to gain knowledge.

“One of the ways that we can exchange our culture and give them education and knowledge is through library,” Asadi told Press TV.

“That is why we came to this idea to open this library. The library is free of charge for students.”

Iranian Ambassador to Zimbabwe Mohammad Pournajaf, Zimbabwe’s Deputy Education Minister and several other officials from both countries attended the event’s opening ceremony.

Zimbabwean Deputy Minister of Education Lazarus Dokora highlighted the growing ties between the two nations.

“When you cement this kind of brotherly relations that we have with Iran and you cement them with opening a space such as this, a library; you are laying a cornerstone in the struggle against the imperial west,” he told Press TV.

The Islamic Republic of Iran has also promised to offer scholarships for Zimbabwean students in near future.

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Golestan Complex Unveils Historical Documents

Iran Daily: Documents pertaining to the Timurid dynasty were unveiled at Tehran’s Golestan Cultural Complex this week.
The show is part of the programs scheduled to mark the Ten-Day
Dawn (February 1-11), IBNA said.
Head of the complex, Masoud Sharifi said that a ceremony was held on February 5 to unveil the documents, according to the public relations and cultural affairs office of Iran Cultural Heritage, Handcrafts and Tourism Organization.
Members of Tehran’s City Council paid a visit to the complex during the event.
Moreover, a gallery of paintings themed on Qajar dynasty by Master Rahimi will be held in the palace for four days beginning February 7. The visit will be free for school and university students. Production and presentation of cultural stuff and holding specialized sessions in assessment of the complex’s architecture are also on the agenda.
The Ten-Day Dawn refers to the events that led to the victory of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. This period is celebrated every year in Iran as the ‘Fajr’. February 11 is ‘Islamic Revolution’s Victory Day’, a national holiday.

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