Preserving, Studying, and Democratizing Access to the World Heritage of Islamic Manuscripts: The Zaydī Tradition

The article provides an overview of the history of Zaydi manuscript collections, both in Yemen as well as outside of the country, and the parallel evolution of Zaydi studies as a scholarly field. The accessibility of the various collections over the course of the twentieth century is discussed—while scholars outside of Yemen continue to profit from the advances of digital technology, scholars who are based in Yemen have virtually no access to Zaydi materials in any of the European or North American collections. The most recent initiative to democratize access to the Zaydi manuscript culture around the world is presented, a collaboration between the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, and the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library in Minnesota.