The Ahmed Baba Institute of Higher Learning and Islamic Research in Timbuktu, Mali, a city designated an UNESCO World Heritage Site, contains some 30,000 manuscripts that date back to the 13th century.
Islamic extremists burned a portion of the collection in late January, 2013. The curatorial staff saved the bulk of the collection from destruction.
We urge the Obama Administration to allocated immediate expedited funding in order to speedily complete digital scanning of the surviving collection of manuscripts.