Social Media

The Library's 4 Corners of the World Blog is a primary source for posts created by expert staff in the division. This section of the guide focuses on social media featuring the Arab and Islamic countries and related topics.

4 Corners of the World Blog

In partnership with the Asian, European and Hispanic research centers, the 4 Corners of the World: International Collections Blog is a great resource to learn first-hand from expert curators and reference specialists all about the Library’s international collections. They are the largest and finest in the world with millions of items, in hundreds of different languages and scripts, which focus on societies and cultures around the globe. These collections include books, manuscripts, newspapers, magazines, films, audio recordings, and much more! There are rarities, such as cuneiform tablets dating between 2124 and 824 BC, and there are contemporary newspapers and magazines.

Selected Blog Posts

333: A Film on the Manuscripts of Timbuktu
Read a post by Marieta Harper, Area Specialist, African Section, African and Middle Eastern Division on the manuscript collections of Timbuktu (a city on the edge of the Sahara Desert known as the “City of 333 Saints). (4 Corners of the World blog: October 24, 2016)
The Islamic World Map of 1154
Sundeep Mahendra, head of the Research Access and Collection Development Section in the Geography and Map Division discusses the 12th century Arab Muslim geographer and cartographer Abu Abdallah Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Abdallah ibn Idrīs al-sharif al-Idrīsī (or al-Idrisi) who was commissioned to produce a book detailing the geography of the known world. It’s upside down from the modern point of view, the south at the top, north at the bottom and Mecca at the center top. (4 Corners of the World blog: August 25, 2021)
Rare 19th Century Autobiography in Arabic by an Enslaved West African Scholar
In the summer of 2017, the African and Middle Eastern Division of the Library of Congress acquired a collection of unique documents, some dating back to the 1830s. Mary Jane Deep discusses the 42 documents purchased by the Library is the autobiography of Omar Ibn Said, a native of West Africa captured in 1807 and brought to South Carolina as a slave. He wrote his 1831 autobiography in Arabic while still in captivity. It remains to date the only known one of its kind still in existence. (4 Corners of the World blog: January 17, 2019)
Prodigies of Cosmology: A Muslim Perspective
Muhannad Salhi, Arab World Specialist, African and Middle Eastern Division, discusses one of the best-known and most influential works of Muslim cosmology, Qazwini’s famous “‘Aja’ib al-Makhluqat wa-Ghara’ib al-Mawjudat” (Marvels of Creation and Rarities of Existence) has been widely celebrated as well as harshly criticized by later scholars. (4 Corners of the World blog: October 31, 2019)
A Thousand and One Nights: Arabian Story-telling in World Literature
Muhannad Salhi, Arab World Specialist in the African and Middle Eastern Division discusses an unparalleled monument to the ageless art of story-telling, the tales of the One Thousand and One Nights, which have titillated the imaginations of generations the world over. Perhaps one of the greatest Arabic, Middle Eastern, and Islamic contributions to world literature, the many stories of the Arabian Nights, (or Alf Laylah wa-Laylah as it is known in Arabic) in their various forms and genres, have influenced literature, music, art, and cinema, and continue to do so until our present day. (4 Corners of the World blog: October 26, 2017)
The Visitor: The Holy Month of Ramadan and Muslim Practice
Read a post by Muhannad Salhi, Arab World Specialist of the Near East Section, African and Middle Eastern Division, on Ramadan, its significance, and how it is observed. The month of Ramadan is the holiest month in Islam, indeed, the only month mentioned in the Qur’an (2:185), the Muslim holy book. According to the Five Pillars of Islam, which form the basis of the Muslim faith, it is incumbent on all Muslims to observe the fast during the holy month. (4 Corners of the World blog: May 26, 2017)
The Holy Koran in the Library of Congress
Read a post by Fawzi M. Tadros, Area Specialist in the Near East Section of the African and Middle Eastern Division on the Holy Koran (or Qur’an), the divine book of Islam. Muslims believe that it was revealed by God through the archangel Gabriel to the Prophet Muhammad. The revelations first began in the month of Ramadan, the ninth month in the Muslim lunar calendar, and continued throughout the last 23 years of Muhammad’s life. (4 Corners of the World blog: August 22, 2016)
Waymarks of Benefits in the Library of Congress Collections
Muhannad Salhi, Arab World Specialist in the African and Middle Eastern Division discusses the uniqueness and significance of Muhammad ibn Sulayman al-Jazuli’s “Dalā‘il al-Khayrāt wa-Shawāriq al-Anwār fī Dhikr al-Ṣalāt ‘alà al-Nabī al-Mukhtār” (Waymarks of Benefits and the Brilliant Burst of Lights in the Remembrance of Blessings upon the Chosen Prophet) in the Islamic tradition. “Dalā‘il al-Khayrāt” is perhaps the most famous compilation of litanies (or awrād) and prayers focusing primarily on the Prophet Muhammad. (4 Corners of the World blog: July 6, 2016)
Read ALL blog posts from the Near East Section of the African and Middle Eastern Division

Social Media from the Library of Congress

The African and Middle Eastern Division participates in several modes of social media, including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and more.

Facebook

In addition to the main Library of Congress Facebook page External, the African and Middle Eastern Division creates content for the International Collections page, including collection highlights, events, and more.

Library of Congress International Collections on Facebook External
The Library of Congress’ international collections contain millions of items in hundreds of languages and scripts. These collections include books, manuscripts, newspapers, magazines, films, audio recordings, and much more! There are rarities and there are contemporary newspapers and magazines. The Library’s four area studies division reading rooms — African and Middle Eastern, Asian, European, and Hispanic—are happy to be your point of contact at the Library for your research in the fields of international studies.

Twitter

The Library hosts a number of Twitter feeds as part of its collection of social media offerings. Events and items related to the country of Saudi Arabia or& Arab world can be found in the two Twitter feeds below.

More Social Media

More social media sites and services feature content related to the country of Saudi Arabia, Arab and Islamic World.

Saudi Arabia: African and Middle Eastern Reading Room Country Guide