Rabat – The Islamic Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) plans to create a virtual museum of the ksour and kasbahs in Morocco, as part of celebrating the Year of Heritage in the Islamic World in 2019, a statement by ISESCO says.
A ksar (plural ksour) is a fortified village that may include a kasbah, which is a fortified center or citadel. Such villages are found in Arabia, North Africa, and Iberia. The Moroccan city of Ksar El Kebir and the Kasbah of the Oudayas neighborhood in Rabat were named after historical villages.
ISESCO is also planning 37 activities to promote, protect, and digitize Islamic heritage and monuments, as well as restore manuscripts.
These activities will take place throughout 2019 at ISESCO’s headquarters and in Palestine, Iraq, Jordan, Tunisia, Qatar, Nigeria, Mali, Burkina Faso, Brunei Darussalam, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, and Uzbekistan.
ISESCO will organize activities to support cultural institutions in Jerusalem, as part of celebrating the Holy City as the 2019 Capital of Islamic Culture. ISESCO will produce a documentary film on Palestinian crafts, a guide to Palestinian proverbs and folk tales, a documentary study on the Jerusalem libraries looted in 1948, and a workshop on protecting Palestinian national heritage.
In 1979, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation founded ISESCO, one of the largest international Islamic organizations specializing in education, science, and culture.
