Frequently Asked Questions

About the project

What is Kairawan?
Kairawan is an open-access search index for Arabic and Islamic manuscripts. The platform federates catalogue records from nine institutional sources, currently around 270,000 manuscript records, into a single unified search. It serves researchers and practitioners working in manuscript discovery, cataloguing, and tahqīq (critical-edition scholarship).
Who runs Kairawan? How is it funded?
Kairawan is a volunteer-run non-profit initiative founded in 2026. The project operates on donated time, the founder's personal funds for operational costs (server hosting, OCR processing), and the contributions of scholarly collaborators. We do not have institutional sponsorship at this time and welcome partnership conversations with libraries, universities, and foundations.
Why is Kairawan free?
Manuscript heritage belongs to the global scholarly community. Charging scholars to search across catalogues that are themselves freely accessible would replicate the access barrier the project exists to solve. The platform will remain free to use.

For researchers

How do I search across collections?
Use the search bar on the home page. Enter terms in Latin or Arabic script, including author names, work titles, shelfmarks, or full-text queries where transcriptions are available. Results display manuscripts from all nine indexed collections with attribution to the holding institution on every record. No registration is required to search.
How do I cite Kairawan in my publication?
Cite the project via its Zenodo DOI: The Kairawan Project. (2026). Kairawan: An Open-Access Federated Search Index for Arabic and Islamic Manuscripts (Version 1.0.0) [Software]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20562455. The About page carries the citation in both plain-text and BibTeX formats with copy buttons.
Can I download or export search results?
Every record links back to the holding institution's catalogue page where you can view or download the manuscript directly. Kairawan does not host the manuscript images themselves; it federates the discovery layer. For programmatic access, an open REST API is available — contact partnerships@kairawan.org.

For institutions

How does a library or archive partner with Kairawan?
See the Partner page for details. Institutional partnership formalises catalogue federation and gives your collection deep-text discoverability alongside others in the index. Initial contact: partnerships@kairawan.org.
What does Kairawan commit to in return for catalogue access?
Six concrete deliverables for partner institutions: unified discoverability for your collection in the federated index, an embeddable search widget for your catalogue page, quarterly usage analytics (top-viewed and top-searched manuscripts from your collection, country-level viewer breakdown), free API access with elevated rate limits for your staff and researchers, cross-collection enrichment annotations linking your manuscripts to related witnesses elsewhere, and standardised citation strings for every result that references your collection. Full details on the Partner page.

Support Kairawan

How can I contribute to Kairawan?
Several ways: (a) use the platform and share it with colleagues; (b) report metadata errors when you find them in records you recognise; (c) suggest collections you would like to see indexed; (d) introduce Kairawan to your institution if they hold a relevant manuscript collection; (e) make a financial contribution via the donation page; (f) volunteer scholarly review when the editorial board launches — sign up via partnerships@kairawan.org.
Can I donate or sponsor specific operational costs?
Yes. Visit the donation page for a one-time or recurring contribution. Donations cover server hosting, OCR processing, domain registration, and other operational costs. For larger institutional sponsorship or earmarked contributions (covering a year of server hosting, or a specific OCR campaign for an under-served collection), contact partnerships@kairawan.org directly. The project currently runs on volunteer labour; donations cover operational costs only.
Are donations tax-deductible?
Not currently. Kairawan operates as a volunteer initiative without registered charitable status. We are exploring fiscal-sponsorship and charitable-registration options that would enable tax-deductible giving for donors in the US, UK, and EU. In the meantime, contributions support the project but are not tax-deductible.

Practical

Do I need to register to search?
No. The search index is fully accessible without registration. Registration is only required for advanced features such as in-platform manuscript transcription (OCR processing), available at app.kairawan.org.
What languages does Kairawan index?
Manuscripts indexed by Kairawan are predominantly in Arabic and Arabic-script languages including Persian (Farsi), Ottoman Turkish, Urdu, Malay, and others. The platform's user interface is available in eight languages: English, Arabic, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Turkish, and Persian. Catalogue metadata is preserved in the language provided by each holding institution.