Ali Nawaz Rahimoo

Islamkot is famously known as the “City of Neem Trees”, with thousands of lush neem trees giving the town its distinctive character. Yet, another landmark is quietly putting Islamkot on the map the Shaheed Makhdoom Bilawal Samoon Library. Amid the arid landscape of Tharparkar, the library stands as a rare sanctuary of books, learning and intellectual curiosity, offering a place where the thirst for knowledge can flourish.

Books have long overflowed shelves and cupboards in the modest residence of book-collector in Islamkot town, filling two rooms to the ceiling, occupying all the corners of his home.

A 55-year-old Tharparkar-resident with a passion for books travelled to India to attend the World Book Fair, organized by India’s National Book Trust, where 1,380 stalls and publishers from 14 countries had gathered under one roof. For Samoon, the trip was less a luxury than a pilgrimage. He returned carrying books worth more than Rs.150, 000 close to the same amount that he had borrowed. His collection, popularly known as the Shaheed Makhdoom Bilawal Samoon Library, Islamkot, contains over 16,200 books now. Mostly bought from bookshops and book fairs in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi, the books include fiction, poetry, history, philosophy, biography and religious materials; some of them he acquired after traveling long distances and spent a significant part of his limited savings to bring home.

For Samoon, however, this journey of collecting books is just as important as the endgame. In 2016, his search for books took him to India where he attended the world book fair. That journey, however, came with some personal costs; he had borrowed money to make the trip and upon his return to Pakistan, was suspended from his government job for traveling to another country without official permission. He was eventually reinstated after 32 months of suspension.

Yet, the experience did little to diminish his lifelong attachment to books.  Born in a religious family in a village called Peeloro Samaan, now called Ahmedabad, in the vicinity of Islamkot, Samoon started his formal education in Diplo, completed his matriculation from Jhuddo and college from Mithi. His fascination with books began at home. His elder brother, Molvi Muhammad Ahmed, studied religion and maintained a small collection of religious books. As a child, Samoon started to read books and was often intrigued by their contents, which became a lifelong passion. Even as a student, he would sometimes save his money for food and attire to buy books. He used to wear old second-hand clothes and sometimes forego his meals. “Books became more important than comfort,” he says.

His love affair with books began in 1987, when he started purchasing books with his own resources. What began as a personal passion gradually grew into a remarkable lifelong collection

This started affecting his health and eventually, he contracted tuberculosis. Samoon joined the government as a primary school teacher in 1989, earning a modest salary, which provided him a steady flow of income to expand his collection.

He began purchasing books in 1990 and gradually transformed his growing collection into the Shaheed Makhdoom Bilawal Samoon Library in Islamkot. People come to borrow books from Shaheed Makhdoom Bilawal Samoon, while others come to spend time reading in this oasis of books in the otherwise formal desert landscape of Islamkot.

He has about 80 registered and permanent borrowers and perhaps another dozen visits the library regularly. It has become an informal library meant for a much wider community in the town.

He continues to visit dozens of bookshops and fairs almost every year in Pakistan’s largest cities, Lahore and Karachi, as well as Rawalpindi; he has attended 17 editions of the Karachi Expo book fair so far. An unlimited list and yet, some titles still remain high on his priority list: he is yet to buy the complete sets of Will Durant’s “The Story of Civilization”, and the entire collection of the Encyclopedia Britannica. All that is easily available in Western countries and at book fairs in Pakistan.

The collection of books includes Seerat (Biographies of the Prophet), Exegesis (Tafsir), autobiographies and international literature. Autobiographies, Personalities, Character Sketches, History of Sindh, History, International History, Sindh Archaeology,  Sindh Chach Nama, Economics, World Literature, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Ghalib, Iqbal, Latif Studies, Mir Taqi Mir, Shah Inyat,  Mirza Galab, Short stories, Farhang-e-Farsi (Persian Dictionary) and Thari Lughat, Oxford Dictionaries. The collection spans Sindhi, Urdu, Persian and English literature, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad books, Al-Hilal Newspaper was published 1912-1914 three Editions, as well as magazines and books covering a wide range of subjects.

Despite years of effort, he has never received financial assistance or institutional support for his library. Every book, every shelf and every addition to the collection has been arranged through his own limited resources. What began as a personal passion has gradually grown into a quiet labor of love built not with grants or sponsorships, but with his own dedication and an unwavering belief in the power of books.

Not only reading books, he also writes and translates, including Abdel Halim Sharar’s “Tareekh-i-Sindh” into Sindhi. His books include Tharparkar: An Annotated Bibliography which discusses over 500 books and references over 700 articles concerning Tharparkar. His purpose, he says, is to help students and researchers locate relevant material about the region.

While maintaining such a large collection of books is not always affordable, he has refused financial help on a number of occasions, and instead, bought books with his own funds. For him, books are not merely material possessions; they are a repository of the ‘greater knowledge’ and an obligation to another sphere, which he believes he must fulfill.

Collections have built up over the course of decades, painfully, volume by volume. Outside, in Islamkot, the town remains a place of recurring drought, migration, dusty roads and expanding open-pit coal mine causing growing concerns about the natural environment.  Inside his house, a different world has emerged built from thousands of books, purchased from bazaars and fairs, and traveling from one place to another.

This is a lesson for many that a library doesn’t have to be a huge institution or managed by authorities; it can simply be a reader with a small income and an inability to stop looking. Tharparkar’s repeated droughts and severe conditions have never stopped Samoon from his lifelong pursuit of searching for books. He has continually traveled and bought books whenever possible.

What began as a childhood hobby has become a mission to bring knowledge to the desert and to make it accessible to everyone.

Ismail, a teacher from Islamkot, said Ashraf Samoon’s decades-long passion for collecting books reflects a deep and enduring thirst for knowledge. He described the library’s diverse collection as a rare intellectual resource for the town, attracting students, researchers and readers who are eager to explore its shelves.

“In a city like Islamkot, where opportunities for reading are limited, this library has created a special space for people who love books and seek knowledge,” Ismail said. He noted that the library has become a distinctive part of the town’s intellectual life and, with the closure of other libraries, remains the only dedicated library of its kind in Islamkot.

Yet Samoon’s vision extends beyond the existing space. He now plans to construct a spacious reading hall providing a quiet and comfortable environment where more visitors can sit, read and immerse themselves in the world of books. For him, the planned expansion is not merely about adding space, but about making knowledge and reading more accessible to the community.

Shahid Hussain Laghari, a development practitioner, shared the Shaheed Makhdoom Bilawal Samoon Library as a distinctive repository of books and knowledge in Tharparkar. He said the collection has particular value for researchers and students, while also offering general readers an opportunity to explore literature, history and ideas that might otherwise remain beyond their reach. In a region where access to books and reading spaces can be limited, he said, the library represents a valuable resource for nurturing curiosity and keeping the culture of reading alive.

May this library inspire other peoples to establish public and personal libraries, in local villages and big cities, so that the culture of reading is spread all across, he hopes.  He explains that books for him are not simply items on shelves; they are portals to other worlds, to different places in space and time, and other modes of thinking. May hope that this library will encourage others to establish similar spaces in villages and cities,” he says. “We need to promote a culture of reading and make books and knowledge accessible to more people, particularly in communities where such facilities are limited.

Read: Chaunra – Resilient Thar Desert Homes

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Ali Nawaz Rahimoo, based in Umerkot, Sindh is a social development professional. He can be contacted on anrahimoo@gmail.com 

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By Tuliyeva Sarvinoz

Although the word “Mutolaa” means “reading” in Arabic, today it has a broader meaning than just reading a book. According to A. Umarov: ‘Mutolaa’ culture is a set of knowledge, norms, social phenomena and other attributes that represent a set of changes in the content and structural systems of the process, behavior and activities of social groups, associations and individuals aimed at obtaining general information.

At the same time, it is necessary to distinguish specialized information, which specifically forms the reading culture through educational systems, from general information of various directions and forms, which is acquired throughout a person’s life through various sources – books (fiction, scientific, educational, encyclopedias), mass media (newspapers, magazines, television, radio, etc.), modern information technologies (Internet, electronic newspapers, magazines, manuals, etc.), as well as individuals who directly communicate with the subject (

Professor E.I. Yoldoshev defines the concept of “Reading Culture” as follows: “Reading culture is a very broad concept, requiring interest and love for books, wider acquaintance with literature, special knowledge about books and working with them, as well as skills and qualifications that help to fully use books.”

The issue of educating the culture of information acquisition is a social, spiritual-enlightenment, nationwide problem. This is not a phenomenon limited to a certain period, but a spiritual need that a person learns throughout his life. The main place for educating the culture of information acquisition is information and library institutions. Information and library institutions, with their capabilities, not only help in the implementation of school programs and State Educational Standards, but also guide students towards independent learning. In educating the culture of information acquisition, it is important to establish school-family-library cooperation It is necessary to determine the main tasks of information and library institutions in fostering an information culture.

The school and parents have an extremely complex and responsible task in shaping children’s reading. For this, parents themselves must have high taste, be enlightened and knowledgeable. It is known that only when a child knows how to read a book, a book plays an important role in his spiritual life. For a child to be spiritually enriched, a book must direct him to spiritual, intellectual, and aesthetic growth. The initial impetus for this is the first book read to a child in the family, the second is when the child hears his father and mother reading and imagines the beauty of artistic images, and these first and second encounters with a book must be connected with all spheres of the child’s spiritual life in the later adolescence: work, play, music, children’s creativity, and must encompass all aspects of his life. Because it is difficult to imagine the life of a teenager without creative work, the world of fairy tales, fantasies, play, and music. If reading encompasses all of these, it will help him grow into a spiritually mature person, intelligent and capable of understanding the fundamental nature of life, trying to understand the contradictions of life. The means that shape such intelligence and enrich the spiritual world of a person are books and reading.

The most important thing in reading is to instill a love for books in the family, to teach them to take care of them. Not only scholars, but also many ordinary people take care of books. Our people have long said, “A book is dearer than anything else, and to kiss it on the forehead is a reward.” When parents visit the home museums of our great scholars and writers Oybek, Gafur Ghulam, Izzat Sultan, Mirzakalon Ismaili and others with their children, it becomes clear that there was nothing dearer to these people than books, that they took care of them, and that they read a lot. After all, the fact that our people cherish and respect books, store them on shelves that are not exposed to moisture, and spend their free time reading books is a testament to the great love they have for books.

The reader enriches the life he learned in the family with life events in the book, and his understanding of life, human qualities, goodness, values, and pride in the life of his descendants, love for the Motherland, loyalty to friends, respect, hard work, and patience improve. The greatest helper in this regard is fiction. In fiction, any event is expressed in artistic images, in an impressive form, so that a teenage reader can learn many qualities and become a spiritually rich person.

Read: Revival of Reading Culture: Back to Books

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Tuliyeva Sarvinoz, hailing from the Beruni district of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, graduated from the Tashkent State University of Uzbek Language and Literature named after Alisher Navoi, in 2023. She is winner of the Zulfiya State Prize (2019). She is author of the poetry books “Tinchlik qo‘shig’i”, “Haqiqat qiziman”, “Tong shu’lasi”, besides the creative collection “Nurli izlar”. About 100 creative works have been published in republican and foreign newspapers and magazines in Russia, Turkey, Germany, the USA, Kenya, and Great Britain. Currently, she is a teacher of native language and literature at the Shaykhontohur District Polytechnic of Tashkent.

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Tando Jam

The library of the Faculty of Agricultural Engineering of Sindh Agriculture University (SAU) Tando Jam has been named after Dr. A.Q. Mughal, former Vice Chancellor of the university.

Dr. A.Q. Mughal and Dr. Fateh Marri, VC SAU inaugurated the library and new extension building of the Faculty of Agricultural Engineering on Friday.

Dr. A.Q. Mughal is an academician, researcher, former chairman of the University Grants Commission and former Vice Chancellor of Sindh Agriculture University. He has remained on different positions in federal and provincial Institutions as well as member of different international organizations.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. A.Q. Mughal said that COVID-19 has badly affected the education of the country and now students in cities have to be woken up and brought to the classrooms. “We are working on a project to address the academic and research damage caused by Covid,” he told.

He said that the graduates of Sindh Agriculture University were rendering excellent services in institutions across the country. “The graduates of University are serving as Vice Chancellors of five universities of the country, including three universities of Sindh,” he said.

Dr. Mughal said that there should be no injustice with merit in academic and research standards and appointments.

Dr. Fateh Marri, Vice Chancellor, SAU said that he has followed the footsteps of his teacher. “With the efforts of Dr. A. Q. Mughal, university graduates are serving in various universities and institutions.”

Prof. Dr. Naimatullah Leghari, Dean, Faculty of Agricultural Engineering, Dr. Muhammad Ismail Kumbhar, Dr. Siraj Ahmed Siyal and others also addressed the function while a large number of faculty members, teachers, officers and students were present on the occasion.

Meanwhile, Dr. Fateh Marri, accorded approval of awarding PhD degrees to two scholars of university – Dr. Noor-u-Nisa Marri and Prof. Ahmed Ali Moriani, who submitted their thesis at a seminar. Dr. Noor-u-Nisa is scholar at Livestock Management Department at the Faculty of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Sciences and Dr. Ahmed Ali Moriani is scholar at the Poultry Department. (PR)

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By Ruwaida Amer

 Samir Mansour spent more than 20 years developing a haven for readers in Gaza City.

An estimated 100,000 books could be found in his library. Located near three universities, it was a vital resource for large numbers of students.

The haven was destroyed swiftly and brutally during Israel’s latest major attack on Gaza.

Today, a sign with a defiant message has been placed outside the remains of the Kuhail building where Mansour ran his library, bookstore and publishing firm. The sign notes that books are the source of knowledge and help to shape people’s identity.

The ideas contained in books cannot be erased by bombs and warplanes. They will live on.

“This library is my whole life,” said Mansour. “I was shocked when the Israeli occupation decided to bomb the building. It felt like I myself had been destroyed.”

“The library benefited all members of society,” he added. “It is an independent library that has nothing to do with politics. I did not expect for a moment that it would be bombed in this way. This means that Israel wants to destroy our identity and culture in Gaza.”

Beautiful and useful

Maryam Riyad, a history student at Al-Aqsa University in Gaza, described the library as a “constant companion.”

“There is no student at our university who hasn’t been in this library,” she said. “It was both beautiful and useful. I have so many memories from there.”

Khalid Omar, an engineering student at Al-Azhar University, immersed himself in literature thanks to the library.

“I would borrow a novel or a collection of poetry,” he said. “And I would absorb these books. When I saw thousands of books destroyed and lying on the ground, I felt that my own heart had been destroyed. Israel does not respect books and culture. That’s why it has bombed a library.”

As well as running the library and bookstore, Mansour’s firm published books by local authors.

The firm worked with more than 150 writers, as well as publishing translations of European literature.

Among its bestsellers was an Arabic translation of Les Misérables, the French historical novel by Victor Hugo. It was the only firm in Gaza to print copies of the Quran.

Mansour has calculated that he lost at least $700,000 worth of books and equipment as a result of the bombing.

Another bookstore – owned by Shaban Aslim – was destroyed during last month’s offensive against Gaza.

Revulsion

Israel has a history of attacking Palestinian arts and culture.

In 2018, for example, Israel bombed the Said al-Mishal Cultural Center. That five-story building hosted Gaza’s main theater, as well as dance classes, poetry readings and exhibitions.

During last month’s attack, Israel also bombed the Ghazi al-Shawa building hosting the Gaza offices of Open Screenplay. A Canadian firm, Open Screenplay has developed technology to assist budding movie writers.

While none of Open Screenplay’s staff were harmed, the firm reported that at least four people were killed when the building was bombed.

Another facility attacked by Israel was the recording studio Mashareq.

It was in that studio that the popular singer Mohammed Assaf – best known for winning the TV contest Arab Idol – made his first recordings.

The Basma Society for Culture and Arts – which offers drama programs for children and women – was damaged, too.

The bombing of Samir Mansour’s project has caused widespread revulsion.

Palestinians in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem quickly demonstrated their support for Mansour by opening a bookstore named in his honor.

The act of solidarity is poignant given that Sheikh Jarrah has become synonymous with ongoing efforts by Israel to force Palestinians out of their homes.

Muhammad al-Sharif from Gaza’s culture ministry noted that Samir Mansour’s library was one of 44 cultural institutions destroyed or damaged by Israel last month.

More than $3 million worth of damage was inflicted on Gaza’s cultural sector, the ministry has calculated.

“Israel believes that destroying our cultural institutions will make us forget our cause,” al-Sharif said. “But that will not happen. We will keep on reading.”

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Ruwaida Amer is a journalist based in Gaza.

Courtesy: The Electronic Intifada 

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