Preserving the holy Quran – its text, binding and ornamentation – was one of the arts at which the Islamic culture has long excelled. That is why Rida Murjan was proud that he bound the Quran of Osman, the third Caliphate after Prophet Muhammad who ordered the Quran to be written down. This Quran was one of the Prophet Muhammad’s relics which are kept in the Hussein Mosque in the center of Cairo.

Preserving the holy Quran – its text, binding and ornamentation – was one of the arts at which the Islamic culture has long excelled. That is why Rida Murjan was proud that he bound the Quran of Osman, the third Caliphate after Prophet Muhammad who ordered the Quran to be written down. This Quran was one of the Prophet Muhammad’s relics which are kept in the Hussein Mosque in the center of Cairo. Murjan, who travelled to numerous Arab and European countries to take part in activities and exhibitions related to binding and restoring books, inherited this profession from his father who had also inherited it from his father.

“Bookbinding is in essence a mental profession which also requires an artistic sense,” says Murjan. “It also needs accuracy and skill as each book has its own measurements.”

Murjan starts by manually sewing, cutting the edges of the book, applying the red glue, putting lawn on the bottom of the book, adding ornamenting ribbons on both sides of the bottom before letting the book dry. After that, the cardboard is cut accurately and goat leather is tailored and cut and then natural glue is used to fix the cardboard with the leather.

Then Ashraf, Murjan’s brother, begins writing on the book covers using molded metal letters. He starts by collecting the letters of the book title, the author’s name and the book number. The place of every letter should be memorized. The letters are then put in a heater on the oven. Gold sheets are put on the bottom of the book using the heater to engrave the letters. “This stage is difficult, because it requires a great deal of concentration. Very few people know how to do this accurately,” says Murjan. In addition, there is a shortage of these letters in the market as most of the foundries (factories where metal casings are produced) have been closed.

The final stage is performed by Murjan. It includes applying glue to fix the leather and fixing the cover.

While Murjan takes pride in his work he is also worried about the future of his profession. “Very few people work in this profession. Young men are not willing to practice it due to its low income from the very beginning which endangers the continuity of this tradition. Another challenge is the materials’ ridiculously high prices which has led many bookbinding workshops to close down.”

As manual bookbinding is an ancient Egyptian art, Murjan hopes that the state will preserve it either through establishing a school to teach it or through opening permanent workshops to create new generations of technicians in this domain. “There is no doubt that our generation of craftsmen will contribute to this effort if it is sponsored by the state.”