Christian Arabic Manuscripts: Research Skills for a New Generation

Christian Arabic Manuscripts:

Research Skills for a New Generation

A workshop with Dr Habib G. Ibrahim (Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen)

Thursday 19 - Friday 20 February 2026

Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities / Weston Library

University of Oxford

Registration is required. Deadline to apply: Monday 9 February 2026

Students and researchers are invited to join us for a two-day intensive research workshop at the Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities related to Christian Arabic manuscripts. The workshop will include introductory sessions on the foundations and research horizons of the field, as well as sessions introducing the latest digital tools and technologies advancing research. Attendees will have a chance to practice using these tools and technologies with a range of Christian Arabic texts located in the Bodleian Library.

Lunch and refreshments will be provided free of charge on both days.

Requirements:

• A solid foundation in Arabic (at least 1 year of Classical or Modern Standard)

• A studentship or research affiliation with Oxford University or another academic institution; OU participants will receive priority, followed by qualified academics and students from other institutions

• Demonstrable interest in Christian Arabic Manuscripts, including those for whom Christian Arabic may be tangential to their overall study or research interests, e.g. those working in Byzantine Studies, Islamic Studies, Patristics, and Syriac Studies

How to apply: Follow the link to apply

Deadline to apply: Monday 9 February 2026 (contact the organizer directly after this time if interested)

If you have any further questions, please contact Dr Steven Firmin (steven.firmin@theology.ox.ac.uk)

About the workshop leader:

Habib Ibrahim specializes in developing digital tools to automate the critical edition process of Christian Arabic texts, focusing on enhancing accessibility and research efficiency. His work spans the entire editorialpipeline, from handwritten manuscript recognition and collation of textual variants to lemmatization and the creation of comprehensive dictionaries. By integrating innovative technologies like Handwritten Text Recognition (HTR) and text parsing tools, he aims to bridge traditional philological methods with cutting-edge digital solutions.

He has collaborated on pioneering projects such as BHA (Bibliotheca Hagiographica Arabica), a digital Arabic Synaxarion that provides structured access to hagiographical texts, and e-Cheikho, a comprehensive database of Christian texts written in Arabic. These initiatives align with his commitment to expand digital resources for the study of Christian Arabic literature, enabling deeper insights into its historical and linguistic contexts.