Muslims are mourning the burning of a 113-year-old madressah library in India that once housed more than 4,500 books, including ancient manuscripts and sacred Islamic texts written in beautiful calligraphy.

The library was part of the Madressah Azizia — a well-known religious school in Bihar Sharif town in the eastern state of Bihar — and was burnt down by a large mob on March 31.

According to BBC News, the incident took place during the Hindu festival of Ram Navami. The rioters were armed with sticks, stones and petrol bombs and allegedly shouted provocative slogans near the madressah before attacking it.

The incident was one among many that took place in the town that day — several people were injured and some vehicles and shops were attacked. Police have arrested several people in connection with the communal violence, and the investigation is ongoing.

Witnesses said that a mob of hundreds broke the locks and front door of the madressah and then vandalised it. Some hurled petrol bombs inside the classrooms and library, setting them on fire.

“Suddenly I could smell smoke,” Abdul Gaffar, a cook at the madressah was quoted by BBC News as saying. “When I opened the door, I saw there was a lot of chaos near the office. They (the mob) had moved towards the hostel as well. I got scared and hid under the bed.”

The fire gutted the library and all that was inside, including 250 handwritten books, historical documents and antique furniture.

The library was mostly used by the students of the madressah. Around 500 students study here, with 100 staying in the hostel. But they were not in the building as classes had been halted due to Ramazan.

“The damage caused to the building and furniture can be fixed. But the loss of knowledge and cultural heritage is permanent,” Syed Saifuddin Firdausi, an Islamic scholar who is president of the Soghara Trust which manages the madressah, told BBC News.

He says the building was targeted earlier as well, in 2017, prompting police to give it protection for a year.

The madressah was built by a woman named Bibi Soghara in memory of her late husband, Abdul Aziz. It was initially built in Patna city in 1896 and later shifted to Bihar Sharif.

Bibi Soghara also donated her property — including 14,000 acres of land — to charity. She set up a trust to make sure the income was used to provide education and other help to poor people.

The trust used the money to build schools and colleges as well as hospitals and hostels, which are still operational today across Bihar.

Mr Firdausi describes Bibi Soghara as an “enlightened, socially conscious, and wise woman” who chose to donate her property in the service of the community and the country instead of giving it to her relatives.

Published in Dawn, April 25th, 2023