Professor Yahia Mahmoud Bin Junaid
King Faisal Prize in Islamic Studies 1998 Laureate
Topic: "Studies on Islamic Libraries or the Evolution of Islamic Book Craft "
Libraries, in the Islamic history, were the element of development towards global sovereignty
Yahia Bin Junaid graduated from the Department of Arabic Language and Literature at the College of Arts, King Saud University in Riyadh in 1969, obtained an MA in Library and Information Sciences from the University of Missouri in the USA in 1976 and a Ph.D. in Library Sciences and Documentation from Cairo University in 1983.
Professor Bin Junaid is a writer and scholar of Islamic libraries, a professor of Library Science at Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University and a former Head Librarian of King Fahd Library in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He is the editor-in-chief of Alam Al-Makhtotat (World of Manuscripts), a literary Arabic periodical, a member of editorial boards of Al-Faisal and Ad-Dara, and consultant editor of Diriya magazines.
Professor bin Junaid has authored numerous articles and books in his field of specialization. Of particular importance is his book: Endowment and the Structure of the Arabic library, a highly definitive study into the role of endowments in the evolution of libraries and enhancement of education and culture in the Islamic world over ten centuries.
Bin Junaid served as a Member of the Saudi Consultative Council from 1997 to 2000, the Secretary General of King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies, and a Member of the Board of Directors of King Fahad National Library.
This biography was written in the year the prize was awarded.
- He authored:
- Al-Arab Fi Asia Al-Wosta (Dar Al-Hamed), (2000).
- Al-Hayat Al-Thaqafiyah Fi Makkah Al-Mukarramah Fi Al-Qarn Al-Tasi’a Ashar (Al-Yamamah Printing), (2002).
- Ameer Al-Mu’mineen Al-Musta’sim – Roa’yah Tashihiyah (Arabic Encyclopedia), (2005).
- Al-Hayat Al-Elmiyah Fi Al-Qarn Al-Tasi’a Al-Hijri Min Khilal Al-Dhaw’a Al-Lami’a Li Al-Sakhawi (Zahra’a Al-Sharq Library), (2010).
- Al-Mujtam’a Al-Arabi Min Siyadat Al-Elm Ela Wahl Al-Khurafah (Dar Al-Gharb Al-Islami), (2010).
- Al-Adab Al-Arabi Fi Al-Mamlakah Al-Arabiyah Al-Suadiyah: Hasr Bibliography Min 1356-1404 H (King Fahad National Library), (2010).
- Sayyidat Asruha: Al-Katibah Shahdah 1088-1178 (Jadawil Publications), (2017).
- In 2016, he founded and managed the Center for Research and Intercommunication Knowledge