This is the collection of ʻAbd al-ʻAzīz al-Bukhārī, a notable Jerusalem interfaith peace activist who died in 2010. His family arrived in Jerusalem from Central Asia in the 17th century, and they have maintained a presence in the Old City ever since. The Zāwiyah al-Uzbakīyah - also known as al-Zāwiyah al-Naqshabandīyah and as the Uzbek Sufi Center - was formally established by Shaykh Uthmān Bey al-Bukhārī in 1731. Coming from Uzbekistan with his family, Shaykh Uthmān Bey al-Bukhārī was a follower of the Naqshabandī Sufi order; he donated to the zāwiyah his manuscript collection, which was expanded by the Bukhārī family throughout the years.

This small collection includes a variety of texts, such as Sufi and theological treatises, copies of the Qur’an, and legal canonical texts. Interesting manuscripts of this collection feature poems and other religious and philosophical works in Uzbek, Persian, and Ottoman Turkish. In particular, the collection holds several copies of works related to the study of the Arabic language, and specifically commentaries of the Alfīyah by Ibn Mālik and the Ajurrūmīyah by Ibn Ājurrūm, which often include marginalia in Uzbek and Persian. View now