Mendeley  

Zotero  

Bod M, Raji Z, Rahmani Z, Shafiaa S. (2025). A Critical Analysis of the Challenges Facing the Preservation of Manuscripts During Military Crises: The Case of the Twelve-Day War. Athar. 46(110), 131-147. doi:10.61882/Athar.4065.2020
URL: http://athar.richt.ir/article-2-2020-en.html

Abstract
Manuscripts, as a valuable and irreplaceable component of cultural heritage, play a vital role in preserving collective memory, sustaining national identity, and transmitting intellectual traditions across generations. However, these priceless treasures are extremely vulnerable during periods of instability and crisis, particularly within the context of armed conflicts, when cultural assets often face destruction, displacement, or illicit trafficking. The present study seeks to diagnose and critically examine the multifaceted challenges associated with the preservation of manuscripts under wartime conditions, focusing specifically on the hypothetical scenario of a military confrontation between Iran and the Israeli regime. Adopting a qualitative research design grounded in the Glaserian model of grounded theory, the study collected data through semi-structured interviews with sixteen specialists and professionals in the domain of manuscript preservation, conservation, and heritage management. The data were subjected to thematic analysis to extract the underlying dimensions and relationships among the identified challenges. The findings indicate that the obstacles to effective preservation can be categorized into five major domains: (1) organizational and managerial factors, including the lack of flexible administrative structures and absence of comprehensive contingency planning; (2) technological and digitalization-related limitations, stemming from inadequate infrastructure and outdated systems; (3) financial and economic constraints, reflected in budget reductions and low prioritization within national policy frameworks; (4) legal and religious ambiguities concerning ownership rights, property regulations, and religious rulings; and (5) ownership-related issues, such as theft, smuggling, and illicit trade in cultural property. Collectively, these interrelated challenges weaken institutional resilience and threaten the survival of collective memory and cultural identity. Consequently, the research recommends key strategic measures—preventive digitalization, human resource empowerment, strengthening of protective legal mechanisms, and enhanced institutional collaboration—to ensure the sustainable and effective safeguarding of this invaluable documentary heritage.
Keywords: ManManuscript Heritage, Collective Memory, Cultural Resilience, Preservation Pathology, Crisis Management, Digitalization, Preservation Challenges.

Introduction
Manuscripts have always been exposed to various threats, ranging from natural deterioration to the challenges caused by insufficient preservation facilities and institutional constraints. During military crises, these threats intensify and, especially through the deliberate targeting of cultural symbols by hostile forces, the danger of cultural erasure becomes a serious concern. Contemporary wars have demonstrated that scientific and cultural centers are often subjected—directly or indirectly—to destruction, while written heritage, as one of the most fragile cultural assets, sustains the greatest losses (UNESCO, 2010). The current wartime situation has generated understandable concerns regarding the protection of cultural heritage, particularly manuscript collections held in governmental repositories. In general, despite the recognized significance of these invaluable treasures, and independent of wartime conditions, preliminary assessments indicate that challenges related to the preservation and management of manuscripts persist. Limited attention has been devoted to their identification, restoration, and utilization. This negligence not only jeopardizes the physical safety of these cultural assets but also doubles the risk of damage and loss during times of crisis such as war. Ensuring the protection and conservation of the nation’s manuscripts requires cohesive and coordinated cooperation among subject-matter experts, research groups, governmental and non-governmental organizations, cultural institutions, and mass media. Such collaboration must be organized within a well-structured framework to maximize the use of national and international capacities for preservation, restoration, and dissemination. Systematic efforts in the collection, protection, organization, and public communication of manuscript heritage—based on evidence-driven assessments—can restore the diminished position of these invaluable resources and safeguard them against imminent threats, both during wartime and in peacetime. Accordingly, this paper seeks to examine, in particular, the challenges of safeguarding manuscripts during wartime conditions, while acknowledging that similar preservation challenges exist even under normal circumstances. The initial premise of this study is that the protection and maintenance of manuscripts—especially rare ones—constitute an intrinsic duty of the state in upholding national identity. Naturally, the role of the government becomes even more crucial under crisis conditions such as armed conflicts. Therefore, the present research aims to identify and analyze the major challenges to the preservation of manuscript heritage during war, specifically within the hypothetical context of the twelve-day conflict between Iran and the Israeli regime. The evaluation of these challenges is expected to yield effective policy-oriented strategies to safeguard this cultural legacy and strengthen the foundations of Iran’s rich Islamic–Iranian identity.

Discussion
During times of crisis, particularly armed conflicts, manuscripts—as a vital component of written heritage and collective memory—face severe threats. The findings of this study reveal that the challenges of safeguarding manuscripts in Iran can be categorized into five major domains: organizational and managerial, technological and digitalization-related, financial and economic, legal and religious, and ownership and property-related.
In the organizational and managerial dimension, the absence of flexible institutional structures during emergencies, the lack of comprehensive crisis management plans, weak inter-agency coordination, and the absence of preventive policies constitute the main obstacles. One expert noted that “in times of war, everything is reactive; there is no predefined plan or unified directive for prioritizing and transferring valuable collections to safe zones.” This observation indicates that effective manuscript preservation requires structured planning, skilled human resources, inter-organizational coordination, and national-level policymaking.
The technological and digitalization challenges stem from the shortage of portable and secure digitization equipment, frequent power and internet outages, and the lack of trained specialists capable of operating under wartime conditions. The absence of standardized emergency digitization protocols and the risk of cyber intrusion or data destruction further endanger digital archives (UNESCO, 2017).
From a financial and economic perspective, wartime conditions drastically reduce cultural budgets, as national resources are redirected toward military and defense priorities. The resulting funding shortages hinder the procurement of protective equipment, data backup systems, and the retention of technical staff. Dependence on international or governmental financial aid exacerbates the situation during periods of instability or sanctions.
In the legal and religious sphere, uncertainties regarding ownership, endowment status, and religious regulations present additional obstacles. However, Islamic jurisprudence, based on the principle of al-ḍarūrāt tubīḥ al-maḥẓūrāt (“necessity permits the prohibited”), allows temporary flexibility to protect sacred heritage, provided that respect for sanctity and purity is maintained. Collaboration between clerics and heritage professionals is thus essential in crisis management.
Finally, ownership-related challenges—such as theft, illicit trafficking, and disputes over custody—intensify during armed conflicts. Weak administrative supervision and the exploitation of cultural assets by armed groups for financial or political leverage pose serious ethical and security risks (UNESCO, 2017).
Overall, the findings indicate that despite Iran’s rich civilizational legacy and the recognized importance of manuscript heritage, the lack of shared understanding among policymakers and managers has marginalized preservation efforts during crises, placing this invaluable cultural legacy in persistent jeopardy.

Conclusion 
Manuscripts, as a crucial part of humanity’s written heritage, have played a fundamental role in the transmission of knowledge, the dynamism of civilizations, and the formation of national cultural identities. Their significance in the history of thought, as well as in scientific and social developments, has led scholarly centers around the world to regard manuscripts not merely as material or museum artifacts, but as living and active sources for the production and reproduction of knowledge. In this context, Islamic countries—particularly Iran, given its rich civilization, diverse sources, and historical scientific legacy—rank among the most important custodians of these invaluable treasures.
However, the lack of a shared and widespread understanding of the strategic importance of these resources, especially among policymakers, academic institutions, and even cultural intellectuals, remains a fundamental challenge to their preservation. Cultural heritage reflects the historical memory of nations, and neglecting it constitutes a rupture from the past, weakens social capital, and undermines national identity cohesion. Although many manuscripts have survived natural disasters, wars, plundering, and foreign invasions over the centuries, without systematic collection, documentation, organization, and preservation in specialized centers that meet scientific standards under the supervision of legal authorities, they face severe threats from emerging risks. Drawing on research findings in wartime conditions, several key recommendations are proposed in this regard:
1. Digitalization Strategy as a Preventive Measure: Creating digital copies of manuscripts and storing them in secure databases to protect the content in case the originals are damaged or destroyed during war or other potential crises.
2. Human Resource Empowerment Strategy: Providing specialized training for staff in libraries, archives, and cultural centers on identifying, preserving, restoring, and emergency-transferring manuscripts, with an emphasis on preparedness during crises.
3. Comprehensive and Integrated Cataloging Strategy: Developing an accurate and up-to-date inventory of all manuscripts held in public and private centers to better understand cultural assets and prioritize protective actions in emergencies.
4. Strengthening Laws and National Policies Strategy: Enacting supportive legislation and formulating clear policies for the protection of manuscripts in wartime, including establishing legal responsibilities for relevant institutions in their preservation and safeguarding.
5. Institutional Cooperation and Organizational Coordination Strategy: Establishing mechanisms for collaboration among cultural institutions, libraries, relief organizations, crisis management authorities, and security agencies to ensure rapid and coordinated responses to threats.
The above solutions combine urgent and strategic measures aimed at the preservation, restoration, and accessibility of manuscripts, ensuring that this invaluable cultural heritage survives for future generations and remains protected against destruction, loss, or illegal transfer. It is hoped that identifying these challenges and presenting the proposed strategies in this research can contribute to more conscious and effective preservation efforts. Moreover, these findings may pave the way for more coherent and responsible policymaking in the field of written heritage under crisis conditions.