Turkey hands over Sufi book to Afghanistan

By Shadi Khan Saif

KABUL, Afghanistan (AA) - An 18th century Pashto language book on Sufism was handed over to Afghanistan on Tuesday after being discovered in a Dublin book store by a Turkish diplomat.

Al-Tohfat Al-Qadrya was presented to Afghan officials by the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) in a ceremony in Kabul.

Written between 1722 and 1723 by Afghan writer Ibn Munner, the book on Islamic mysticism was discovered two years ago by Sinan Ayhan, who was looking for Kurdish language books on Islam during a break from his diplomatic post in Kabul.

“The owners of the book store had kept this historic Pashto book in the Kurdish language section since they were not familiar with this language,” he said in a note accompanying the book as it was handed over.

Pashto is a language spoken in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, India and other countries by about 40 million people.

After the discovery, TIKA arranged for it to be republished and presented in Kabul.

TIKA’s Afghanistan Director Sulaiman Shaheen promised continued support for Afghan culture and society while Lal Pacha, advisor to President Ashraf Ghani, read a statement in which Ghani praised friendly ties between the two nations and thanked Turkey for its continued support.