Quran recorded by Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje ,He was an explorer, scholar, and probably a spy and the oldest , a Dutchman, established that he was a groundbreaking multimedia journalist with his rare 1885 pictures and sound recordings of Mecca. He was an explorer, scholar, and probably a spy and the oldest quran recorder.
Before the yearly Hajj pilgrimage, which first lured Snouck to Islam, his unique collection of sepia-tinted photographs and quran recorder of Mecca from a bygone era has been put on exhibit in Dubai.
The display offers a different picture from the elaborate and constructed Mecca familiar to modern tourists, accompanied by crackling, unsettling soundscapes collected by Snouck using Thomas Edison’s freshly produced wax cylinders.
One of the freshly repaired platinum prints depicts the Kaaba, the instantly recognized cube that Muslims believe to be the world’s holiest location. It was captured from a neighbouring hillside.
The poorly built metropolis of Snouck’s time shows only a passing similarity to Mecca’s modern design, as do the crude travellers’ tents on the dusty plains beyond the city, despite the galleried enclosure that surrounds it.
0ldest Quran recorded by Spy story
Elie Domit, creative director of Dubai’s Empty Quarter gallery, which is exhibiting the exhibition, claims they are even more impressive when one understands the lengths he took to obtain the photographs.
He told CNN that people often overlook the circumstances because modern cameras are adaptable and lightweight. They likely weighed around 40 kg in Snouck’s day, and he had to bring all the chemicals for development, which he would have done on-site.
“In addition to taking pictures, he also quran recorded . Just try to picture yourself travelling there and going through all that trouble to capture that historical moment. It’s intriguing.
Domit also finds Snouck’s life narrative to be fascinating. He was a pioneering traveller and a rare Western presence in Mecca, but he passionately embraced their culture and faith and converted to Islam.
Although he had meant to stay for the pilgrimage, he was forced to leave amid false charges that he had attempted to steal a priceless historical treasure. He spent five months there, filming the events leading up to Hajj.
Domit said, “Being one of the first Europeans, people were sceptical of his motive, mainly because he had won the trust of the Ottoman leader.
When they learned he was a thief, he had to flee, leaving his camera gear behind.
The tools weren’t in vain. Al-Sayyid Abd al-Ghaffar, a local doctor with whom the Dutchman had collaborated, started using the camera after Snouck left and may have been Mecca’s first native photographer and quran recorder.
Al-Ghaffar kept on delivering his pictures to Snouck in the Netherlands. Numerous images once ultimately ascribed to Snouck are now shared credits, making it impossible for specialists to determine who took which shot.
Four years after Snouck’s journey, the Leiden University Library’s archive of the photos and quran record(oldest quran record), he was made public. According to the gallery, original CD copies currently cost about $45,000.
Domit claims that Snouck contained more to it than quran recorded and images.
“He never admitted to being a spy because Hollywood wouldn’t have paid big bucks for his inside information, but numerous documents and historians have made this claim.
He was most likely acting as an intelligence agent for the Dutch, who were interested in learning about Muslim revolutionaries attempting to overthrow the colonialism of the Netherlands.
But he was also very knowledgeable, quite committed, and very particular about the situation of Islam. He was somewhat of a contradiction: Here was a man who had been sent on a mission, but upon arrival, he had been persuaded and had converted to Islam.
Considering his personality, I’m sure it was challenging.
When Snouck departed Mecca, Domit claims he left his pregnant Ethiopian wife behind. Snouck later remarried while working in what is now Indonesia. I think he had multiple marriages. When the Dutch government pays your bill, it’s convenient. if anyone and want to gain more knowledge about it please attend online classes of quran.