Dr. Mohamed Ahmed Hassan Ismail
Senior Academic Researcher in Arabic & Islamic Calligraphy and Manuscripts
Center for Studies of Writings & Calligraphy, Bibliotheca Alexandrina
mohamed.hasan@bibalex.org Calligraphy Center, Bibliotheca Alexandrina, P.O. Box 138 Chatby, Alexandria 21526, Egypt
Profile
Dr. Mohamed Ahmed Hassan Ismail is a senior academic researcher at the Center for Studies of Writings & Calligraphy, Bibliotheca Alexandrina (since 2006), specializing in Arabic scripts, Islamic manuscripts and documents, and their history and art.
He earned his PhD in 2015 on “Diwani Writings in the era of the Mamluk Sultans” (first-class honors), and his MA in 2010 on “Writing and the Book in Fatimid Egypt,” alongside specialized diplomas in calligraphy and gilding.
He serves as editorial secretary of the journal “Studies in Contemporary Arabic Calligraphy,” lectures on calligraphy and manuscripts in the postgraduate program at the Faculty of Arts, Alexandria University (since 2014), and is deputy head of the Arabic Calligraphers Syndicate in Alexandria (since 2012).
Born in Alexandria on 22 October 1983
Experience
- 2006 — Present
Senior Academic Researcher
Center for Studies of Writings & Calligraphy, Bibliotheca Alexandrina
Research, documentation, and publishing in Islamic scripts, manuscripts, and documents; editorial secretary of the journal “Studies in Contemporary Arabic Calligraphy.”
- 2024–2025
Lecturer in Arabic Calligraphy
Netherlands-Flemish Institute in Cairo (NVIC)
Teaching Arabic calligraphy within the institute’s programs.
- 2014 — Present
Postgraduate Lecturer
Faculty of Arts, Alexandria University
Teaching Arabic calligraphy and manuscripts to postgraduate students.
- 2012 — Present
Deputy Head, Calligraphers Syndicate, Alexandria
- 2019
Member, Higher Committee of the Cairo Forum for Arabic Calligraphy
By ministerial decree no. 268 of 2019.
Education
- 2015
PhD, Islamic History
“Diwani Writings in the era of the Mamluk Sultans,” supervised by Prof. Mohamed Ahmed Abolfadl, first-class honors.
- 2012
Qatar Art Center Scholarship (Doha)
Documenting antique Qurʼans in the collection of Sheikh Hassan bin Mohamed Al Thani.
- 2010
MA, Islamic History
“Writing and the Book in Fatimid Egypt,” with distinction.
- 2008
Specialized Diploma in Calligraphy & Gilding
Specialization in Fatimid Kufic.
- 2006
Diploma in Arabic Calligraphy
Mohamed Ibrahim School, Alexandria
- 2005
BA in Arts (History)
Tanta University
Publications
- Masterpieces of the Egyptian School of Arabic Calligraphy: Selections — Co-author — Dr. Khaled Azab
- Calligrapher Sayed Ibrahim: A Dialogue of Script and History — Author
- Al-Qasr: Reading a City through its Foundation Texts — Editor
- Sayed Ibrahim: Biography of the Dean of Calligraphers — Author
- The Divan of Arabic Calligraphy in Egypt during Muhammad Ali's Dynasty — Co-author — Dr. Khaled Azab
- Khudair Al-Borsaidy: An Egyptian School of Arabic Calligraphy — Author
Public Lectures
- Texts of the Prophet's Birthday Celebrations in Modern and Contemporary Egypt
- How Does Paleography Reveal the Past of Arab and Islamic Civilization?
- Hidden Aesthetics… A Critical History of the Aesthetics of Arabic Calligraphy
- The Heritage of the Arab School of Arabic Calligraphy and its Artistic and Civilizational Contribution
- The Evolution of Inscriptions and Script in the Arab World
- Teaching Arabic Calligraphy between Tradition and Modernity (the Exemplars of the Egyptian School for Improving Scripts as a Case Study)
- Paleography and the Scripts of Arabic Manuscripts
- A Dialogue on the History of Teaching Arabic Calligraphy to Children
- Copying and Copyists in 19th-Century Egypt: Abd al-Khaliq Haqqi as a Case Study
- A Series of Lectures on the Art of Arabic Calligraphy
Articles & Writings
Arabic Scripts
- The Ottoman Ferman: Three Scripts in One Document (2016)
- The Ottomans and the Nasta'liq Script (2016)
- The Mahmudiyya Canal Text and the Ottoman Taʿliq Script (2016)
- Shikaste: The Beauty of the Persian Script (2017)
- The Ghazlani Diwani Script (2019)
- The Masthead of al-Azhar Magazine and the Mamluk Thuluth Script (2022)
Manuscripts & Qurʼans
- The Arts of the Mamluk Manuscript (2017)
- The Qur'an of Sultan al-Ghuri and the Masterpieces of Mamluk Qur'ans (2017)
- In the Presence of the Qur'an Attributed to ʿUthman ibn ʿAffan (2018)
- An Abbasid Qur'an with Mamluk Illumination (2022)
- ʿUmar al-Aqtaʿ and Timur: The Largest and Smallest of Qur'ans (2016)
- The Mevlevi Lodge, Sheikh al-Rifaʿi, and the Qur'an of King Fuad (2015)
- A Page from the Romance of Islamic Art (2021)
- The 'Safini' Qur'an in the Study of Muhammad ʿAbd al-ʿAziz Marzouk (2022)
Codicology & Paleography
Islamic Art History
Masters of Calligraphy
Documentation & Field Projects
- Scientific consultant, “Visual Encyclopedia of Arabic Letters,” Type Lab, The American University in Cairo
- Documenting the historical archive of calligrapher Sayed Ibrahim (Cairo) (2009–2012)
- Documenting heritage street signs in Cairo, Alexandria, Tanta, and Damanhur (2010–2012)
- Documenting the inscriptions and ornament of Prince Mohamed Ali Palace, Manial (August 2016)
- Editor at the Digital Library of Inscriptions & Calligraphy (Arabic, Turkish, Persian)
- Digitization and online publication of the Amiri script (2012–2013)
- Juror, Granshan international type design competition (2013 –)
Memberships
- General Union of Arab Archaeologists
- Egyptian Society for Historical Studies
- Egyptian Society for Arabic Calligraphy