Pembroke Travels: Yaseen Christian Andrewsen

Yaseen Christian Andrewsen (DPhil Theology and Religion, 2021) is a DPhil candidate at Pembroke whose research is on the intellectual works of a West African, Saharan Muslim scholar, al-Mukhtār al-Kuntī. Following a trip to Mali earlier in the year, Yaseen used Pembroke’s Melandra Castle Fund to travel to Morocco in the spring to visit two manuscript libraries in Rabat, where he had direct access to primary sources.

He recalls: “It was such an exciting moment to go to my desk each day while there and be humbled to pick up these intellectually valuable works in my own hands.” Yaseen had spent the weeks leading up to the trips studying the libraries’ handbooks to identify manuscripts he could use and how to find them. He describes how, holding the physical documents in Mali, clues as to their history was contained in watermarks or other features of the paper.

In Morocco, Yaseen spent more time studying digital copies of manuscripts. Though initially disappointed on finding some manuscripts would not be as relevant to his research as hoped, his visit to the second library, Kizāna al-Ḥasaniyya, proved much more fruitful. Once granted approval by the palace to enter the library, which is located in the palace grounds of the Moroccan king, he describes how “I was incredibly excited to be able to read and obtain a digital copy of a manuscript that is very important for my dissertation and perhaps even for my next envisioned project. In this manuscript, al-Mukhtār describes the way in which Islamic thought is renewed generationally and by individuals, which is integral to engaging with the matter of epistemology in his works.”

The courtyard of Masjid al-Sunna, Rabat, Morocco

When not in the libraries, Yaseen met with Muslim scholars from Senegal, Mali and Mauritania who were visiting for the Durūs Ḥasaniyya, the annual Ramadan gathering of scholars from around the world.

He concludes: “I am incredibly grateful for being jointly awarded the Melandra Castle Travel Prize. It has given me a greater ability to complete my research for my dissertation. I hope my work might bring more awareness to the vibrant intellectual scene in the Sahara and West Africa in the 18th century with particular appreciation for the contribution of al-Mukhtār al-Kuntī.”

You can read Yaseen’s full report here.

The Melandra Castle Fund supports graduate students completing their second year of study by helping to meet academic (including travel) costs in the furtherance of the applicant’s research. Read more our travel grants here.

Inside of the zawiya of Moulay Idris I