Qasimia Library: The story of a book collector

The proud owner of Qasimia Library, Dr Muhammad Obaid Sindhi is a religious scholar and book collector. The private book collection was established by his father Maulana Muhammad Qasim Somoro in 1971 and holds titles from across the world. Obaid travels to various foreign book fairs to bring home new additions to Qasimia.

“I am a PhD doctor and I speak Urdu, English, Arabic, Sindhi, and Persian fluently,” he told The Express Tribune, sharing that for the past ten years, he has been traveling regularly to Iran, Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and UAE to attend book shows and buy books. “I consider my collection of books a small one and that is why I am collecting more and more books. I buy books in all these languages I can speak,” Obaid added.

The book collector’s recent quest has brought him to Sharjah. “I arrived three days ago and stayed with a friend and I have purchased books worth 2000 UAE dirhams so far. I will buy more if I find good books in all these languages,” he maintained.

He further revealed that he oversees two religious seminaries, one in Kandyaro, Jamshoro and another one in Karachi, dividing his time between the two. “The name of our Jamshoro seminary is Anwarul Uloom while in Karachi our madrassh is known as Jamia Umar where I teach for two weeks each month,” he shared.

While he is a teacher by profession, book collecting is an avocation he inherited from his father. “My father established the library in our ancestral district in Kandyaro which has now 50,000 books,” Obaid said. “I am interested in all kinds of books including history and religion.”

About Islamophobia in Western society, he informed that religious books are now available easily in English as well and people can read them to clear their misconceptions about the religion. “I believe that Islam has nothing to do with terrorism. Terrorists are found in all societies,” he stated.

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