The Foundation for Religious Sciences John XXIII (Italian: Fondazione per le Scienze Religiose Giovanni XXIII) is a research institution in Bologna, Italy and is directed by Alberto Melloni.
[2] The foundation began with Giuseppe Dossetti in 1953 and was originally called the Institute for Religious Sciences in Bologna; In 1985 the Institute was renamed to Foundation for Religious Sciences John XXIII.
[3] In addition to the many projects that the foundation supports it also maintains numerous archives and collections.
[4][5][6][7] One project of particular importance has been the Digital Maktaba, an interdisciplinary project to create and catalog works which are published in non-Latin alphabets such as Arabic, Persian, and Azerbaijani.
[8] The project is based at the La Pira library in Palermo and serves as the hub for the Foundations history and doctrines of Islam.