Kairouani calligraphy

Kairouani style was used for the first time in the Nurse's Quran, finished in 1020[1] during the last decades of Kairouan’s intellectual and political golden era.

The manuscript was kept for centuries in the maqsurah of Ibn Badis, a small cell measuring 8x6 meters next to the qibla wall that served as a library,[2] in the main prayer room of the Great Mosque.

The Nurse's Quran was discovered after the publication of an article in an Egyptian journal in 1897 criticizing the conservation of the collections of the Great Mosque of Kairouan.

This Quran was later donated to enrich the library of the great mosque as part of a political strategy[6] endorsed by the Qadi of Kairouan, Abdallah Ben Hachem.

According to Ibn Khaldun, this style remained used only in the Djerid in the south ouest of Tunisia as this region is very far geographically from the influence of andalu culture.

In partnership with some other private institutions and associations, the calligraphers gave courses for the local community of the medina and all people interested to learn the basics of Kairouani script.

On the other hand, low letters such as beh (ب) or shin (س), are characterized by their parallel and closely grouped short dents.