For nearly fifty years, the ecclesiastical father Ibrahim Surouj has opened his library every morning to receive students from all sectors.

The tourist office, which has become a prominent cultural landmark in the city of Tripoli, contains hundreds of thousands of books on its shelves. Father Ibrahim Surouj told “Sawt Beirut International” reporter Ghassan Farran, “We love people and we love serving them, and we guide them to what is best for them.” He stressed that his library includes about 105,000 registered books, excluding unregistered books.

This library, which was founded by a Christian cleric decades ago, and is still in charge of it until today, is one of the largest libraries that includes books on the Islamic religion. It is relied upon by researchers. Father Suruj pointed out that “I am a priest not only for the Romans but for the whole nation, I am a priest in the sense of the servant, not the tyrannical”.

It is noteworthy that this library was previously deliberately burned by unknowns. Father Suruj insists on preserving every burnt paper in which there are glimmers of letters, so that these books remain witness that Tripoli was and will remain the city of knowledge.