A Syrian man has recovered hundreds of Islamic and academic books that he had hidden behind a wall in his home in Homs nearly 15 years ago. The collection was found largely intact despite years of conflict and the damage caused to the house.
The man, identified in reports as Amr bin Mustafa Alwan, also known as Abu Bilal, built the hidden space in October 2011 before leaving Syria for Kuwait. He had placed his private library behind the wall to protect it during the unrest and civil war.
After returning to Homs in 2026, he broke through the wall and discovered the books still in good condition, with only some dust affecting the collection.
The library contains copies of the Quran, books on Hadith, Islamic law and Quranic interpretation, biographies of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), and other religious works. Quran memorisation certificates, academic documents and prayer beads were also recovered.
