The Awkaf Library in Slemani is one of the most important and wealthiest cultural and religious centers in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq, possessing an ancient and honorable history in preserving rare manuscripts and sources. The origin of this library is the Baban library in Qalachwalan, which was moved to the Great Mosque of Slemani when the city was established. It was later reorganized as a library, and the renowned Kurdish scholar Sheikh Marif Nodeyi—who was a teacher at the Qalachwalan religious school at the time—became the library’s trustee. After him, his son Kak Ahmadi Sheikh took over the trusteeship until 1978, when it was turned into a directorate and has been preserved through successive hands to this day.