Islam West Africa Collection (IWAC) MCP Server

Read-only access to the Islam West Africa Collection via Hugging Face datasets.

Remote serverstreamable-httpPython

What is the Islam West Africa Collection (IWAC) MCP server?

Read-only access to the Islam West Africa Collection via Hugging Face datasets. That is what the islam west africa collection (iwac) mcp server brings to an AI assistant: the same capability, reachable through the Model Context Protocol rather than a separate app or dashboard.

The short version

Each release ships a server bundle for your operating system plus a research-skill .zip. The .mcpb gives Claude the data and tools; the .zip adds a research skill that teaches Claude how to use them. Install the server first, then install the skill too — strongly recommended for getting the most out of the tools: it makes Claude search and synthesize far more efficiently, with fewer wasted queries.

IWAC is a digital archive focused on Islam and Muslims in West Africa:

The tools it exposes

The server publishes 13 tools. What each one is for:

  • Data — parquet files from the
  • Transports — stdio (the default — what the Claude Desktop .mcpb uses),
  • Group — Tools
  • Cross-subset — search, fetch
  • Articles — search_articles, get_article, semantic_search_articles
  • Sentiment — search_by_sentiment, get_sentiment_distribution
  • Index — search_index, get_index_entry, list_subjects, list_locations, list_persons
  • Stats — get_collection_stats, get_newspaper_stats, get_country_comparison, get_temporal_distribution
  • Aggregates — get_topic_distribution, get_field_distribution, get_cooccurrence, get_lexical_metrics, get_place_distribution, get_semantic_map, get_similar_items
  • Publications — search_publications, list_periodicals, get_publication_fulltext, semantic_search_publications
  • References — search_references, get_reference
  • Images — search_images, get_image, semantic_search_images

Getting it running

Because this one is hosted, setup is mostly authentication — you point your client at the endpoint and approve access. Nothing runs on your machine, so there is no runtime to keep patched.

How it compares

Plenty of AI and media services servers cover similar ground. The differences that matter in practice are scope of access and how much setup stands between you and a working tool call. Islam West Africa Collection (IWAC)'s toolset — Data, Transports, Group and 10 more — is a fair guide to whether it matches your workflow. It is maintained by fmadore; worth a glance at recent repository activity before you build anything load-bearing on it.

SyncDev reviews every entry in this directory against the project's own documentation before publishing, and revisits them as servers change.

Things to watch

  • Your data travels to the provider's service, so the usual questions apply about what you send and what they retain.
  • With 13 tools registered it takes up a noticeable share of the context window; turn it off in projects that never touch Islam West Africa Collection (IWAC).
  • Keep per-call confirmation enabled while you learn its behaviour; it is the cheapest safeguard you have.

Available tools

ToolWhat it does
Dataparquet files from the
Transportsstdio (the default — what the Claude Desktop .mcpb uses),
GroupTools
Cross-subsetsearch, fetch
Articlessearch_articles, get_article, semantic_search_articles
Sentimentsearch_by_sentiment, get_sentiment_distribution
Indexsearch_index, get_index_entry, list_subjects, list_locations, list_persons
Statsget_collection_stats, get_newspaper_stats, get_country_comparison, get_temporal_distribution
Aggregatesget_topic_distribution, get_field_distribution, get_cooccurrence, get_lexical_metrics, get_place_distribution, get_semantic_map, get_similar_items
Publicationssearch_publications, list_periodicals, get_publication_fulltext, semantic_search_publications
Referencessearch_references, get_reference
Imagessearch_images, get_image, semantic_search_images
Othersearch_documents, get_document, search_audiovisual, list_audiovisual, get_audiovisual

How to install the Islam West Africa Collection (IWAC) MCP server

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "iwac": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "npm"]
    }
  }
}

Add to claude_desktop_config.json, then restart Claude Desktop.

Example prompts to try

  • Use Islam West Africa Collection (IWAC) to Data.
  • Use Islam West Africa Collection (IWAC) to Transports.
  • Use Islam West Africa Collection (IWAC) to Group.

Frequently asked questions

It connects Islam West Africa Collection (IWAC) to MCP-compatible AI assistants such as Claude and Cursor, exposing 13 tools (Data, Transports, Group, and more) that the assistant can call on your behalf. Instead of copying data back and forth by hand, the assistant works with Islam West Africa Collection (IWAC) directly.