Book contents
- African Literature in Transition
- African Literature in Transition
- African Literature in Transition
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Introduction
- Part I Producing Print
- Part II Readers and Audiences
- Part III New Genres
- Part IV Worlds of Print
- Chapter 17 Double-Sided Print
- Chapter 18 Between the Railway and the Minaret
- Chapter 19 Making Audiences
- Chapter 20 Print and the Question of Literature in Islamic West Africa
- Chapter 21 Print Networks in the Black Atlantic World, c. 1920–1960
- Chapter 22 ‘A curious creature from the market’
- Index
- References
Chapter 17 - Double-Sided Print
Silent and Communal Reading during the Rise of Islamic Print in East Africa, c. 1880–1940
from Part IV - Worlds of Print
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 October 2025
By
Book contents
- African Literature in Transition
- African Literature in Transition
- African Literature in Transition
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Introduction
- Part I Producing Print
- Part II Readers and Audiences
- Part III New Genres
- Part IV Worlds of Print
- Chapter 17 Double-Sided Print
- Chapter 18 Between the Railway and the Minaret
- Chapter 19 Making Audiences
- Chapter 20 Print and the Question of Literature in Islamic West Africa
- Chapter 21 Print Networks in the Black Atlantic World, c. 1920–1960
- Chapter 22 ‘A curious creature from the market’
- Index
- References
Summary
This chapter outlines the rise of Arabic Islamic print in the British-BuSaidi protectorate of Zanzibar c. 1880–1940. It argues that the availability of printed Arabic material set off two processes: The emergence of a new public of specialised readers who read primarily silently and alone (individual readers, often associated with modernist Islamic ideas) and mass distribution of texts primarily intended for communal reading and/or performance (often associated with Sufi practices). It traces the rise of local print enterprises such as the Government Press and the rise of Arabic-language journals. Furthermore, the chapter traces the publishing habits of Zanzibari authors, whose didactic works were printed locally while religious tracts were primarily printed in Egypt. Finally, this chapter outlines the circulation of texts from printing presses abroad, primarily India and Egypt, highlighting the availability of cheaply printed devotional texts primarily meant for local usage.
Keywords
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- Type
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- Information
- African Literature in TransitionPrint Cultures and African Literature, 1860–1960, pp. 335 - 351Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2025
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