The items in this publication are partially derived from presentations given at a symposium on Arabic Literature of Africa (ALA), at the Program of African Studies in November 2003. Also included is some detailed information on the contents of already published volumes (ALA I, II, IIIA, IV), and "Overviews" of volumes II, IIIA, IIIB, and IV. Writing in the Arabic language in Muslim areas of Saharan or sub-Saharan Africa, well away from Arabic North Africa, was taken on after 1000 A.D., when Islam became the more widely adopted religion; hence Arabic–the language of the Qurn and of the Prophet Mu˛ammad—played a role that allows it to be described as " the Latin of Africa", i.e. fulfilling a role parallel to what Latin did in Europe, where it was a language used for writing and reading (especially after the adoption of Christianity there, and with Latin Bibles), and with a script that was adopted for the writing of many languages of the continent.

Last modified

• 11/12/2018

Creator

• John Hunwick

DOI

• https://doi.org/10.21985/N24J21

Subject

• African Studies

Keyword

• Arabic
• pas

Date created

• 2005

Related url

•  https://www.africanstudies.northwestern.edu/publications-research/working-papers.html

Resource type

• Dissertation

Rights statement

• In Copyright