Rediscovering the Islamic Classics: How Editors and Print Culture Transformed an Intellectual Tradition

Rediscovering the Islamic Classics is a groundbreaking book that sheds light on the forgotten works of Islamic literature and their impact on modern Arab culture.

This comprehensive guide tells the story of how a small group of editors and intellectuals revolutionized Islamic scholarship in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, bringing forgotten works into print and defining the classical canon of Islamic thought.

With a focus on the literary culture of nineteenth- and twentieth-century Arab cities, particularly Cairo, this book explores the contributions of these individuals who included some of the most important thinkers of the time.

Through their efforts to find and publish classical literature, Rediscovering the Islamic Classics reveals how many nearly lost works were recovered, disseminated, and harnessed for agendas of linguistic, ethical, and religious reform.

This fascinating account provides an absorbing examination of the central role printing and its advocates played in the intellectual history of the modern Arab world.