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Language, Identity, Modernity: The Arabic Study Circle of Durban by Jeppie, Shamil is a book available to read on EtoBox.

What is Language, Identity, Modernity: The Arabic Study Circle of Durban about?

Language, Identity, Modernity is a path-breaking and fascinating study of a little-known but, on the author's showing, influential group, the Arabic Study Circle, which emerged around 1950 in Durban, South Africa. Founded by literate Gujarati-speaking Muslims of merchant and professional backgrounds, it had as its seemingly modest goal the encouragement of the study of Arabic for a better understanding of the Koran. Arabic was not then widely known and spoken in South Africa. Indeed, in Durban, the language for teaching and studying Islam was Urdu. Thus in this context, the Circle's mission was innovative and even radical. At that time, prayers at the mosque were led chiefly by Urdu-speaking 'ulama' from South Asia. In this regard, Durban differed from Cape Town, which had an older and different Islamic tradition and whose Muslims were primarily Afrikaans speaking. Thus, although the Circle's purpose was linguistic enhancement, the end was a religious one

Author

Jeppie, Shamil

Publisher

Human Sciences Research Council; HSRC Press

Published

2007

Language

EN

ISBN

9780796921758

Subjects

Literary Fiction, Anthropology, Science