The Beginnings of Arabic Printing in Istanbul and Bilad al-Sham

Abstract

This review presents the book The Beginnings of Arabic Printing in Istanbul and Bilad al-Sham as a work concerned with a significant transitional phase in Arab cultural history: the movement of Arabic script from manuscript culture to print. The review highlights the religious, cultural, political, and social debates that accompanied this transition, tracing the introduction of Arabic printing in Europe and later in the East, as well as Muslim attitudes toward printing and the factors that delayed its adoption. It also discusses the emergence of printing presses in Istanbul and Bilad al-Sham, the role of key figures and institutions in establishing presses and importing printing tools and techniques, and the impact of printing on the circulation of religious and scholarly books. The review underscores the book’s value in documenting an early stage in the history of Arabic printing, while noting that the attached pages do not clearly identify the author of the reviewed book.