A visitor to the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair observes that “the physicality of Islamic holy books is impossible to ignore”:
One of the paradoxes of the Arab world is that people will tell you there is no culture of reading, yet at the same time there is clearly huge respect for its religious and poetic heritage, as evidenced by the many beautiful editions on display. Holding a beautiful, $350 edition of Arabia’s most
famous poet Al-Mutanabbi, Dar Al-Baroudi’s MD Mohammed Omeirt said: “You cannot do this with digital. This is art. You want to see. You want to touch.” The devout of all faiths adore their books. They carry them to services, mark their most cherished passages and pass them on to the next generation. Can the same ever be said for a digital edition?
A commenter replies:
The beauty of a digital Bible for example is that I have instant access to translations that I did not even know existed and allows me to dig deeper into meaning and context that was really not possible before and all leading to a better understanding. Don’t get me wrong, I love my worn, marked up etc hard copy but it is not more or less holy than anything else I have.
(Photo: Koran cover calligraphy, via Wikimedia Commons)
