The Edinburgh Companion to Arabic-Derived Scripts

Presents a comprehensive examination of the transnational trajectories of Arabic-derived writing systems. While rooted in the sacred context of the Qur’an, these scripts have been adapted across diverse linguistic, cultural and political landscapes, serving as instruments of knowledge transmission, identity formation and social negotiation. Covering regions from South and Southeast Asia to Central Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas, the volume investigates both canonical and marginalised traditions, including Arwi, Jawi, Aljamiado, Ajami, Persian, Urdu and Ottoman Turkish. Drawing on interdisciplinary approaches from sociolinguistics, intellectual history, anthropology and education, the book analyses how Arabic-derived scripts have been reshaped through processes of language contact, script adaptation, colonialism, nationalism, pedagogy and cultural memory. This Companion provides a rigorous and globally informed account of the adaptability, materiality and enduring significance of Arabic-derived scripts in both sacred and vernacular contexts.