Author
Al-Mousa, Issam Salem Suleiman
Type
Book
Language
Arabic
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Library
Royal Danish Library
Library Asset ID
ISSN: 2071-9728
Record ID
cdi_almandumah_primary_606697
Library Location
EBSCOhost Academic Search Complete
Notes
A review of the process of printing in the Arab world reveals that the entry of the printing press into the Arab states subject to the Ottoman Empire was delayed for nearly four centuries. The printing press appeared in the middle of the fifteenth century (in 1439) in Germany, marking the advent of the Second Communication and Information Revolution at the same time that the star of the Ottoman Empire was rising. Selim the Conqueror occupied the Arab countries in 1516 AD and annexed them, in the name of the League of Religion, to what later became known as the Ottoman Empire. While we find the spread of printing presses in Europe increasing by the end of the fifteenth century until their total number reached 2,500, distributed among various European cities, with their use achieving a huge scientific renaissance in those regions, we find that their use in the Ottoman Empire was prohibited due to a religious fatwa in which the Sheikh of Islam forbade the use of the printing press. This remained the case until the year 1728. The religious minorities in the Ottoman Empire were excluded from this fatwa, so the Jews used the printing press since 1494 AD, and the Arab Christians since 1610. Since then, Christian printing presses specifically worked to publish books on the Christian religion in Arabic, along with books on the Arabic language and Arab heritage, in limited numbers, which helped preserve the flame of Arab culture. The situation continued like this until the year 1727, when another fatwa was issued by the Sheikh of Islam, permitting the use of the printing press to print non-religious books. The first printed Arabic book appeared in Istanbul in 1728 in both Arabic and Turkish. However, the introduction of the printing press led to a revolution in Istanbul in 1730, the results of which were the deposition of Sultan Ahmed III, the killing of Grand Vizier Ibrahim Pasha, the dismissal of Sheikh al-Islam Abdullah, and the burning of the printing press. Years after the printing press was rebuilt, books in the Arabic language continued to be published, but in very limited numbers. The total number of books printed in approximately one hundred years did not exceed 98 books. With the spread of printing and journalism since the middle of the nineteenth century, after it first appeared in Egypt and Lebanon, and before it spread later, with varying degrees that extended until the twentieth century, in the rest of the Arab countries, awareness began to spread in Arab souls. The research concludes that the delayed introduction of printing to Arab countries has resulted in a knowledge gap in communication and information technology between the Arabs and the West, estimated in time at four centuries, due to the lack of spread of knowledge brought by the printing press compared to Europe.
Görüntüle
Jordan Journal of Social Sciences, 2014, Vol.7 (2), p.252-264
