September: Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Karachi hosted a lecture titled ‘Printing Holy Texts: The Case of the Qur’an in Comparative Perspective’ featuring Professor Roberto Tottoli and organized by School of Economics & Social Sciences (SESS), at the City Campus. Students, faculty, historians and scholars attended the enlightening lecture.
Professor Tottoli, Rector of the University of Naples, L’Orientale, is an eminent Arabist, scholar of Islamic history and an expert in Arabic Qur’anic manuscript traditions as well as in the history of European Latin and vernacular translations of the Qur’an.
Executive Director, IBA Karachi, Dr. S Akbar Zaidi in his welcome remarks appreciated Professor Tottoli’s expertise and invited him to discuss his research. Professor Tottoli explored early European printing of the Qur’an. His research suggests that the first Qur’an was printed in Europe due to the technical expertise available and because of the strong European interest in the study of Arabic and Islam. The speaker argued that obstacles to early Qur’an printing in Europe had less to do with socio-economic and cultural factors, and more likely due to lack of familiarity with Arabic letters, with their system of vowel markers and pauses. The complex script and lack of Arabic literacy posed problems with the accuracy and quality of printing.
Professor Tottoli highlighted 19th century lithographic production of Qur’ans, which he called a “mediation between manuscript work and printing”. After the middle of the 19th century, it became standard to have a normative edition in traditional calligraphy used for definitive dissemination through print. Professor Tottolli presented images of standardized examples from 19th century Ottoman Turkiye, from early 20th century Egypt and the Mushaf al-Muhammadi produced and officially disseminated in Morocco. Highlighting the richness and diversity of calligraphy traditions across the Islamic world, he showed examples of the sacred text written in a variety of distinct and attractive styles. He also discussed the notable example of the Taj Company Quran in the unique Indo-Pak style of calligraphy which is widely used in not only this region but also in other parts of the Islamic world such as Indonesia.
He concluded the lecture by reminding the audience that the Qur’an is the most printed book in the world and that a contemporary history of the production of the printed Qur’an is a complex and rich topic of study.
Following the lecture an engaging Q&A followed. Dr. Zaidi presented Professor Tottoli with a memento of Arabic calligraphy as a token of thanks.
