INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF ISLAMIC THOUGHT IN AFRICA

The Arabic Literature of Africa (ALA) series is central to ISITA’s mission of making the Islamic intellectual tradition in Africa more accessible.

John Hunwick and R.S. O’Fahey launched this series of regional overviews of the major authors writing in Arabic in sub-Saharan Africa and their works in 1994. Hunwick, O’Fahey, and their collaborators produced four volumes, comprising over 2000 pages, between 1994 and 2003. Charles Stewart continued their work, publishing the fifth volume (in two parts) in 2015.  

Arabic Literature of Africa is published by Brill Academic Publishers (Leiden).

• Volume 1: Writings of Eastern Sudanic Africa to c. 1900, compiled by R.S. O'Fahey with the assistance of Muhammad Ibrahim Abu Salim, Albrecht Hofheinz, Yahya Muhammad Ibrahim, Berndt Radtke, and Knut S. Vikor (1994) 
• Volume 2: Writings of Central Sudanic Africa, compiled by J.O. Hunwick with the assistance of Razaq Abu Bakre, Hamidu Bobboyi, Roman Loimeier, Stefan Reichmuth, Muhammad Sani Umar, and editorial consultant Albrecht Hofheinz (1995)
• Volume 3a.: Writings of the Muslim Peoples of Northeastern Africa, compiled by R.S. O’Fahey with the assistance of Hussein Ahmed, Lidwien Kapteijns, Mohamed M. Kassim, Jonathan Miran, Scott S. Reese, and Ewald Wagner (2003)
• Volume 4: Writings of Western Sudanic Africa, compiled by J.O. Hunwick with the assistance of Ousmane Kane, Bernard Salvaing, Rüdiger Seesemann, Mark Sey, and Ivor Wilks (2003) 
• Volume 5 (2 vols.): Writings of Mauritania and the Western Sahara, compiled by Charles C. Stewart with Sidi Ahmed ould Ahmed Salim and the assistance of Mohamed Nouhi, Babacar Mbengue, Abdel Wedoud ould Cheikh, and Bruce S. Hall (2015)

ALA Volume 5, Writings of Mauritania and the Western Sahara, was awarded the African Studies Association’s Conover Porter Award (2016) recognizing outstanding Africa-related reference works published in any country during the preceding two years.