Reading and culture (al-qira'a wa-l-thaqafa)

Sheikh Omar Abdelkafy sets out figures on reading and publishing among nations. He holds that reading has not become a habit in the home or in society, and he proposes daily reading habits for the family and the individual. ¹

The Sheikh gives figures saying that a European reads about thirty-five books a year, that an Israeli reads more than that, and that an Arab reads roughly one book for about every eighty people a year. The figures are attributed to a source without precise detail (needs_source: the figures are not sourced). ¹ He gives the number of illiterate people in the Arab world as about sixty-nine million, then widens the meaning of illiteracy to include those who cannot use a computer, which raises the figure on that definition (needs_source: the figure is stated once without a source). ² He estimates the need for six billion dollars to reform basic education, which was not provided, and compares it with what the Arab world spends on advertising, music videos and other matters that are not clear in the recording (needs_source: the figure is stated once, and the amount is garbled). ³

The Sheikh says that the rich sharing their bounty with the poor removes envy. He then says that Japan translates about eighty million pages a year, that al-Ma'mun translated many books, and that Spain translates ten thousand books a year, by his account (needs_source: the figures are not sourced). ⁴ He says that the Arab states produced about six thousand books last year, and that Arab production does not exceed seven thousand, while America produced far larger numbers (needs_source: the figure is stated once, and the year is garbled). ⁵ He says that about sixty-five per cent of purchases at Arab book fairs are religious books, followed by cookery books (needs_source: the percentage has no stated source, and the order is given once as cookery and once as medicine). ⁶

The Sheikh holds that buying religious books is a fine thing, but that acting on them is finer, and he counts being content with buying without practising as a blight. He says that medical books come second among the purchases. ⁷

The Sheikh criticises the order of what readers buy, since books of astrology and horoscopes come third, and he is surprised that callers from far-off countries ask about cookery. ⁸

The Sheikh says that children do not see their mothers reading books, but see magazines full of advertisements for handbags, watches and perfumes, and that this keeps them away from the book. ⁹ He says that the first reason children turn away from the book is that they have not known its benefit, and he refers to someone who describes him as strict and asks him to be gentle in calling people. ¹⁰

The Sheikh compares Arabs and Westerners in reading. He says a Westerner reads on a plane or a train as if he had an examination, that Western presses print light books for travellers, and that Arabs crowd airports for perfumes and watches rather than books. ¹¹ He describes the small book corner in the Arab duty-free market, placed in a corner, which people do not approach as they approach perfumes, and he attributes this to the lack of affection between Arabs and the book. ¹²

The Sheikh wishes that every Arab would read eighty books a year, rather than eighty Arabs reading one book, and calls for a small library in every home that the family shares. ¹³

The Sheikh describes his daily habit of reading two pages of the mushaf and two pages of a useful book in knowledge, in the body, or in the cosmos, and says that some of the righteous used to rest by arranging their pens and papers and then return to reading. ¹⁴ He says that al-Shafi'i read much and forgot nothing he had memorised. He then proposes a daily programme: after the daily portion of the Qur'an, three pages of a useful book, and he prays that God grants him understanding of it and the ability to act on it. ¹⁵ He proposes free reading outside the curriculum for a quarter of an hour a day, rising gradually to a third of an hour after six months, half an hour after a year, and two hours after two years, with parents and teacher consulted in choosing the book. ¹⁶ He advises writing notes in the margin of the book or on a separate sheet, writing down what is heard after reciting it in order to fix it, and visiting libraries and reading the index of a book before buying it. He says that this brings a person near the book and makes it a symbol in his life. ¹⁷

An 'Al-Wasatiyya' episode devoted itself to the youth reading crisis — 'the Arabs do not read', so much so that a joke has it you could safely publish your war plan ^{18 19}.

The scale in numbers

Arabs are 5% of the world's population yet produce 1% of its books; a title-count puts it at 29 against 726; and twenty Germans read 140 books a year ²⁰. Average Arab reading speed is 150 words a minute against a world 200, at 75% comprehension ^{21 22}. The panel's rule: under two books a month leaves you 'on the margin of life', not a cultured person ²³.

The causes — bad writing, not busyness

The youth voted busyness and lack of time the weakest excuse (12%), the biggest cause being bad Arabic writing; ^{24 25} and from the book economy: a distinguished author takes 14% of his book's revenue while 86% goes to publisher, distributor and printing ²⁶ — with 60% of one house's sales in Saudi Arabia alone ²⁷.