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Book

Rewriting Yusuf. A Philological and Intertextual Study of a Swahili Islamic Manuscript Poem

The present monograph, spanning a wide range of world and local literatures represents a high academic standard of both literary criticism and philological analysis. By demonstrating her expertise as an Africanist conversant with the Arabic canon, Raia reveals how the narrative of Joseph has been re-narrated in East Africa, becoming part of Swahili intellectual history.

Author
Annachiara Raia
Date
15 March 2021

This 665-pages work includes a first critical edition and translation of the oldest Swahili manuscript poem in Arabic script, before thoroughly examining its interrelationship with two Islamic texts: the Qurʾān (Sūrat Yūsuf) and the Qiṣaṣ al-Anbiyāʾ. The book contains a preface by Farouk Topan (Aga Khan University), who writes: ‘Raia has conducted meticulous research on the manuscripts and texts of the narrative, involving not only a painstakingly detailed examination of the archives and published materials in Europe and East Africa, but also interviews with a number of individuals in her search for the local understanding and perception of the narrative within an Islamic textual framework’ (2020).

Rewriting Yusuf. A Philological and Intertextual Study of a Swahili Islamic Manuscript Poem. Cologne: Rüdiger Köppe Verlag (Archiv Afrika-wissenschaftlicher Manuskripte Band 12), ISBN 978-3-89645-177-4.

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