Although Latin has become the dominant script in West Africa, one Nigerian calligrapher, Ustadh Yushaa Abdullah, has made major efforts to bring back the culture of the Arabic script to the region. Yushaa, who completed his studies in Turkey, is West Africa’s first certified calligrapher (he holds an ijazah). Here, we talk to him about his work, what led to his interest in Arabic calligraphy and the school he founded to teach various Arabic calligraphy scripts to students in Nigeria and the Republic of Niger. Yushaa also plans to develop a teaching technique alongside Nigerian scholars to more widely disseminate the rules for writing the traditional Arabic Hausawi script, which was developed in West Africa and is still taught to children in Nigeria today as part of their Islamic studies training.
Continue reading “The Arabic Script in Nigerian Hands: Ustadh Yushaa Abdullah on Arabic Calligraphy Education in West Africa”