In recent weeks, I’ve had the opportunity to visit a few of the many bookshops in Cairo in order to pursue some of my own research interests, but also to get a better sense of religious literature and the publishing industry in Egypt. On Wednesday, August 16th, I was able to visit several bookshops located around the historic al-Azhar Mosque with my good friend, Mohamed Ibrahim, who graduated from Al-Azhar University in Islamic studies and earned a master’s degree in interfaith relations at Hartford International University (previously, Hartford Seminary) in the United States. In my experience, an informed guide is often necessary not only to find your way through the small streets and paths around al-Azhar, but also to distinguish between bookshops which often specialize in distinct academic fields or come from different theological orientations. 

(Dār Imām al-Rāzī has a good collection of classical and recent works related to Islamic 

theology.)

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(A branch of Muʾassasat al-Risāla publishers near al-Azhar. Founded in Lebanon, they carry reliable editions of many important classical Islamic texts. My sense is they mainly carry ḥadīth, tafsīr, and legal books, rather than theology, philosophy, or Ṣūfism.) 

On Wednesday, August 23rd, I was finally able to visit Maḥabba bookshop in the Shubra neighborhood of Cairo. To my knowledge, this is one of the most significant Coptic Orthodox bookshops in Cairo and perhaps in all of Egypt. They distribute books published directly by Maḥabba, but also several other Christian publishers in Egypt, including selected works from several different Egyptian monasteries. Maḥabba also carries icons, liturgical vestments, and a variety of other popular items related to the Coptic Orthodox tradition.

(Founded by their grandfather in 1938, Maḥabba bookshop is a family operation managed by the Berty brothers. I would like to thank Prof. Gerges Ṣāliḥ of the Coptic Orthodox Seminary for putting me in touch with them.) 

(Early church fathers on sale at Maḥabba.) 

(A few purchases [clockwise from top left]: 1) Essentials of the Orthodox Faith by Rev. Dr. Bīshoy Ḥelmī, a contemporary Coptic Orthodox theologian; 2) The Agpeya Orthodox Prayer Book, which is perhaps the primary liturgical resource for daily prayers in the Coptic Orthodox tradition; 3) Glimpses of Islamic Theology and 4) Chapters on Sufism, both by Dr. Ḥasan al-Shāfiʿi, perhaps the senior Islamic theologian living in Egypt today.)