Toolbox
Introduction
Here are some tools and links that can be useful for anyone who wants to work in Arabic with a computer whose operating system is in a Latin script, and for any researcher in Arabic and Islamic studies.
Feel free to suggest additions to this page!
Calendar Conversion
- Conversion tool (Hijri/Gregorian/Julian/Coptic/Hebrew/Persian)
Transliteration
IFAO-IDEO System (DIN modified).
Special characters of the IFAO-IDEO system: ʾ ā ṯ ǧ ḥ ḫ ḏ š ṣ ḍ ṭ ẓ ʿ ġ ū ī.
Comparative table (Wikipedia) of the different systems of transliteration of Arabic.
BabelMap: a software under Windows to find all Unicode characters.
AutoHotKey: a software under Windows that allows you to take control of the keyboard and modify the output of the keys in order to type characters missing on the keyboard. You must first download the software itself and install it. Then create a mapping file with the Notepad (here is an example that you can use as a basis). Then compile it to obtain an executable file (.exe). Simply launch it and the keys pressed are managed by the software to obtain the Unicode characters you want.
Microsoft Keyboard Layout Creator: in its official 1.4 version, this Windows software allows you to reconfigure your keyboard and create a new keyboard for a given language. Contrary to what Microsoft announces, it is actually possible to use it under Windows 10. Just specify the language you usually use (probably English) as the configuration language, and specify a particular keyboard name (for example: Translit). Then, you must add a keyboard to the language you usually use by using the “Options” button.
For MacOS users, a similar, free of rights tool is available to reconfigure your keyboard: Ukulele.
- For MacOS users, you can also use the “diacs” keyboards designed by Knut S. Vikør. Once you downloaded the zip file, follow the instructions in the ReadMe file.
Complete fonts
Arabic: Amiri (Khaled Hosny).
Latin: Gentium Plus, Brill.
Universal: Google Noto (sorted by alphabet).
Qurʾān
The Qurʾān, downloadable in different formats.
Qurʾānic variants (qirāʾāt) in audio version (IslamWeb).
Qurʾānic variants (qirāʾāt) in audio version (IslamWay).
Lists of catalogs of digitized manuscripts
Islamic Manuscript Studies (Evyn Kropf).
al-Nadeem: database of the manuscripts microfilmed by the Arabic Manuscript Institute in Cairo.
Catalog of the Juma al-Majid Center (Dubai).
Access to Mideast and Islamic Resources (AMIR).
Virtual Hill Museum & Manuscript Library (vHMML).
- Maydan’s page on digital Islamic manuscript resources.
Arabic dictionaries
al-Maʿānī: al-Maʿānī al-ǧāmiʿ, al-Qāmūs al-muḥīṭ, al-Muʿǧam al-wasīṭ…
Arabic Almanach: Hans Wehr, Lane, Lisān al-ʿArab…
Other useful links
The Digital Orientalist, a blog dedicated to digital humanities.
H-Mideast-Medieval, a network of researchers on the medieval Middle East.
Hazine, a blog dedicated to researching the Middle East and beyond.
Arabic Collections Online, more than 12,000 volumes accessible online.
Vers la science ouverte ? La transition numérique et la recherche sur le Moyen-Orient et les mondes musulmans en France, presents the digital tools available as of January 2020 (in French).