Note on Transliteration

The Arabic transliterations used in this study are based on the International Journal of Middle Eastern Studies (IJMES). This choice was made to maintain consistency and clarity when transliterating Islamic vocabulary and specific terms from Arabic sources. The IJMES transliteration system is widely recognized and used by various journals that focus on Islam or Arabic-speaking cultures and societies. For terms such as Sunni and Shiʿa, which are assumed to be familiar to most readers, diacritical marks are not retained. Due to the centrality of Ibāḍī Muslims (also known as Al-Ibāḍiyya in Arabic) in this study, diacritical marks are omitted when using this term to facilitate ease of reading. Ibāḍī will be rendered as Ibadhi. I will also use the proper noun Ibadhism.

The Swahili transliterations in this study adhere to the common spellings of Taasisi ya Uchunguzi wa Kiswahili (TUKI), or the Institute for Kiswahili Studies, University of Dar es Salaam. The interviews conducted for this book were primarily in the Swahili language. Swahili is a Bantu language with influences from Arabic and other languages and has its own transliteration system. Certain conventions are followed in Swahili transliteration, such as replacing the Arabic letter “ع” with “aa,” as in, “Shaaban” (the month proceeding Ramadan), and “ح” or “خ” with “h,” as in “husuni” (fortress) or “hotuba” (sermon). However, the specific rules for Swahili transliteration may vary depending on the specific context or purpose, for example, whether the cited text is an Islamic religious tract or a newspaper article intended for a general audience.

In sentences or paragraphs where both languages are used and it is unclear which language is being referred to, I use the following system of differentiation: Islamic school of law (Ar., madhab; Sw., madhehebu). Non-English words will be italicized on first occurrence and then written without italics in subsequent occurrences.

Although both systems aim to represent Arabic and Swahili using the Latin alphabet for English-speaking readers, they differ because of the specific sounds and letters in each language. For more examples of how these transliteration systems are used as well as the translation of specific words in this study, please consult the glossary.