Written Communication and the Socio-political and Cultural Transformation in Islam

Abstract

As a basic mode of communication, writing has been used to preserve and transmit knowledge vertically from generation to generation, and horizontally from one community to the other. The early civilizations have used various techniques of written and oral communication to influence opinion and maintain political and social control. Communication, especially the written form, has played similar roles in the rise and development of the Muslim state. The cultural and scientific contribution of Muslims to human civilization is closely linked to the adoption of writing as a viable social institution in the Muslim state. The Muslims have, in different stages of the development of their state, utilized various communication institutions for social and political control purposes.