04 · Publishing
We plan to start books publishing soon — scholarly and cultural titles that sit naturally beside our work with heritage, relocating clients, art and venues. Three projects are already in preparation.
Books publishing is a natural next step for PR1MER ESTATE. Our work already touches culture and heritage, art venues and the practical needs of clients relocating to the UAE. We are preparing to launch a focused editorial and design programme that brings the same care to the book — from text preparation through translation to the finished volume.
Areas of interest include Islamic studies, theology, intellectual history, the humanities and cultural heritage — titles in the spirit of the Maqamat study, Theology of Renewal and Navoi’s Arba‘in already listed below. Emphasis falls on intellectual clarity, editorial accuracy, respect for sources and the quality of the finished book.
A focused programme of multilingual scholarly and cultural publications is taking shape. The projects below are at different stages of editorial preparation, translation and book production, with particular attention to Islamic intellectual history, manuscript heritage and the arts of the book.
An English-language edition of Oleg G. Bolshakov’s study of the celebrated St. Petersburg manuscript of al-Hariri’s Maqamat. The study examines the composition, visual language and artistic characteristics of the manuscript’s ninety-six miniatures, placing them within the wider history of Arab artistic culture. The project combines scholarly analysis with extensive visual material.
An English edition studying religious renewal (tajdid), Islamic neo-modernism and the changing relationship between tradition and modernity. Particular attention is given to the work of Fazlur Rahman, Mohammed Arkoun, Muhammad Shahrur and Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd — examining ways of thinking about tradition beyond rigid archaisation and uncritical adaptation.
An illustrated edition of Alisher Navoi’s Arba‘in bringing together the Arabic text of forty hadiths, Navoi’s Chagatai poetic renderings, calligraphy, Cyrillic transliteration and a Russian poetic translation. An extensive introductory study, specially commissioned calligraphy and original artwork form an integral part of the volume.