Maghrebi script

Arabic script first came to the Maghreb with the Islamic conquests (643–709).{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ALxsDwAAQBAJ&q=%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%AE+%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AE%D8%B7+%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%BA%D8%B1%D8%A8%D9%8A&pg=PA188|title=مرجع الطلاب في الخط العربي|last=Al-Khitaat|first=Khaled Muhammad Al-Masri|date=2014-01-01|publisher=Dar Al Kotob Al Ilmiya|isbn=978-2-7451-3523-0|language=ar|trans-title=Student Reference in Arabic Calligraphy}} The conquerors, led by Uqba ibn Nafi, used both Hijazi and Kufic scripts, as demonstrated in coins minted in 711 under Musa ibn Nusayr.{{Cite book|last=Hajji|first=Muhammad|title=معلمة المغرب: قاموس مرتب على حروف الهجاء يحيط بالمعارف المتعلقة بمختلف الجوانب التاريخية والجغرافية والبشرية والحضارية للمغرب الاقصى: بيبليوغرافيا الاجزاء الاثني عشر المنشورة|date=2000|publisher=Maṭābiʻ Salā|page=3749|oclc=49744368|trans-title=Teacher of Morocco: An Alphabetical Dictionary of the History, Geography, People, and Civilization of al-Maghreb al-Aqsa}} Maghrebi script is a direct descendant of the old Kufic script that predated Ibn Muqla's al-khat al-mansub ({{Lang|ar|الخَط المَنْسُوب}} proportioned line) standardization reforms, which affected Mashreqi scripts. The Arabic script in its Iraqi Kufic form spread from centers such as Fes, Cordoba, and Qayrawan throughout the region along with Islam, as the Quran was studied and transcribed. Qayrawani Kufic script developed in al-Qayrawan from the Iraqi Kufic script.

File:Idrisids coin minted at Al Aliyah Morocco 840 CE.jpg, as seen on this Idrisid dirham, influenced the early development of Maghrebi script.]]

Early on, there were two schools of Maghrebi script: the African script ({{Lang|ar|الخط الإفريقي}}, {{lang|ar-Latn|al-khaṭṭ al-ʾifrīqiyy}}) and the Andalusi script ({{Lang|ar|الخط الأندلسي}}, {{lang|ar-Latn|al-khaṭṭ al-ʾandalusiyy}}). The African script evolved in Ifriqiya (Tunisia) from Iraqi Kufic by way of the Kufic of Qairawan. The Andalusi script evolved in Iberia from the Damascene Kufic script with the establishment of the second Umayyad state, which would become the Caliphate of Córdoba. The Andalusi script was particular for its rounded letters, as attested to in Al-Maqdisi's geography book The Best Divisions in the Knowledge of the Regions. The African script had spread throughout the Maghreb before the spread of the Andalusi script. One of the most famous early users of the Arabic script was Salih ibn Tarif, the leader of the Barghawata Confederacy and the author of a religious text known as the Quran of Salih.{{cite web |script-title=ar:دولة برغواطة في المغرب... هراطقة كفار أم ثوار يبحثون عن العدالة؟ |title=Dawlat Barghawata fi al-Maghrib... Haratiqat kufār ʾam thuār yab·hathun ʿan al-ʿadatat? |url=https://raseef22.com/article/168952-%D8%AF%D9%88%D9%84%D8%A9-%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%BA%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%B7%D8%A9-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%BA%D8%B1%D8%A8-%D9%87%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%B7%D9%82%D8%A9-%D9%83%D9%81%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%A3%D9%85 |language=ar |trans-title=The Barghawata state in Morocco...heretical kafirs or revolutionaries searching for justice?|date=2018-11-12 |website=Rasif 22 |access-date=2020-05-22 |last=Yusri |first=Muhammad }}

In {{Lang|ar-Latn|al-Maghreb al-Aqsa}} ({{lang|ar|المغرب الأڧصى}}, 'the Far West', modern-day Morocco), the script developed independently from the Kufic of the Maghrawa and Bani Ifran under the Idrisid dynasty (788–974); it gained Mashreqi features under the Imam aIdris I, who came from Arabia. The script under the Idrisids was basic and unembellished; it was influenced by Iraqi Kufic, which was used on the Idrisid dirham.

File:Coin of Almoravid ruler Ali ibn Yusuf, struck at the Isbiliya (Seville) mint.jpg minted under Ali ibn Yusuf in Seville featuring Almoravid Kufic script.]]

Under the Almoravid dynasty, the Andalusi script spread throughout the Maghreb, reaching Qairawan; the Jerīd region, however, kept the African script. A version of Kufic with florid features developed at this time.{{Cite web|title=Qantara - The Almoravid dynasty (1056-1147)|url=https://www.qantara-med.org/public/show_document.php?do_id=595&lang=en|website=www.qantara-med.org|access-date=2020-05-24}} The University of al-Qarawiyyin, the Almoravid Qubba, and the Almoravid Minbar bear examples of Almoravid Kufic.{{Cite book|last1=Bloom|first1=Jonathan M.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zoFNHQAACAAJ|title=The Minbar from the Kutubiyya Mosque|last2=Toufiq|first2=Ahmed|date=March 1998|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0-300-08637-9|language=en}}{{Cite book|last=Abu Zayd|first=Muhammad Omar|language=ar|trans-title=The principles of the Maghrebi Kufic script from the Almoravid era|title=مبادئ الخط الكوفي المغربي من العهد المرابطي|publisher=Kuwait Center for the Islamic Arts|year=2017|location=Kuwait}}

The Kufic script of the Almoravid dinar was imitated in a maravedí issued by Alfonso VIII of Castile.{{Cite web|title=CNG: Feature Auction CNG 70. SPAIN, Castile. Alfonso VIII. 1158-1214. AV Maravedi Alfonsi-Dobla (3.86 g, 4h). Toledo (Tulaitula) mint. Dated Safar era 1229 (1191 AD).|url=https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=70642|access-date=2020-05-30|website=www.cngcoins.com}}{{Cite web|title=Coin - Portugal|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/coin|access-date=2020-05-30|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}

The minbar of the al-Qarawiyyin Mosque, created in 1144, was the "last major testament of Almoravid patronage," and features what is now called Maghrebi thuluth, an interpretation of Eastern thuluth and diwani traditions.{{Cite video|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=797&v=wWhtM9RzLJY&feature=emb_logo|title=The Ideological Power of Some Almohad Illuminated Manuscripts|date=Feb 8, 2018|last=Bongianino|first=Umberto|type=Lecture|language=en}}

File:Abu_Yaqub_Yusef_Coin.png.]]

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| footer = Illuminated parchment manuscript of Ibn Tumart's Counterpart of the Muwatta (محاذي الموطأ) copied for the Almohad sultan Yaqub al-Mansur around 1193. The script is Maghrebi thuluth in gold with lapis lazuli vocalization.

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Under the Almohad dynasty, Arabic calligraphy continued to flourish and a variety of distinct styles developed. The Almohad caliphs, many of whom were themselves interested in Arabic script, sponsored professional calligraphers, inviting Andalusi scribes and calligraphers to settle in Marrakesh, Fes, Ceuta, and Rabat. The Almohad caliph Abu Hafs Umar al-Murtada established the first public manuscript transcription center at the madrasa of his mosque in Marrakesh (now the Ben Youssef Madrasa).{{Cite web|title=المدارس المرينية: بين رغبة المخزن ومعارضة الفقهاء|url=https://zamane.ma/ar/%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d8%af%d8%a7%d8%b1%d8%b3-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d8%b1%d9%8a%d9%86%d9%8a%d8%a9-%d8%a8%d9%8a%d9%86-%d8%b1%d8%ba%d8%a8%d8%a9-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d8%ae%d8%b2%d9%86-%d9%88%d9%85%d8%b9%d8%a7/|date=2015-04-03|website=Zamane|language=ar|access-date=2020-05-22|trans-title=The Marinid Schools: Between the Desire for Preservation and the Opposition of the Judges}}

The Maghrebi thuluth script was appropriated and adopted as an official "dynastic brand" used in different media, from manuscripts to coinage to fabrics. The Almohads also illuminated certain words or phrases for emphasis with gold leaf and lapis lazuli.

For centuries, the Maghrebi script was used to write Arabic manuscripts that were traded throughout the Maghreb.{{Cite book|last1=Krätli|first1=Graziano|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lhyX6Dp8pnMC&q=sijilmasi+script&pg=PA418|title=The Trans-Saharan Book Trade: Manuscript Culture, Arabic Literacy and Intellectual History in Muslim Africa|last2=Lydon|first2=Ghislaine|date=2011|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-04-18742-9|language=en}} According to {{Interlanguage link|Muhammad al-Manuni|lt=|ar|محمد المنوني|WD=}}, there were 104 paper mills in Fes under the reign of Yusuf Ibn Tashfin in the 11th century, and 400 under the reign of Sultan Yaqub al-Mansur in the 12th century.{{Cite book|last=Sijelmassi|first=Mohamed|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HzepO2Z_i4wC&q=manouni+morocco+manuscripts&pg=PA36|title=Enluminures: Des Manuscripts Royaux au Maroc|date=1987|publisher=ACR|isbn=978-2-86770-025-5|language=fr|trans-title=Royal Illuminated Manuscripts of Morocco}}

File:Arabic_scripts_Alhambra.jpg built in the Emirate of Granada. The exodus of Muslims from Iberia influenced the development of scripts in North Africa.]]In the Emirate of Granada under the Nasrid dynasty, and particularly under Yusuf I and Muhammad V, Arabic epigraphy further developed.{{Cite book|last1=Jayyusi|first1=Salma Khadra|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cbfORLWv1HkC&pg=PA667 |title=The Legacy of Muslim Spain|last2=Marín|first2=Manuela|date=1992|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-04-09599-1|language=en}} Kufic inscriptions developed extended vertical strokes forming ribbon-like decorative knots. Kufic script also had "an enormous influence on the decorative and graphic aspects of Christian art."{{multiple image

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| alt1 = {{lang|ar|وفتحت بالسيف الجزيرة}} "And the peninsula was conquered with the sword"

| caption1 = {{lang|ar|وفتحت بالسيف الجزيرة}}
"And the peninsula was conquered with the sword"

| image2 = خط أندلسي مشبك بفناء الريحان بقصر الحمراء.jpg

| alt2 = {{lang|ar|يبنون القصور تخدما}} "They build palaces diligently"

| caption2 = {{lang|ar|يبنون القصور تخدما}}
"They build palaces diligently"

| footer = Epigraphic samples from the Court of the Myrtles: what Muhammad Kurd Ali described as Andalusi mushabbak (sinuous) script ({{Lang|ar|خط أندلسي مُشَبَّك}}), or what Western sources refer to as Nasrid cursive.{{Cite book|last=محمد كرد علي, محمد بن عبد الرزاق بن محمد|title=غابر الأندلس وحاضره|language=ar|trans-title=Old Andalus and Its Heritage|date=2011|publisher=Sharakat Nowabigh al-Fakr|isbn=978-977-6305-97-7|oclc=1044625566}}

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| caption3 = {{lang|ar|ولا غالب إلا الله}}
"There is no victor but God."

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File:Woodcut Arabic alphabet of Pedro de Alcalá, printed 1505.png.{{Cite book |author=Smitshuijzen AbiFarès, Huda |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1185527233 |title=Arabic typography a comprehensive sourcebook |year=2001 |isbn=0-86356-347-3 |pages=44 |oclc=1185527233}}]]

In Iberia, the Arabic script was used to write Romance languages such as Mozarabic, Portuguese, Spanish or Ladino.{{Cite book|last1=Ribera|first1=Julian|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5Wr4ugEACAAJ&q=aljamiado+ribera+sanchez|title=Colección de Textos Aljamiados, Publicada Por Pablo Gil, Julián Ribera y Mariano Sanchez|last2=Gil|first2=Pablo|last3=Sanchez|first3=Mariano|date=August 2018|publisher=Creative Media Partners, LLC|isbn=978-0-274-51465-6|language=es}} This writing system was referred to as Aljamiado, from ʿajamiyah ({{Lang|ar|عجمية}}).Chejne, A.G. (1993): Historia de España musulmana. Editorial Cátedra. Madrid, Spain. Published originally as: Chejne, A.G. (1974): Muslim Spain: Its History and Culture. University of Minnesota Press. Minneapolis, USA

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| caption1 = Maghrebi script at the Bou Inania Madrasa.

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| caption2 = Foliate Marinid Kufic at Al-Attarine Madrasa.

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Waves of migration from Iberia throughout the history of al-Andalus impacted writing styles in North Africa. Ibn Khaldun noted that the Andalusi script further developed under the Marinid dynasty (1244–1465), when Fes received Andalusi refugees. In addition to Fes, the script flourished in cities such as Ceuta, Taza, Meknes, Salé, and Marrakesh, although the script experienced a regression in rural areas far from the centers of power. The Fesi script spread throughout much of the Islamic west. {{Interlanguage link|Octave Houdas|lt=|fr||WD=}} gives the exception of the region around Algiers, which was more influenced by the African script of Tunisia. {{Interlanguage link|Muhammad al-Manuni|lt=|ar|محمد المنوني|WD=}} noted that Maghrebi script essentially reached its final form during the Marinid period, as it became independent of the Andalusi script. There were three forms of Maghrebi script in use: one in urban centers such as those previously mentioned, one in rural areas used to write in both Arabic and Amazigh, and one that preserved Andalusi features. Maghrebi script was also divided into different varieties: Kufic, mabsūt, mujawhar, Maghrebi thuluth, and musnad (z'mami).

The reforms in the Saadi period (1549–1659) affected manuscript culture and calligraphy. The Saadis founded centers for learning calligraphy, including the madrasa of the Mouassine Mosque, which was directed by a dedicated calligrapher as was the custom in the {{lang|ar-Latn|Mashreq}}. Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur himself was proficient in Maghrebi thuluth, and even invented a secret script for his private correspondences. Decorative scripts flourished under the Saadi dynasty and were used in architecture, manuscripts, and coinage.

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| caption1 = A 1682 peace treaty signed with the Dutch Republic under Sultan Ismail Ibn Sharif.

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File:Muhammad Awzal Al Hawd.jpg al-Ḥawḍ, containing text in Tashelhit written in Maghrebi script.]]

Maghrebi script was supported by the 17th-century Alawite sultans Al-Rashid and Ismail. Under the reign of Sultan Muhammad III, the script devolved into an unrefined, illegible badawi script ({{Lang|ar|الخط البدوي}}) associated with rural areas.{{Cite book|last=الخطاط|first=خالد محمد المصري|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ALxsDwAAQBAJ&q=%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AE%D8%B7+%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%BA%D8%B1%D8%A8%D9%8A+%22%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8%D8%AF%D9%88%D9%8A%22&pg=PA190|title=مرجع الطلاب في الخط العربي|date=2014-01-01|publisher=Dar Al Kotob Al Ilmiyah دار الكتب العلمية|isbn=978-2-7451-3523-0|language=ar}} Under Sultan Suleiman, the script improved in urban areas and particularly in the capital Meknes. Meanwhile, Rabat and Salé preserved some features of Andalusi script, and some rural areas such as Dukāla, Beni Zied, and al-Akhmas excelled in the Maghrebi script.

The script quality then regressed again, which led Ahmed ibn Qassim ar-Rifā'ī ar-Ribātī to start a script reform and standardization movement as Ibn Muqla and Ibn al-Bawwab had done in the Mashriq. He authored Stringing the Pearls of the Thread ({{Lang|ar|نظم لآلئ السمط في حسن تقويم بديع الخط}}), a book in the form of an urjuza on the rules of Maghrebi script.{{Cite book|last=الخطاط|first=خالد محمد المصري|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ALxsDwAAQBAJ&q=%D8%A3%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%AF+%D8%A8%D9%86+%D9%82%D8%A7%D8%B3%D9%85+%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D9%81%D8%A7%D8%B9%D9%8A+%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B7%D9%8A&pg=PA191|title=مرجع الطلاب في الخط العربي|date=2014-01-01|publisher=Dar Al Kotob Al Ilmiyah دار الكتب العلمية|isbn=978-2-7451-3523-0|language=ar}}

Muhammad Bin Al-Qasim al-Qundusi, active in Fes from 1828–1861, innovated a unique style known as al-Khatt al-Qundusi ({{Lang|ar|الخط القندوسي}}).

After {{Interlanguage link|Muhammad at-Tayib ar-Rudani|lt=|ar|محمد ابن الطيب الروداني|WD=}} introduced the first Arabic lithographic printing press to Morocco in 1864, the mujawher variety of the Maghrebi script became the standard for printing body text, although other varieties were also used.

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| caption1 = Page of a lithographed book in mujawhar script, circa 1896.

| image2 = Traité relatif à l'organisation du protectorat français dans l'empire chérifien TRA19120019 001 - France Maroc.pdf

| caption2 = Arabic of the Treaty of Fes (right) written in a mujawhar style.

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The French Protectorate in Morocco represented a crisis for Maghrebi script, as Latin script became dominant in education and public life, and the Moroccan Nationalist Movement fought to preserve Maghrebi script in response. In 1949, Muhammad bin al-Hussein as-Sūsī and Antonio García Jaén published Ta'līm al-Khatt al-Maghrebi ({{Lang|ar|تعليم الخط المغربي}}) a series of five booklets teaching Maghrebi script printed in Spain.{{Cite web|title=قراءة في كتاب "الخط المغربي"|url=https://www.emouaten.info/قراءة-في-كتاب-الخط-المغربي_a41454.html|last=السعيدي|first=الخبر-أحمد|website=إمواطن : رصد إخباري|language=ar|access-date=2020-05-24}}{{Cite web|title=المنجز الحضاري المغربي في الخط العربي|url=https://machahid24.com/etudes/77121.html|last=العسري|first=كتبه: كريمة قاسم|date=2015-07-02|website=مشاهد 24|language=ar|access-date=2020-05-24}}{{Cite book|last1=García Jaén|first1=Antonio|title=Tariq ta'lim al-jatt|last2=Al-Susi|first2=Muhammad Ibn al-Husayn|last3=Marruecos (Protectorado Español)|last4=Delegación de Educación y Cultura|date=1949|publisher=Niyaba al-Tarbiya wa-l-Taqafa|location=Tetuán|oclc=431924417}}

File:Charles Noguès in Es-Saada November 12, 1942.jpg from 1942, the Maghrebi ڢ appears in the headline but the Mashreqi ف is used in the body text.]]

Additionally, books from the Mashreq printed in naskh scripts were imported for use in schools and universities, and handwriting began to be taught with mashreqi letter forms.

In the period after independence, there were a number of initiatives to modernize Arabic script to suit the typewriter, prominent among which was that of the Moroccan linguist {{Interlanguage link|Ahmed al-Akhdar al-Ghazal|ar|أحمد الأخضر غزال}} of the Institute for Studies and Research on Arabization: Standard Arabic Script ({{Lang|ar|الحرف العربي المعياري}}).{{Cite book|last1=Afā|first1=ʻUmar|title=al-Khaṭṭ al-Maghribī: tārīkh wa-wāqiʻ wa-āfāq|last2=افا، عمر.|date=2007|publisher=Wizārat al-Awqāf wa-al-Shuʼūn al-Islāmīyah|others=Muḥammad Maghrāwī, مغراوي، محمد.|isbn=978-9981-59-129-5|edition=al-Ṭabʻah 1|location=al-Dār al-Bayḍāʼ|oclc=191880956}}

In 2007, Muḥammad al-Maghrāwī and {{Interlanguage link|Omar Afa|lt=|ar|عمر أفا|WD=}} cowrote Maghrebi Script: History, Present, and Horizons ({{Lang|ar|الخط المغربي: تاريخ وواقع وآفاق}}).{{Cite journal|last=Nobili|first=Mauro|title=Arabic Scripts in West African Manuscripts: A Tentative Classification from the de Gironcourt Collection|date=2011-06-03|url=https://brill.com/view/journals/iafr/2/1/article-p105_6.xml|journal=Islamic Africa|language=en|volume=2|issue=1|pages=105–133|doi=10.5192/215409930201105|issn=2154-0993}}{{Cite book |last1=افا، عمر|title=الخط المغربي: تاريخ وواقع وآفاق|last2=مغراوي، محمد|date=2007|publisher=وزارة الأوقاف و الشؤون الاسلامية،|isbn=978-9981-59-129-5|location=الدارالبيضاء|language=ar|oclc=191880956}} The following year, the Muhammad VI Prize for the Art of Maghrebi Script, organized by the {{Interlanguage link|Moroccan Ministry of Islamic Affairs|lt=|ar|وزارة الأوقاف والشؤون الإسلامية (المغرب)|WD=}}, was announced.{{Cite web|title=بالفيديو.. الخط العربي ببصمة نسائية مغربية.. روائع الماضي والحاضر|url=https://www.aljazeera.net/news/women/2019/11/23/بالفيديو-الخط-العربي-ببصمة-نسائية|website=www.aljazeera.net|language=ar|access-date=2020-05-27}}{{Cite web|title=النظام القانوني لجائزة محمد السادس لفن الخط المغربي -|url=http://www.lejuriste.ma/2016/09/27/%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%86%d8%b8%d8%a7%d9%85-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%82%d8%a7%d9%86%d9%88%d9%86%d9%8a-%d9%84%d8%ac%d8%a7%d8%a6%d8%b2%d8%a9-%d9%85%d8%ad%d9%85%d8%af-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b3%d8%a7%d8%af%d8%b3-%d9%84%d9%81/|date=2016-09-27|website=lejuriste.ma|language=ar|access-date=2020-05-27}}

In early 2020, the President of Tunisia, Kais Saied, garnered significant media attention for his handwritten official letters in the Maghrebi script.{{Cite web|url=https://arabi21.com/story/1223125/كتبها-بخط-يده-رسالة-سعيد-للجملي-تثير-مواقع-التواصل-شاهد|title=كتبها بخط يده.. رسالة سعيّد للجملي تثير مواقع التواصل (شاهد)|date=2019-11-16|website=عربي21|language=ar|access-date=2020-01-03}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.alarabiya.net/ar/social-media/2019/11/16/بالصور-رسالة-من-الرئيس-التونسي-تشعل-مواقع-التواصل.html|title=بالصورة.. رسالة من الرئيس التونسي تشعل مواقع التواصل|last=نت|first=العربية|date=2019-11-16|website=العربية نت|language=ar|access-date=2020-01-03}}

In the book al-Khat al-Maghrebi, five main subscripts of Maghrebi script are identified:{{Cite book|title=الخط المغربي: تاريخ وواقع وآفاق|last=أفا|first=عمر|publisher=مطبعة النجاح - الجديدة|year=2007|isbn=978-9981-59-129-5|location=Jadida, Morocco}}

1. Maghrebi Kufic ({{lang|ar|كوفي مغربي}}) variations of Kufic script used in the Maghreb and al-Andalus.
2. *Almoravid Kufic ({{Lang|ar|كوفي مرابطي}}){{Cite web|url=https://www.qarawiyyinvoice.com/2017/08/blog-post_30.html|title=نموذج للخط الكوفي المرابطي بجامع القرويين|website=صوت القرويين {{!}} القلب النابض بمدينة فاس|access-date=2019-12-14|archive-date=2019-12-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191214090457/https://www.qarawiyyinvoice.com/2017/08/blog-post_30.html|url-status=dead}} a decorative script that does not receive Arabic diacritics. It was used in coin minting and is usually accompanied by fine floral designs.{{Cite web|title=Qantara - The Almoravid dynasty (1056-1147)|url=https://www.qantara-med.org/public/show_document.php?do_id=595&lang=en|website=www.qantara-med.org|access-date=2020-05-24}} The Almoravid minbar of the Kutubiyya Mosque in Marrakesh features a fine example.
3. *Almohad Kufic ({{Lang|ar|كوفي موحدي}})
4. *Marinid Kufic ({{Lang|ar|كوفي مريني}})
5. *Alawite Kufic ({{Lang|ar|كوفي علوي}})
6. *Qayrawani Kufic ({{Lang|ar|كوفي قيرواني}})
7. *Pseudo Kufic ({{Lang|ar|شبه كوفي}})
8. Mabsout ({{lang|ar|مبسوط}}) script, used for body text and to write the Quran, similar in usage to the eastern Naskh.{{Cite book|title=الخط المغربي الميسر|last=معلمين، محمد.|year = 2012|publisher=Manshūrāt Wizārat al-Awqāf wa-al-Shuʼūn al-Islāmīyah |isbn=978-9954-0-5214-3|oclc=904285783}}
9. *Andalusi Mabsout
10. *Saadi Mabsout
11. *Alawite MabsoutFile:نموذج للخط المغربي المبسوط.jpeg
12. Mujawher ({{lang|ar|مجوهر}}) cursive script, mainly used by the king to announce laws. This is the script that was used for body text when lithographic prints started to be produced in Fes.{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/ylside87_gmail/page/n15|title=نظم لآلئ السمط في حسن تقويم بديع الخط|last=الرباطي|first=أحمد بن محمد بن قاسم الرفاعي الحسني|publisher=منشورات وزارة الأوقاف والشؤون الإسلامية - المملكة المغربية: دار أبي رقراق للطباعة والنشر|year=2013|isbn=978-9954-601-24-2|editor-last=صبري|editor-first=د. محمد|location=Rabat, Morocco}}
13. Thuluth Maghrebi ({{lang|ar|ثلث مغربي}}) script, formerly called Mashreqi (مشرقي) or Maghrebized Mashreqi (مشرقي متمغرب) a script inspired by the Mashreqi Thuluth script. It is mainly used as a decorative script for book titles and walls in mosques. It was used as an official script by the Almohads.
14. Musnad ({{lang|ar|مسند}}) script, or Z'mami ({{Lang|ar|زمامي}}) script, a cursive script mainly used by courts and notaries in writing marriage contracts.{{Cite web|url=https://www.baianat.com/ar/books/arabic-calligraphy-culture/types-of-fonts-and-its-different-shapes|title=أنواع الخطوط وأشكالها المختلفة|last=support@baianat.com|website=بيانات|language=ar-Eg|access-date=2020-01-11}} This script is derived from Mujawher, and its letters in this script lean to the right. Because is difficult to read, this script was used to write texts that the author wanted to keep obscure, such as texts about sorcery.

In addition, Muhammad Bin Al-Qasim al-Qundusi, a 19th-century Sufi calligrapher based in Fes, developed a flamboyant style now known as Qandusi ({{Lang|ar|قندوسي}}) script.{{Cite web|url=https://muhammadanpress.com/shop/the-names-of-allah-prophet-muhammad-al-qandusi/|title=The Names of Allah ﷻ & Prophet Muhammad ﷺ (al-Qandusi) – Muhammadan Press|language=en-US|access-date=2020-01-18}}

Among the publications of {{Interlanguage link|Octave Houdas|lt=|fr||WD=}}, a 19th-century French orientalist, dealing with the subject of Maghrebi script, there are Essai sur l'Ecriture Maghrebine (1886) and Recueil de Lettres Arabes Manuscrites (1891).{{Cite book|last=Houdas, Octave |title=Recueil de lettres arabes manuscrites|date=1891|publisher=Adolphe Jourdan|oclc=1025683823}} In 1886, he identified 4 main subscripts within the Maghrebi script family:{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Yia7CwAAQBAJ&q=suqi+script&pg=PA57|title=Beyond Timbuktu: An Intellectual History of Muslim West Africa|last=Kane|first=Ousmane|date=2016-06-07|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-05082-2|language=en}}{{Cite book|last=Kane|first=Ousmane|title=Beyond Timbuktu: an intellectual history of Muslim West Africa|date=2016|isbn=978-0-674-96937-7|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts|pages=56–57|oclc=950613709}}

• Qairawani—"smooth and even"
• Andalusi—"small, compact, and jerky"
• Fasi—"large, round, and elegant"
• Sudani—"thicker and blacker"

File:Quran 19th century Nigeria, Maghribi style, Boston Museum of Fine Arts.jpg style]]

File:Surat al Mulk bu Omar bin Said (1770-1864).jpg transcribed from memory in the United States in a rudimentary Fulani script by Omar ibn Said after he was captured and enslaved.]]

Various West African Arabic scripts, also called Sudani scripts (in reference to Bilad as-Sudan), also fall under the category of Maghrebi scripts, including:

• Suqi ({{lang|ar|سوقي}}) named after the town of Suq, though also used in Timbuktu. It is associated with the Tuareg people.
• Fulani ({{lang|ar|فولاني}})
• Hausawi ({{lang|ar|هاوساوي}})
• Mauretanian Baydani ({{lang|ar|بيضاني موريطاني}})
• Kanemi ({{lang|ar|كنيمي}}) or Kanawi, is associated with the region of Kano in modern-day Chad and northern Nigeria, associated with Borno—also Barnawi script
• Saharan{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lhyX6Dp8pnMC&q=sahrawi+script&pg=PA416|title=The Trans-Saharan Book Trade: Manuscript Culture, Arabic Literacy and Intellectual History in Muslim Africa|last1=Krätli|first1=Graziano|last2=Lydon|first2=Ghislaine|date=2011|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-04-18742-9|language=en}}

سورة الأعراف مكتوبة بالخط السوقي ٣.jpg|Suqi script

مصحف مخطوط بالخط الفولاني ٢.jpg|Fulani script

مصحف نيجيري مطبوع بالمطبعة الحجرية بخط هاوساوي ٢.jpg|Hausawi script

مصحف مخطوط بالخط البيضاني ٢.jpg|Baydani script

كنوز الإسلام في إفريقيا - 39.jpg|Kanemi script

File:5r شوق المستهام نسخة عثمانية BNF arabe 6805.jpg copy of Shawq al-Mustaham.{{Cite book |last=Bongianino |first=Umberto |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1336504103 |title=The manuscript tradition of the Islamic West : Maghribī round scripts and the Andalusī identity |date=2022 |isbn=978-1-4744-9960-6 |oclc=1336504103}}{{Rp|page=14}}]]

One of the prominent ways Maghrebi scripts differ from scripts of the Arabic-speaking East is the dotting of the letters faa{{'}} ({{lang|ar|ف}}) and qoph ({{lang|ar|ق}}). In eastern tradition, the faa{{'}} is represented by a circle with a dot above, while in Maghrebi scripts the dot goes below the circle ({{lang|ary|ڢ}}).{{Cite web|url=https://www.alquds.co.uk/الخطاط-المغربي-عبد-العزيز-مجيب-بين-الت/|title=الخطاط المغربي عبد العزيز مجيب بين التقييد الخطي والترنح الحروفي |date=2018-11-16|website=Al-Quds|language=Arabic|last=al-Banduri|first=Muhammad|access-date=2019-12-17|trans-title=Moroccan calligrapher Abd al-Aziz Mujib: between calligraphic restriction and alphabetic staggering}} In eastern scripts, the qoph is represented by a circle with two dots above it, whereas the Maghrebi qoph is a circle with just one dot above ({{Lang|ary|ڧ}}), similar to the eastern faa{{'}}. In fact, concerns over the preservation of Maghrebi writing traditions played a part in the reservations of the Moroccan ulama against importing the printing press.{{Cite web|url=https://alarab-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/alarab.co.uk/%D9%85%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%AF-%D8%A8%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B7%D9%8A%D8%A8-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A-%D9%82%D8%A7%D8%B6-%D9%85%D8%BA%D9%85%D9%88%D8%B1-%D9%8A%D9%8F%D8%AF%D8%AE%D9%84-%D8%A8%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%AF%D9%87-%D8%B9%D8%B5%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D9%86%D9%88%D9%8A%D8%B1?amp|title=محمد بن الطيب الروداني قاض مغمور يُدخل بلاده عصر التنوير|website=Al-Arab|language=Arabic|trans-title=Muhammad ibn al-Tayyib al-Rudani: an obscure judge who brought his country into the age of enlightenment|access-date=2020-01-03|last=Al-Wazani|first=Hassan}}

Additionally, Nico van den Boogert notes that in Maghrebi script:

• the loop of Ṣād ({{Lang|ar|ص}}) and Ḍād ({{Lang|ar|ض}})has no "tooth"
• the stems of alif ({{Lang|ar|ا}}), lam ({{Lang|ar|ل}}), lamalif ({{Lang|ar|لا}}), Ṭāʾ ({{Lang|ar|ط}}), and Ẓāʾ ({{Lang|ar|ظ}}) are drawn with a knot at the end
• the stems of Ṭāʾ ({{Lang|ar|ط}}), and Ẓāʾ ({{Lang|ar|ظ}}) are drawn diagonally
• the final alif ({{Lang|ar|ـا}}) is written top-to-bottom
• the final and isolated dāl ({{Lang|ar|د}}) and dhāl ({{Lang|ar|ذ}}) resemble initial and medial Kaph ({{Lang|ar|كـ}})

Additionally, Maghrebi scripts differ from Mashreqi scripts in that Maghrebi scripts are traditionally written with a pointed tip instead of a chisel tip. As a result, Maghrebi scripts typically have less contrast in line thickness than Mashreqi scripts, which have wider horizontal strokes and thinner vertical strokes.

File:Folio Blue Quran Met 2004.88.jpg|Blue Qur'an, 9th to early 10th-century, from either al-Andalus or Tunisia.{{Cite web|url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/454662|website=www.metmuseum.org |title=Folio from the "Blue Qur'an" |access-date=2020-09-09}}

File:Bifolium Mushal al-Hadina Quran Met 2007.191.jpg|The Zirid "Nurse's Quran." Qairawan, early 11th century.{{cite web|title=Islamic art from museums around the world|url=https://arab.news/ra27f|date=2020-05-18|website=Arab News|language=en|access-date=2020-05-18}}{{cite web|url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/456074?pos=7|website=www.metmuseum.org |title=Bifolium from the "Nurse's Qur'an" (Mushaf al-Hadina) |access-date=2020-09-09}}

File:مصحف مرابطي أو موحدي 03.jpg|Almoravid-Almohad period

File:Moroccan Qur'an Manuscript, c. 1300 02.jpg|Moroccan Quran from around 1300.{{cite web |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/454664?pos=4|website=www.metmuseum.org |title=Section from a Qur'an Manuscript |access-date=2020-09-09}}

File:Folio Quran Met 42.63.jpg|Andalusi Quran, late 13th–early 14th century.{{cite web |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/453165 |website=www.metmuseum.org |title=A Manuscript of Five Sections of a Qur'an |access-date=2020-09-09}}

File:المصحف الوردي 02.jpg|A page of the Pink Quran with illuminated diacritics. Al-Andalus 14th century.{{cite web|url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/751641?pos=5|website=www.metmuseum.org |title=Bifolium from the Andalusian Pink Qur'an |access-date=2020-09-09}}

File:Page from Quran of Abu Faris Abd al-Aziz II 1405.jpg|Hafsid Quran donated to the Kasbah Mosque by Caliph Abu Faris Abd al-Aziz II in 1405.

File:مصحف مغربي 01.jpg|17th or 18th century Moroccan Quran

File:A Manuscript of Five Sections of a Qur'an MET sf1982-120-2-first.jpg|18th century Moroccan Quran.

File:Al-Fatiha in the Sudani script (CBL Is 1598, f. 1b).jpg|Al-Fatiha in the Sudani script. North-west Africa, 19th century. Chester Beatty Library

File:مصحف مخطوط بالخط المغربي المبسوط ٤.jpg|Quran in mabsūt script

• Rashi script
• Tifinagh

• O. Houdas, "Essai sur l'écriture maghrebine", in Nouveaux mélanges orientaux, IIe série vol. xix., Publications des Langues Vivantes Orientales (Paris 1886)
• N. van den Boogert, [http://www.islamicmanuscripts.info/reference/articles/boogert_notes_maghribi_script.PDF on the origin of Maghribi script] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161118135527/http://www.islamicmanuscripts.info/reference/articles/boogert_notes_maghribi_script.PDF |date=2016-11-18 }}

{{commons category|Maghrebi script}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20060419084754/http://www.habous.gov.ma/ar/detail.aspx?id=475&Z=10&S=10 Arabic article]
• [http://www.asia.si.edu/collections/singleObject.cfm?ObjectId=9834 Example of a Quran in Maghrebi script] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927002308/http://www.asia.si.edu/collections/singleObject.cfm?ObjectId=9834 |date=2011-09-27 }}

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