This is the last post in a series of three that is focused on small, independent bookshops. The first post is about Mount Zero in Hong Kong, and the second post is on La Flor de Papel in Santiago, Chile.
Wardah Books
Wardah Books is a bookshop specializing in books on Islam in the English language, in Kampong Gelam in Singapore. Founded in 2002, it carries about 4000 titles in categories ranging from Arts to Philosophy, Quranic studies to regional history, fiction to children’s books.
The bookshop has a rather active presence on the internet. Beyond commerce, one of their stated aims is to promote reading in the community. While the website sells books, it also documents the history of printing and bookselling in Kampong Gelam, lists upcoming cultural events, and introduces new books with lots of notes. One can also listen to podcasts produced by the bookshop.
Enjoy some gamelan music while reading.
Kampong Gelam is one of the oldest urban neighborhoods in Singapore, and it is the center for the Muslim community and home to the city’s biggest mosque, the Masjid Sultan. The bookstore is located on Bussorah Street in a conservation shophouse built in the early half of the 1900s.
Wardah Books has two floors. The ground floor offers a really comfortable leather sofa, air-conditioning and dimmed lights which are really welcoming when the sun is scorching and the street air is heavy with humidity.
Books on the ground floor are displayed in sections that their web page refers to as “Foundation”. They are mostly religious, the main sections are: Qur’an, Hadith, Sirah, Schools of Tasawwuf, Islam, Sufism and Fiqh. A special area is dedicated to an Interfaith Showcase (see photo above). Books on practical topics such as Prayer and Wellness are also exhibited here.
On their web site, it says:
“We still believe in the timeless relevance of books because they remain the only technology that is able to preserve, announce, expound, and transmit knowledge to a literate readership across time and space.”
Upstairs at Wardah Books
The second floor is spacious, with darkened windows, but less plush. The books are organized in sections that are referred to as “Contexts” on the web site.
The books, all non-fictions (at first glance) cover social sciences topics relevant in various regions of the world – Asia, Middle East, Africa, Europe and the Americas. Notably, there is a shelf dedicated to “Matters Unfolding” and another to “Palestine”. At the time of our visit in 2023, Hamas had not yet attacked Israel, hence there was no special focus on books that concern this unfortunate region of the world.
- The Identity Trap (as seen on the shelf) can be an interesting read, considering that the US social culture is rather divided.
Among the literary magazines on display, I(Chris) bought Issue 36 of Critical Muslim – “Destinations”, a publication based in London of “readings of religion and culture with the potential for social, cultural and political transformation for the Muslim world and beyond.”
A small stand displays books on Islamic art and cuisine. For sale is a new official guide to the Museum of Islamic Art in Qatar after it reopened in 2022. Also interesting are books on appreciation of Islamic art and designs, “Imad’s Syrian Kitchen – A love letter from Damascus to London” and “Beauty” from the Very Short Introductions series.
There is even a small selection of books and periodicals for children.
The name of the bookshop – “Wardah” is a Muslim Girl name with Arabic origins, meaning “Flowery, Rosy, Fresh or Glowing”.
We are glad that we came across this bookshop, otherwise Kampong Gelam is just an ethnically-themed tourist attraction.