This research area is focused on Islamic manuscripts made in Harar (Ethiopia) and the Swahili Coast, specifically in Kenya and its coastal islands. A particular focus is the development of enhanced access to items from this region that are currently located in repositories linked to the project’s institutional homes — especially the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library in Toronto, Canada, and the Princeton University Library, in the USA. Other public and private collections with important Quranic material are also part of this research area - such as the Fowler Museum (UCLA) and the Pate Island Qur'an from Kenya now in that Los Angeles collection.

Lead researchers include Zulfikar Hirji (York U, Ontario) whose research focuses on Islamic manuscripts of the Eastern African coast and their circulations around the Indian Ocean, and Sana Mirza (Smithsonian Institution) whose research focuses on Islamic manuscripts of Harar, Ethiopia. Project coordination is by Melissa Moreton and Suzanne Conklin Akbari (IAS - Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton) with collaborative support from librarian Tim Perry at the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library (U of T) and Yasmeen Khan (Library of Congress).