1. The Pre-Islamic Arab Romance of Antara and the Maley Islamic
Hikayat of Mohammad Hanafiah Dafari, Saleh Salim Sahlan al-, and
Mohammad Hanafiah. “The pre-Islamic Arab romance of Antara and
the Malay Islamic Hikayat of Mohammad Hanafiah: a comparative
study.” Gombak Review 1.i (1996): 59-66. Index Islamicus. EBSCO.
Web. 14 Apr. 2011. 2. The Hostage, or who was who? Gelder, Geert
Jan van, and Geert Jan Van Gelder. “The hostage, or who was who?
A story from pre-Islamic Arabia.” Middle Eastern Literatures
11.ii (2008): 127-137. Index Islamicus. EBSCO. Web. 14 Apr.
2011. The development of Arabic literature would coincide with
the history of the Middle East. With increased contact with the
West, Arab writers would begin to try new literature styles.
Prior to that time, most writers focused on writing poems or
told stories orally. Arabs would take the western form of the
short story and make it their own. It took a while for the short
story to take root in the Arab culture but once it did it would
soon flourish