the French and Italian Orientalists were Enrico Insabato, André Nègre and Pessah Shinar. Additionally, the scholars who devoted some works to East Africa were from a variety of European countries for example: the French, A. Imbert (1903) and Gabriel Ferrand (1928), the German Albert Friedemann (1930), the British, W. Ingrams (1967) and the American, Michael Lofchie(1965). As far as Oman is concerned, most of the scholars were British, starting with S. B. Miles (1871) up to John Kelly (1956, 1964, 1968). Certainly, the highest level of scholarship was reached by John Wilkinson, who continues his academic work to this day. Modern historians hold that Wilkinson’s writings on the religious, social and political structures of the Sultanate of Oman are the most important in this field. Russian Orientalists have also shown interest in Ibāḍī studies, beginning with V. R. Rosen. In more recent years, the Ukrainian Daniil Radivilov left his imprint on the field. Orientalist works on the history of Ibāḍī society The works of Theodor Noeldeke and Goldzieher gained pre-eminence in the field of Islamic history. Both focused their studies on the emergence of Islam and early Islamic history. Despite these developments, Ibāḍī studies attracted very little attention. Another reason that may, to a certain degree, be held responsible for the marginalization of Ibadism, was the fact that most Ibāḍī manuscripts were kept in remote Ibāḍī settlements and towns far away from the coastal areas and capitals, especially in North Africa. This relative isolation has led us to a few observations on the development of Ibāḍī studies in western Orientalism. The two primary approaches to Ibāḍīs that dominated Western Oriental studies appeared in the mid-19th century. The first consisted in an attempt to understand Ibadism through the translated texts, whilst the second involved the compilation of bibliographic lists of Ibāḍī literature, most of which focused on historical works. Scholars interested in Omani sources were mostly from Great Britain. This is apparent from George Badger’s The Imams and Seyyid in Oman, the translation of the K. al-Fath al-Mubiyn fī sīrat al-Sadah al-Bus’īdiyīn by Ibn Ruzayq, published in 1871. In 1874, Charles Edward Ross published Annals of Oman from early times to the year 1728, and the translation of excerpts from the K. Kashf al-Ghuma by al-Sarhanī. Translations of North African Ibāḍī literature started in 1878 by the French Orientalist, Emile Masqueray, who translated part of the K. al-Siyar wa Akhbār al-Immah