b. Rustam, sent for books from the 'East'. His fellow Ibadhi of the 'East' transcribed and sent to the Maghrib forty camel loads of material on paper worth one thousand dinars for which Imam 'Abd al-Wahhab paid.106 It was also during the time of 'Abd al-Wahhab that Abu Ghanim Bishr b. Ghanim al-Khurasani traveled to Tahert to present his works to the Imam. Educational contacts between the two communities were firmly maintained thereafter. The annual conference of the Ibadhis took place during the time of the Hajj. They met at Mecca to exchange news and compare notes.

As a whole, the Ibadhis in North Africa played a little part in the development of the Ibadhi thoughts, but they did preserve them both in theory and practice. After the return of (Hamalat al-'ilm), a number of great scholars emerged among the Ibadhis of the Maghrib known as the students of the 'bearers of learning' among whom were: 'Abd al-Wahhab b. 'Abd al-Rahman b. Rustam, Abu Khalil al-Darkali, Muhammad b. Yanis, and others.107 After the founding the city of Tahert, which was the capital of the Ibadhi Imamate, it became one of the most important centres for propagating Ibadhi teachings. The Imams themselves took part in teaching and in writing books. There were other centres in Nufusah as well as in other places in the Maghrib. After the collapse of the Imamate of Tahert, the cultural activities of the Ibadhis moved to Warjilani and Wad Righ. Jerba Island also became one of the main educational centres as a result of the activities of the 'Azzabah council in the area. Jabal Nufusah, although its contacts with the Imamate in Tahert were weakened after the Battle of Manu against Aghlabids in the year 283 H., carried an almost independent role in preserving Ibadhi teachings. Several centres and schools were established in different areas of the Jabal for teaching the Ibadhi doctrine. A large number of great Ibadhi scholars emerged in the three communities of Jabal Nufusah, Jerba Island and central North Africa, i.e. Southern Tunisia and Algeria, and participated a great deal in Ibadhi studies. Most of the important works written by these scholars over the centuries are still extant and deserve special academic attention.