Maybe it’s because they never had any trees, it’s really hard to live in a desert, they aren’t that used to having building and libraries, little leisure time, etc. I doubt, throughout history, that reading was high on their priority list, especially for those that were/are not affluent.
All 6 pages of how infidels are the evil ones. I’ve been to Egypt years ago and their dailies barely had a business section nor entertainment. The first pages were about allah this and that etc. And westerners are the ones without culture?
Well, they used to have a library in Alexandria, but they burned it down. And why build a library when the only acceptable reading comes from one book of a cult.