What the Arab (and the non-Arab) world is missing…

Five years ago, the Arab Human Development Report issued by the United Nations Development Programme noted that the Arab world’s progress towards sustainable development was being hindered by what was termed “a knowledge deficit in all fields”. To redress this problem, the report prescribed a range of policies, one of which calls for promoting the translation of the best of Arab and international works in different subjects to create a robust two-way flow of information between the region and the outside world.

Although the report was received with enthusiasm in all Arab countries, it is here in the United Arab Emirates that its recommendations in the area of translation have found relevant echoes with the recent launch of two major translation projects: Kalima (meaning “word” in Arabic) of the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage, and Tarjem (meaning “translate” in Arabic) of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation.

But while the two projects are to be commended for their initiatives in keeping Arab readers abreast of the best in international literature, I believe similar attention needs to be paid to the spreading of Arabic cultural works among international audiences.

In historical terms, 1,000 and more years ago, the great Arab thinkers and doctors built upon Greek and Latin works of philosophy and literature to advance their own cultural development. But the flow was two-way. Arab works were translated into Latin and other languages to advance the human understanding of religion, philosophy and science around the world.

The launch of the Kalima and Tarjem projects demonstrates the UAE’s vision of leading the region into the “knowledge society” of the future. Kalima has recently announced that John Milton’s Paradise Lost, an epic poem about the fall of man written in the 17th century, and his later work Paradise Regained, would be among eight texts that will soon be available in Arabic. Others include A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking, The Roots of Arab Capitalism by Gene Heck, Kafka On the Shore by Murakami Haruki, The Future of Human Nature by Jurgen Habermas, The Halo Effect by Phil Rosenzweig, and Il Segno (The Sign) by Umberto Eco.

Tarjem plans to facilitate the translation of 365 bestselling books into Arabic within a year, with a goal of translating more than 1,000 books covering diverse cultural and management topics within three years.

Given the huge resources allocated to Kalima and Tarjem, both projects will surely contribute to the enrichment of Arabic libraries of international writing. The significance of these initiatives can be fully appreciated only when we realise the shocking fact that more books were translated into Spanish last year than have been translated into Arabic in the past 100 years.

Yet it wasn’t always like this. For centuries, translation was a key force behind the cross-fertilisation of both Arab and Western cultural and scientific developments at different phases of their history. From the 9th to the 12th centuries, Arab-Islamic scholars actively sought out and translated classical Greek texts of Aristotle, Plato, Hippocrates, Ptolemy and Galen, among many others, into Arabic.

Likewise, Latin translations of Arabic books triggered transformations in Europe’s schools and growing cities. The works of Ibn Sina, al-Razi and al-Zahrawi were translated into Latin and instituted as learning texts in the emerging European universities. What is more, Arab-Muslim assisted translations of the classical Greek authors also contributed to what historians call Europe’s “scientific renaissance” of the 12th century.

There is a broad consensus that the translation of the best international works into Arabic will contribute to bridging the current knowledge gap between the Arab world and the more advanced regions of North America, Western Europe and the Far East. Making these works available to Arab readers will help the region not only to be more informed about emerging professional practices, but also to develop a deeper understanding and appreciation for other peoples’ cultures and attitudes.

Research around the world suggests that cultural stereotypes often arise either out of insufficient information or deficient knowledge about the “other”. The spread of knowledge in Arabic about the “other” will help rectify negative attitudes and establishing more common grounds for inter-cultural understanding.

Yet, to complete the circle, it is not enough to enable Arabs to know more about the “other”; the “other” also needs to know more about Arabs and their culture. Some towering Arab literary figures, such as Nagib Mahfouz, Nizar Qabbani and Mahmoud Darwish, have already found their way into the hearts and minds of millions around the world; now it should be the turn of others. For new generations of creative Arabs, the Kalima and Tarjem projects hold the only promise for making their names known globally.

Muhammad Ayish is a professor of communications at the University of Sharjah.