Translation in the Arab-Islamic History. An Avenue for the Culture of Tolerance and Knowledge Transfer Worldwide

Abstract

Translation, in essence, constitutes a tributary of human thought that crosses cultures and borders. It plays a valuable and extremely important role in the cultural movement narrowing the breach between the West and the global South. On the other hand, translation is a mechanism of knowledge transfer and dissemination of cultures among all the peoples of the world. Regardless of any deficiencies, instability, or distortions that may have affected the process of transfer and dissemination, translation has consistently served as a means of cultural assimilation, fostering mutual dialogue, and creating connections between different civilizations and cultures. In this context, the current paper traces the different phases of the translation movements in the Arab-Islamic world since the seventh century until the present times to explore the role it played in the transmission of knowledge and cultures worldwide. The paper argues that translation in the Arab-Islamic world, in ancient times, triggered messages of acculturation and tolerance bridging the civilizational divide between East and West. The paper also illustrated that in the first half of the twentieth century, the translation movement in the Arab world participated in reducing the gap between colonized and colonizing countries providing an outlet for inter-civilizational reconciliation. Missionaries and Arab intellectual elites translated the masterpieces of Western literature into Arabic particularly in the post-colonial era. Thanks to these translation efforts, prominent Arab writers integrated Christian/Jewish cultural and Eurocentric narratives into literary works addressed to predominantly Muslim audience paving the way for religious tolerance, which exceeded the barriers of colonization.