Kalima Tackles Translation of Major Writings into Arabic
March 4, 2008
By Daniel Hollingsworth

In November 2007, the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage provided funding that launched the Kalima initiative, a non-profit organization dedicated to the “translation, publication, and distribution of high-quality works of classic and contemporary writing from other languages into Arabic.”  Kalima was established to address what it calls “a thousand year old problem - the translation drought in the Arab world which has resulted in few great pieces of foreign writing being translated into Arabic.” 

Titles considered for translation are drawn from all periods and disciplines, but Kalima has intentionally focused its efforts on what it calls “contemporary” works written since World War II: “While these works have not yet stood the test of time, the vast majority of published works are in this category presenting the 'keep up' side of the equation.”  Subjects include a wide range from history to art, science to religion, and literature to law.  Kalima hopes to identify 100 titles for translation each year, with a goal of increasing this output as additional funding becomes available.

CCD welcomes this new initiative as an important avenue for the exchange of culture and ideas.  In our report entitled “Prospects for Democratic Transition in the Middle East and North Africa: Implications of the Central/East European and African Experiences,” such an initiative is encouraged:

“Greater availability of ideas on democracy offered in translations or through the work of indigenous authors and published in the MENA region would allow for a fuller exploration of democratic possibilities.  The increase in independent publishing outlets within the region will allow democratic thinkers to share their ideas more widely within the boundaries of their countries and throughout the region as a whole.”

For more information on the Kalima initiative, the English website can be visited at:
http://www.kalima.ae/eng.php

www.ccd21.org