Arab Literature is Lost in Translation.

Summary: Why the buzz about the Arab literature not being able to catch up with the West is ridiculous

I heard the bullet cry!" Louis Reyes Rivera gives voice to the reluctant bullet that pierced the heart of a nation, as it rested in the body of its shining prince, El Hajj Malik Shabazz (Malcolm X). Both the poet Rivera and the subject Malcolm X have stunning works of literature you may not have heard of. This part of the American literary canon is not on Oprah's reading list.

Writings too critical of America's misdeeds, too truth-seeking, and that bear witness to tragedies made in America for Americans, do not make it into the global literary canon. AaAfter reading these works, Chicken Soup for the Soul will not have any curative effect. AaOne will have to seek substance form Aiadh Ibn Abdullah Al Qarni's Don't Be Sad .

"I wanna hear an American Poem. Something native, like the trail of tears, Wounded Knee or smallpox in blankets. You know, something strictly AmericanC* Aa My God, where is the American poem?" AaThe progeny of the Black Power Movement, Ras Baraka, son of Poet Laureate, Amiri Baraka, both of whom have entire bodies of literary works, which in their own worlds, are bestsellers in many languages. You don't know them do you? You should. Aa

Like The Autobiography of Malcolm X , they are required reading. Even my mother-in-law, has read Autobiography of Malcolm X in Tamil. Have you? This came only because someone felt that this book would empower the masses and translated it. They had good intentions, but this is not always the case. C The seminal work by Ibn Khaldun, Al Muqaddimah , translated by Franz Rosenthal has serious limitations because of the intentions of the translator. Aa In reading this work, one finds it full of parenthetical statements invalidating the veracity, the author's methodology, or the author himself. It really robs the work of the author's intention and makes the reader wonder, 'Was this the first social historian?'

Edward Said, in his pivotal work, Orientalism , outlined the misguided intentions and probable causes for Orientalist mischief in terms of translating works and objectifying Arab and Muslim nations; their misunderstanding that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is Jesus Christ of Muslims reducing worshippers of Allah to Mohammedans and refusing to see them as they really are.

Similarly, through English translation, the West's favourite Muslim scholar, Jalaluddin Rumi is portrayed as nothing more than a wine-drinking wanderer in love with God -- through the translator's eyes the true meaning of his life gets lost. C Lately, there has been a buzz about the state of Arab literature and the literary world not being able to catch up with the West.

First, let the West open translation centres without Westerners and then let's start the translation. The problem with Arabic literature is that there is not enough of it out there which fits the Western tastes for sex, deviance, Arab self-annihilation, and materialism, all of which is acted out by jihadis, radical Islamist buffoons and honour killers and silly girls. C Even Alaa Al Aswany, the bestselling author in Arabic and many other languages, Alaa Al Aswany, says: "The other problem is with the Orientalists; many of them get a list of Arabic books and go looking for something and when they find it, which is what they chose to translate. They have some agendas."

Amani Iman, adds, "Translation in general is a major challenge. On the one hand, translations sponsored by Arab publishers -- mostly government controlled -- are not up to standard. Another challenge with translation is that the works chosen often that have little literary merit."

His web site www.arabworldbooks.com gives voice to Arab authors from all over the Arab world and Diaspora -- in Arabic and other languages as well.

If it is only literary works by Arab writers, why not select works by writers like Leila Abulela, Suheir Hammad, Salwa Bakr, Bushra Abdullah, or Tariq Ramadan. Aa Writers who write in either Arabic or English but none of their works are to be seen in any of the book fairs, festivals, or the venues that claim a thirst and hunger for Arabic literature. Aa

Leila Abulela's Colored Lights , a book of short stories that takes the reader on a tour as a Muslim in the West. It's a ride filled with quirky and uneasy twists and turns and an inevitable encounter of the two cultures accompanied by the minor curiosities and melding of the two.

I met Leila Abulela at the Emirates Airlines International Literature Festival (EAILF) and she mused that perhaps it was her fault that she was interested in simply using Islam as the main theme in her books. I protested otherwise. Her work was listed for the Orange prize C for literature.

Leila began writing during the first Gulf War to deflect the awful images of Islam and Muslims that still haunt the so-called mainstream media. Her writing flows allowing you to step into her worlds; sometimes cruising on the Nile, or witnessing the gentle, sweet realities of life between Sudan and the UK. She confronts double-sided stereotypes and false assumptions adding twists that may seem stranger than fiction. AaAaAaAa C I asked Moroccan-American writer Laila Laimi why she wasn't invited to the festivals outside of the West. She mused that Arab American writers were perhaps not read outside the West; just like Arab writers are not read outside the Arab world. C There is no simple explanation. AaLack of resources and infrastructure may be part of it but it might also be about choosing an audience. Maybe there are many Arab authors who are not writing for the West, who do not want to be paraded around one year and forgotten the next. They are left suspended in the world of a forgotten, misguided context and having their words and meanings politically corrected -- staying up rewriting the myths of 1001 nights, keeping company with djinns, long-winded fair maidens, and Muslim warriors looking for love and vengeance. Aa

Maryam Ismail is an American sociologist who divides her time teaching in the US C and UAE 

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