On Jews and Christians in Kuwait
Translation by specialists remains an indispensable necessity. True, electronic translation tools, such as the ubiquitous online platforms and artificial intelligence, perform their duties impeccably, but the matter is not that simple.
Real translators do not belong to a single school of thought. Some specialize in architecture and the arts, while others focus on the humanities and mathematics. Consequently, someone qualified to translate a book on architecture may not be suited to poetry and literature. Artistic sensibility and cultural background play a decisive role in translating from English, French, or German into Arabic.
In the Arab world, the name Munir Balyouni, author of Al-Mawrid Dictionary, is well-known. He was among the pioneers in this field, alongside Sheikh of Translators in Egypt, Dr. Mohamed Anani. In Kuwait, we recently lost one of the towering figures in the world of translation, Dr. Tariq Abdullah Fakhreddine, a faculty member at Kuwait University.
Today, human translators are being replaced by electronic ones, which is hardly surprising. We live in an era where change occurs at eight degrees on the Richter scale. Has there been any space left for human beings to stand on without mechanical and surgical intervention?
There is a group of specialized professors who practice translation and teaching at Kuwait University and other institutions. Among them are: Dr. Mushael Al-Hajeri, Dr. Abdullah Al-Ghanim, Dr. Jamal Badr Al-Qanaei (40 years in translation), Dr. Abdullah Bazeg, Dr. Diaa Burusly, Dr. Abtehal Al-Khatib, Dr. Shamalan Al-Janaee, and others whose names my memory does not fully recall. Additionally, Dr. Mohamed Jassim bin Nasser’s forthcoming book is expected to be among the major projects that will cover the history of translation in Kuwait from 1946 to the present.
I had experiences and discussions with some of Dr. Mohamed bin Nasser’s students regarding translation. They submitted master’s theses on two books from the publications I authored and edited.
Perhaps the latest initiative was undertaken by student Nasser Al-Attaal, who obtained his master’s degree and selected my book “Forbidden from Publication: The History of Censorship in Kuwait.” He added annotations and examples of the difficulties he encountered, such as multiple meanings, idiomatic expressions, verbal collocations, and scientific terminology, as well as issues of omission and addition. Ultimately, he produced a creative work for English-speaking readers. This experience allowed him to gain a deep understanding of the book’s content, with the aim of making it accessible to a broader audience of readers and researchers.
Prior to that, university student Mahmoud Al-Hasan undertook another task involving the translation of the book “Jews in Kuwait.” This completed the translation project with my book “Christians in Kuwait,” which was sponsored by Sheikha Hessa Sabah Al-Salem. She also translated the book from Arabic into English.
The three books fall into a similar category, under the theme of highlighting immigrant minorities in Kuwaiti society. These books were translated into English, considering that the majority of members of these groups speak this language.
The Arab world’s share in the translation movement remains very modest, relative to its population, number of universities, and economic size. Books translated into Arabic constitute a small percentage of total annual global publishing, while translation from Arabic into foreign languages is even lower.
