Arabic translation of “A Glimpse of Iran’s Literary Past” introduced at Baghdad book fair
TEHRAN –(Iranart)- An Arabic translation of prominent Iranian historian Abdolhossein Zarrinkub’s “A Glimpse of Iran’s Literary Past” has been introduced during a special meeting by its Iranian publisher at the 22nd Iraq International Book Fair in Baghdad.
The book has been translated at the Alhoda International Cultural, Artistic and Publishing Institute in Tehran. The publisher released the original Persian version of the book in 1996.
Alhoda managing director Hojjatoleslam Mohammad Asadi-Movahed, Sureh-Mehr Publications Ali-Akbar Shirvani and a group of cultural figures attended the meeting, the Persian service of ILNA reported on Sunday.
Speaking at the meeting Shirvani criticized the late translation of the book into Arabic and said, “The significance of the book refers to its deep insight into the mutual influence of the Persian and Arabic languages.”
“There have been two theories about the mutual impacts of the Persian and Arabic languages; some have said that the Persian language has been totally inspired by the Arabic language, and others believe that the Arabic language is deeply indebted to the Persian language.
“In this book, Zarrinkub shows that both of the theories are wrong, because a complex of different political, social, economic and cultural factors have caused the languages to closely interact in various periods of the history.”
Shirvani also noted that the joint geographical location, origin of language, legends, religion and customs between Iranian and Arabs have connected the Persian and Arabic languages in history.
For his part, Asadi-Movahed called “A Glimpse of Iran’s Literary Past” one of few outstanding books on the history of Persian literature, and it was this attribute that convinced Alhoda to render the book into Arabic by Sadiq Khursha, a professional translator of Persian books.
His translation (“Min Madi al-Adab al-Irani”) won third prize at the Sixth Sheikh Hamad Awards for Translation and International Understanding (SHATIU) in Doha, Qatar, in 2020.
Alhoda published an English translation of the book by Sadroddin Mousavi in 2020.
source: Tehran Times