Sessions discussing translation, travel literature, and ancient civilizations in "Sharjah Book"
Sharjah, November 15 / WAM / Researchers and specialists discussed during a dialogue session entitled “Greek Knowledge in Arabic: Why, What, and How?” At the Sharjah International Book Fair, the path of transmission of Greek knowledge into Arabic, the reasons for Muslim scholars adopting it, and how they reformulated it until it became part of the fabric of Islamic thought and a pillar in the emergence of science and philosophy, in an intellectual space that recalls human memory and its renewed questions.
Dr. Saeed Fayek, Dr. Marco Zuccato, and Dr. Noha Al-Shaar from the American University of Sharjah participated in the session, who stressed that the transfer of Greek knowledge to Arabic was a defining moment in the history of human thought and contributed to reviving the ancient heritage and reformulating it before it moved to Europe and became one of the foundations of its scientific renaissance. They pointed out that studying this legacy today helps to understand the path of the formation of ideas and how cultures can interact and flourish when they are open to others, away from fear and isolation.
The poet, writer and traveler Dr. Faisal Al-Suwaidi revealed in a session entitled “Travel Literature and its Role in Embodying the Memory of a Place” that his next literary project will be in travel literature and will start from the idea that the world is full of stories and there are similarities and differences between people that deserve to be highlighted.
He said, “Arab travel literature is still rare, and it is what prompted me to embark on this experience. He explained that his extensive travels were the inspiration and first motivation to start his next literary project, and that his interest in reading travel literature made him visit countries he had never set foot in, and that the role of literature is to transport a person emotionally to different temporal and spatial worlds.”
He stressed that the most important starting point from which a traveler should move is to leave stereotypes and prejudices behind him, considering that travel reshapes a person’s conscience internally and gives him a wide store of knowledge, stressing that the peoples of Latin America are among the most friendly, warm and welcoming peoples on earth, and this, of course, greatly influenced his passion for their literature and arts.
The exhibition’s activities also witnessed a discussion session entitled “Discovering Ancient Civilizations” in which the Pakistani writer, critic and translator Dr. Hina Jamshid, the Egyptian novelist Hani Abdel Merid, and the Indonesian writer specializing in travel literature, Augustine Wibowo, participated.
The participants in the discussions stressed the importance of drawing inspiration from the stories of ancient civilizations and exchanging them between peoples as a storehouse of experiences and ideas and not motivated by a state of “nostalgia,” stressing that the present is founded on the foundations of the past and returning to it is inevitable for creating the future.
Iraqi novelist and journalist Inaam Kachachi confirmed during a dialogue session entitled “A Life in Writing: A View of Inaam Kachachi’s Experience” that writing for her is an act of celebrating memory and consolidating the features of a rich human and cultural experience, noting that literature remains an authentic means of preserving the beautiful images that marked the path of an entire generation that loved reading and saw culture as a way of life.
During the session, she referred to her professional career and her long association with Sharjah since 1990 through her work in an Emirati publication, pointing out that the role of the writer is based on asking questions and exploring human experiences in his works, and that every time has its writers and tools, affirming her confidence in the solidity of Arab culture.
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