17 - 23 January 2002
Issue No.569
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 17 - 23 January 2002 Issue No.569 |
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Plain talk
Since 11 September, the West -- indeed, the whole world -- has been preoccupied with Islam. Or rather, Islam has been suffering of a distorted image, one in urgent need of correction. Hence the recent publication of the book, Islamic and Arab Contribution to the European Renaissance, is perfectly timed.
Comprising translations of nine essays originally published in Arabic in the 1960s, this book arose in the context of a resolution adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO to form "advisory services with a view to the maintenance and development of the Associated Institutions for the Study and Preservation of Cultures located in Tokyo, New Delhi, Beirah, Damascus and Cairo." A Cairo Associated Institution, created specifically for the study and presentation of Arab culture, undertook the preparation and publication of the present volume, published by the UNESCO Publication Centre in Cairo on the occasion of the inauguration of the Alexandria Library in April.
It is a colossal work which sheds light on the deep impact Islamic and Arab culture have had on Western thought, particularly during the Renaissance. This is a subject that has been dealt with profusely by Arab academics and Western orientalists alike. Since it would be impossible to give even a bird's eye view of the contents of the book, an overview of some of the main articles that might be of interest to readers -- in this and future columns -- might be in order.
In his article, Dr Young, professor of Oriental languages and studies at Princeton University, stressed that "for a thousand years, Christian scholars used to visit Muslim captials and consult Muslim scholars on various sciences and arts. The Western classical heritage was well conserved by Islam until Europe took it up afresh and guarded it. A sense of gratitude should therefore inspire Christendom so that the old debt could be repaid with interest to Islam."
Other essays in the same book trace the routes through which Islamic civilisation penetrated the Western world during the Renaissance. This took place no less through the flourishing of Arab Muslim civilisation in parts of Europe -- such as Spain -- which allowed for cultural fusion between Muslims and Christians, than through the translation into Latin and other European languages of Arabic books in various fields such as science and philosophy which remained for long the main reference works in European universities.
Another avenue for cross- cultural interaction was provided by the Crusades. This Arab Islamic influence was evident in the adoption of Islamic styles and motifs in architecture and interior decoration, the imitation of certain types of poetry, the use of Arabic nautical, geographical and astronomical knowledge and books by European navigators and discoverers and finally, the borrowing of many Arabic words by European languages.
Arab Muslim influence on Western literature in general is surprisingly extensive. The flourishing of Arabic culture in Muslim Spain led to the rise of the muwashah, in the ninth century, as a specifically Andalusian form of poetry, distinct from the conventional Arabic poem. Here an article by the late Sohair El-Qalamawi, professor of Arabic literature, and another by Mohamed Ali Mekki, professor of Spanish literature, trace the efforts of Western scholars, particularly in Spain, to study of the influence of the muwashah on Provencal troubadours.
Another chapter further surveys the collection of Arabic classics which found its way into Europe in the early Renaissance, such as the Latin translation of Kalila wa Dimna, the maqamat, philosophic and mystical literature, and, of course, the Thousand and One Nights. Dante and Bocaccio, both men of the Renaissance, were influenced in their writing by these and other Arabic tales.
The book makes a fascinating read, especially at this time. This is just a foretaste of its contents, to be followed by others.
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