mamakk!!!

Dunner’s:

I have mixed emotions about this idea of translating the works of Malay Muslims in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, etc., into English. It’s not that the works of the Malay Muslims shouldn’t be translated; I think that the ummah would benefit if more works on Islam worldwide were translated into numerous languages, including but not limited to English. Ideas such as Islam Hadhari deserve a wider audience than just the greater Malay community here in SE Asia.

However, what worries me are the motives these foundations and governments have in doing these self-funded translations. The article claims “Arab radicalism,” but that’s an extremely weak argument in my book. Islam <> “Arab radicalism.” Moreover, I’m also concerned about other aspects of the translations: Who chooses what is to be translated and what are the criterion for those choices? (Don’t tell me there won’t be an agenda in the selection of what should be translated, especially when government funding is involved.) How accurate will the translations be? Will these be MEMRI-style hachet jobs? I’m extremely, extremely leery of non-Muslims being involved in this type of work.

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