Literature is a force that unites us all. For millennia, it has played a crucial role in our lives; helping us to better understand the world around us, and our place within it. From faith and philosophy to science and poetry, great literary works have served as social and cultural markers.
In the Arab world, literature and language occupy a fascinating place in our culture. During the Islamic Golden Age, Arabic literature created a new flourishing of knowledge and development. Not only did Arabic scholars preserve and revive the ancient Greek classics, transmitting them into Europe and reviving the spirit of scholarship there, but the works of pioneers such as Ibn Sina, Al Kindi and Al Khwarizmi propelled civilisation to new heights.
Today, literature remains a powerful force in shaping cultural identity around the world. In Abu Dhabi we are upholding this tradition by championing Arabic literature as a means of enriching lives and facilitating cultural exchange. We are doing this through programmes and events that include the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, organised by the Department of Culture and Tourism (DCT) – Abu Dhabi’s Arabic Language Centre; the community outreach of the DCT Libraries Department; and, with a global lens, an exhibition earlier this year at Louvre Abu Dhabi on the power of folktales.
It is important to share our stories within and beyond our borders in our language, so that the outside world will have a deeper understanding of the Arab world
The written word is thriving in Abu Dhabi, and we want to keep it that way. This year’s Abu Dhabi International Book Fair and Al Ain Book Fair offered prime opportunities for readers to dive into Arabic literature. Our book fairs hosted 308,000 guests last year and are especially popular with school groups. A UAE Ministry of Culture poll in 2021 found that 40 per cent of Abu Dhabi citizens and residents surveyed have bought reading material from DCT book fairs.
By promoting the Arabic language, the book fairs entrench Arab identity, bringing together some of the region’s foremost writers and thinkers for conversations that enrich our cultural dialogue. Arabic is a beautiful language, kept vibrant through its many dialects; a language full of rhymes and complexity, and rich in nuance (with, for example, dozens of words to describe camels, some referring to their colour and others to their personality).
Yet Arabic is not adequately represented in global conversations. Arabic is the language of fewer than 1 per cent of the world’s websites, even though Arabic speakers are 3.4 per cent of the world’s population.
It is important to share our stories within and beyond our borders in our language, so that the outside world will have a deeper understanding of the Arab world. With this in mind, the UAE is taking a leading role in preserving traditional forms of expression while also championing new ones, through cutting-edge developments such as AI.
As Dr Ali Bin Tamim, chairman of DCT – Abu Dhabi’s Arabic Language Centre, observed at the recent International Congress of Arabic Publishing and Creative Industries, literature expresses “the narrative of Arabic heritage based on respecting others and interacting with others”. These values give it power as a cultural bridge, as it was during the Golden Age of Arabic literature.
We continue to be inspired by the Golden Age, with its cherished classics such as Kalila wa Dimna – a favourite of mine which is at the core of the current Louvre Abu Dhabi exhibit “From Kalila wa Dimna to La Fontaine: Travelling Through Fables”.
Kalila wa Dimna is a collection of animal-based fables, such as The Turtle and the Two Ducks, with roots tracing to 3rd-century India. It achieved its greatest renown when translated into Arabic by Ibn Al Muqaffa in the 8th century; and possibly he added some stories of his own to the collection.
Fables teach character. As one of the charming souvenirs at the Louvre exhibit says, “What’s a Fable? It’s a Little Tale that Tells You Who You Are”. And this sense of character – this “who you are” – when it reaches enough individuals, becomes a cohesive shaper of cultural identity.
This is why Abu Dhabi places such a high value on its libraries. At a time when much of the world perceives libraries as archaic, the Arab world is investing in them as community and knowledge hubs. The five branches of our libraries department greeted an impressive 164,553 visitors last year. Their collection holds 306,492 titles, including 30,099 with a UAE or Gulf focus.
A fine example of the libraries department’s outreach is the Little Writer in the Big Book competition, which invites students to write stories on a given theme with the best entries collected and published. For example, in 2020 the theme was Expo 2020. Winning entries included one from a Grade 8 pupil who described a student’s visit to Expo 2020 unleashing her patriotism and thus prompting her grandmother to share stories of the country’s history and symbols, from palm trees to brave sailors.
Maybe someday one of the Big Book’s authors will give us another Kalila wa Dimna, produce a book that is on sale at our book fairs or win one of our literary prizes. In so doing, they will in turn conserve the legacy of our language as a force in shaping cultural identity and keeping our literature safe for generations to come.
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