Eurocentrism, Qurʾanic Translation and Decoloniality

Ahd Othman, Visiting Research Associate at the University of Bristol

• Arabic transliteration keyAcknowledgementsIntroductionChapter I – Eurocentrism: a conceptual framework1.1 Europe as a cultural unity1.2 Greece and Rome1.3 The Judeo-Christian tradition1.4 Enlightenment and science1.5 European superiority: solipsism and powerEurocentrism’s problems in TS1.6 Reservations about the critique of Eurocentrism ConclusionChapter II – Quantifying Eurocentrism: a bibliometric approach2.1 Sampling Arabic translation2.2 Bibliometrics2.3 Quantifying Eurocentrism2.4 Scope of data and tools2.5 Data results and analysis2.5.1 The Bibliography of Interpreting and Translation (BITRA)2.5.2 The Translation Studies Bibliography (TSB)Limitations of the bibliometric approach2.6 Methodologies, scientificity and EurocentrismThe qualitative-quantitative divideConclusionChapter III – Eurocentrism through a qualitative lens: the case of Qurʾan translation3.1 Sampling Qurʾan translation 3.2 Thematic Analysis 3.3 Themes and subthemes identified in the articles3.3.1 Qurʾan translation with biblical touchstones (a) Christian translators’ key role in Qurʾan translation history (b) Biblical referentiality (c) (Un)translatability (d) Linguistic focus and Translation Quality Assessment (TQA) 3.3.2 Politics of representation (e) The Qurʾan in the scheme of things (f) Regimes of epistemic authority (g) Macro-narratives ConclusionChapter IV – Decoloniality, liberation theology and translation4.1 Reference works4.2 Decoloniality and Translation Studies 4.3 Decoloniality and liberatory Islam Islamic liberation theology 4.4 Tawhid and Qurʾan translationImplications for translation4.5 Other ‘others’ConclusionConcluding remarksAppendix 1: 50 most frequent words in the ‘subject’ field of the BITRA sampleAppendix 2: 25 most frequent words in the ‘keyword’ field of the TSB sampleAppendix 3: Codes generated and compiled after the first coding sweepAppendix 4: Codes refined and grouped after the second coding sweep Index

“This book engages critically with the concept of Eurocentrism arguing that it straightjackets our understanding of the field of Qur’an translation. Through a close and careful examination of bibliographic databases and scholarship on the subject, the author argues for decoloniality as a useful framework for imagining a post-Eurocentric discipline and for the conception of the field of Qur’anic translation.”Dr Ahmed Elimam, University of Leicester, United Kingdom“Based on meticulous research, Eurocentrism, Qurʾanic Translation and Decoloniality offers a detailed picture of Eurocentrism’s impact on, and distortions of, research in Translation Studies as well as concrete and compelling proposals for decolonial interventions. An important contribution to the field.”Dr Neil Sadler, University of Leeds, United Kingdom