Religious texts - Naima Afif

New Paper in Translation Studies and Early Modern Retranslations of Canonical Texts: “The Hybridity of a Hebrew Retranslation of the Qur’an from Dutch by a Jewish Convert”

Hebrew Manuscript Library of Congress Naima AFIF study Postdoc researcher

My contribution to the volume Retranslating the Bible and the Qur’an: Historical Approaches and Current Debates is accessible in Open Access. Edited by Pieter Boulogne, Marijke H. de Lang, and Joseph Verheyden, this publication brings together studies that highlight the complexity of retranslating canonical religious texts. My paper explores a double indirect Hebrew translation of the Qur’an from the eighteenth century by a Jewish convert to Christianity. It discusses how the translator’s identities are negotiated, articulated, and reconstructed through the process of retranslation. Learn more about the book on the KULeuven website.

‘Jews, the Qur’an and Islam: Contacts and Influences’, International workshop, 1-2 February 2023

I am delighted to announce the forthcoming international workshop, ‘Jews, the Qur’an and Islam: Contacts and Influences’ which will take place on 1-2 February 2023 in Copenhagen under the auspices of the EuQu project.

The workshop aims to explore how Jews approached the Qur’an and Islam from the Middle Age to the early modern period both in the lands of Islam and in Europe. Through various sources and textual genres ranging from polemics, exegesis to Qur’anic translations, we will discuss how Islam was perceived, how the Qur’an was used and how the Jews in some contexts were influenced by the material, textual and theological aspects of the Islamic tradition.

Online participation is possible via Zoom. You can learn more about the event here or contact me: naima.afif@teol.ku.dk