Good news from the Muslim world
Some good friends of mine in Broken Hill NSW have a close relative involved in missionary work in the Middle East. The relative reports in her latest prayer letter some good news concerning an Arabic Bible translation project.
“Part One of the Lighthouse Translation titled, The True Meaning of the Gospel of Christ, is now on the shelves in the secular markets of the Arab world. Muslim and Christian scholars collaborated on this ground-breaking gospel translation and commentary.” A recent news article on a Middle Eastern News website albawaba.com described the book.
“In a ground-breaking endeavour, Arab author Mazhar Mallouhi has brought together Christians and Muslims to produce a new translation of the Gospels and Acts in Arabic. The result of their collective efforts was published in Beirut in March 2008 under the title ‘The True Meaning of the Gospel of Christ’. The goal of the project was a translation of the gospel message that would speak clearly and naturally to the hearts of Arabic speakers unfamiliar with church terminology and traditions.”
“The volume features a culturally-relevant translation of the four Gospels and the Book of Acts in modern literary Arabic, with footnotes providing essential cultural background information to the text. There is also a collection of 26 articles on topics of particular interest and relevance to Arab readers, as well as introductions to each of the Gospels and Acts, illustrations and maps.”
”The main introduction is by the Dean of the Faculty of Letters at University of Tunis and the cover notes four Muslim doctors and professors working alongside the translation committee. Muslims and Christians love it. Muslims in Tunisia reacted very positively exclaiming, “This is our book”. While a church leader in the Middle East, who is himself experienced in translating and explaining the Bible, said that it “remains distinctly faithful to the intended meaning taken from the Holy Scriptures.” He added, “This book takes its place in the ranks of other Arabic Bible translations, completing their heritage of striving to communicate the Word of God to the hearts and minds of people.”
“Rick Brown, a Bible scholar and missiologist, praised the translation for using “the true language of the readers rather than loan words that are misunderstood and expressions that sound awkward and foreign”. He said it “affirms the cultural identity of the audience while clearly communicating the biblical worldview.” “The new translation was released at International Arab Book Fairs in Tunisia, Iraq and Lebanon. It was also featured as one of the most popular new books on the Adabwafan website, which sells Arabic books.”
“As with the other Al-Kalima biblical productions (commentaries on Luke, Genesis, John), this volume was birthed through a lot of turbulence. This is our first production to survive a war and the team’s evacuation and displacement. The story of these productions would make a gripping book! They are working now on the remaining epistles of the New Testament.” http://www.al-kalima.com/
We thank God for this important endeavour and pray for all of the translators and missionaries involved.