Arab-Islamic Presence in Spanish Translations: Identification and Obliteration

Abstract

This article sheds light on the historical conditions, and the ideological and selective options in dealing with the Arab Islamic heritage and its translation, and nurturing different intellectual positions that raised questions about the extent of its contribution to the formation of the Spanish civilization, while discussing how it was absorbed in constituents of the Spanish culture and identity. When Spain aspired to build its new European identity, it clashed with the Islamic element in its eastern and North African components that became an obstacle in this Euro-Centric orientation. This situation reflected on the Spanish researchers in a two-way dialectical vision that was attracted by propositions of identification and acceptance, on the one hand, and claims of estrangement and separation, on the other hand. The works of some Orientalists and Arabists in translation were not immune to this controversy, which is clearly demonstrated by the theories of manipulation in translation, that adapt the contents and domesticate them according to certain criteria. Therefore, we will try to examine some examples from ancient and modern translations interested in the medieval era. Obviously, our study is neither comprehensive nor exhaustive, but it focuses on some specific points and crucial periods of Spain’s history.