Speaking in a forum held at Iranian International Quran News Agency to review Quran translations into Russian and German, Dr Mohammad Reza Mohammadi added that Russian translators acknowledge that their rendering is not exactly the same as the original Arabic.
He referred to Uthmanov, Krachkovsky, and Valeria Porokhova as some of those who have rendered the Holy Book into Russian in recent years. “They have presented a concept-based, word-for-word, and rhymed translation, respectively, though one can argue that most translations are concept-based.”
Dr Mohammadi said the first Russian translation of the Quran dates back to the 17th century but the important and influential translations were only published after the collapse of the Soviet Union. “In the past 20 years, 9 new Russian translations have been released, each of which have some plus points and some weaknesses.”
He noted that altogether it is difficult to translate the Word of God from Arabic to Russian as the two languages belong to two different language families.
Also speaking at the forum was researcher and translator of the Quran into Persian and English Masoumeh Yazdanpanah who said in translating the Quran one should have in mind all the 7 billion humans on earth.
She pointed to the advancements in technology and new sciences and said they should be used in Quranic fields, too.
Ms Yazdanpanah also referred to the large number of Russian speakers in the world, stressing the need for more Quranic work for all Russian speakers, not just Muslims.
Islamic Azad University professor Seyyed Saeed Firuzabadi was next to talk at the program. He gave a brief history of Islamic studies in German language, saying the first European Islamologists came from Germany.
He said after Christians were defeated in the Crusades, they started to think about what caused their defeat.
According to Firuzabadi, Christians realized that Muslims’ victory came because of their faith in the Quran and so they began translating the Quran with the aim of fighting Islam.
He said the first translation of the Quran into German came in 1888.
He described Friedrich Ruckert’s translation as commendable in terms of conveying beauty and eloquence, adding that Ruckert translated part of the Quran not all of the Surahs.
The forum on Russian and German translations of the Quran was organized by the International Quran News Agency on Tuesday, April 17.
source : http://abna.ir
