The 15th of October marks the birth of one of the leading names in the Egyptian movement of translation Rifa’a Al Tahtawi. Born in 1801, Tahtawi initiated his studies by studying the Quran in his hometown. His intelligence enabled him to join Al Azhar Al Sharif at the age of 17 years old and to be a teacher at it (Sheikh).
His travel to Paris in 1826, with the Egyptian educational mission sent by Muhammed Ali Pasha, formed a turning point in his career as he experienced direct contact to the European civilization especially the French one.
He started his literary contributions in the field of translation after mastering the French language and translating different books from French into Arabic.
Shortly, he represented his masterpiece Takhlis Al-ibriz fi Talkhis Baris (The Refinement of the Gold in a Comprehensive Depiction of Paris). Through his book, Tahtawi overviewed the cultural and social life in Paris. Moreover, he attempted to set points of encounter between Islam, the western culture and the orient.
After his return to Egypt, Tahtawi suggested establishing the first specialized school of translation, Al Alsun School, in the Middle East in 1835 aiming providing the schools with a well-translated and updated curriculum especially in the fields of military, medicine, and geography. His efforts of upgrading the educational system in Egypt included establishing schools for reducing illiteracy.
Furthermore, Tahtawi’s views and observations of the western culture paved the way to the movement of the Enlightenment in Egypt.
After enriching the Egyptian memory with his books and articles, Tahtawi passed away in 1873.
His day of birth was selected to be “A National Day of Translators” due to his timeless contributions to Egyptian culture and heritage.
Follow the latest news on Google News
