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Sixteen novels are in the running for the 2025 International Prize for Arabic Fiction, including works from Bahrain and Mauritania for the first time. The longlist also features novels from Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Algeria, Iraq and the UAE. From a novel set in a cemetery in Baghdad that transforms the dead into butterflies, to a housemaid’s perspective of the Beirut port explosion, as well as a fictionalised biography of Al-Ghazali, the works range in subject matter, tackling different aspects of Arab identity and history. “This year’s longlist is remarkable in its diversity of both theme and literary form,” says Mona Baker, an Egyptian academic and chair of the judging panel. The panel also includes Moroccan academic and critic Said Bengrad, Emirati critic and academic Maryam Al Hashimi, Lebanese researcher and academic Bilal Orfali and Finnish translator Sampsa Peltonen. “Some novels address women’s struggles to achieve their dreams in a patriarchal society that prevents them from living fulfilled lives," Baker said. "Others offer a nuanced portrait of religious and sectarian worlds, where extremism and dogma contrast with human empathy and understanding.”

Al-Abhath is an internationally refereed journal of scholarship on the culture, history, literature and languages of the Arab World and the Middle East. Originally titled The Journal of the Center for Arab and Middle East Studies, al-Abhath was first published in 1948 as a quarterly for Arab Studies. It has been appearing in one annual volume since 1970. Al-Abhath is published annually by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences of the American University of Beirut (AUB), and covers many fields of interest ―Arab and Islamic studies, sociology, numismatics, history, economics, language, psychology and astrology―all focused on the Arab world. It appears in both Arabic and English and is a necessary and useful reference for anyone interested and engaged in the scholarship of this part of the world. “Al-Abhath participates in knowledge production about the region, from the region. The journal adheres to the highest standards of peer-reviewed journals and contributes to scholarship on the Arab and Islamic world in English and Arabic,” said Dr. Bilal Orfali, co-editor of al-Abhath. Every article is sent to international reviewers and selected editors copyedit the article in several drafts. Peer-reviewed academic journals in the Arab world are indeed few, and al-Abhath stands out among them. “According to many scholars in the field of Arabic and Islamic Studies, al-Abhath is the most prestigious academic journal that attests to the distinguished status of the American University of Beirut (AUB) in the field,” added Dr. Orfali. Dr. Ramzi Baalbaki, co-editor of al-Abhath, emphasized the journal’s leading role by stating that “This publication is a point of references for academics in the region. The journal is witnessing a revitalization as we aim to sustain and further energize this platform of knowledge.” The latest issue, a double volume, has just come out and includes nine articles, four of which are in English and the rest in Arabic. Contributors to this issue come from all over the world: the Middle East, North Africa, and the United States are examples. The articles take up various topics, such as Sufism and Hadith; al-Niffarī and his mawāqif experience; and the social, religious, and cultural roles of al-Quds during the second ʿAbbāsid, Ṭūlūnid, and Ikhshīdid periods. One article investigates the prose poem in Arabic and the relationship between the poetic text and photography; another article concentrates on the Nobel- Prize-winning author Agnon and Freudian psychoanalysis. Yet a third article deals with sources of Saudi law and legal documentation. Among the articles in Arabic are ones covering the lexical meanings of words in the Arabic language, and the importance of ibdāl to modern linguistics. The volume also includes seven book reviews on an array of topics, mostly dealing with Arab and Middle Eastern Studies.

Professor Bilal Orfali from the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) at the American University of Beirut (AUB) has been awarded the distinguished Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. Sponsored by Germany's Federal Ministry of Education and Research, this prestigious award annually recognizes approximately 20 globally renowned scholars for their outstanding research contributions. Named after the esteemed German astronomer and mathematician Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel (1784–1846), the award celebrates academic excellence and fosters international scholarly collaboration. An eminent scholar in Arabic literature and Islamic studies, Professor Orfali has made substantial contributions to the field through his numerous publications and editorial work. He has edited over 20 critical editions of classical Arabic manuscripts, bringing valuable historical texts to light. His notable works include The Anthologist's Art, an in-depth examination of Arabic literary anthologies, and The Maqāmāt of Badīʿ al-Zamān al-Hamadhānī: Authorship, Texts and Contexts, co-authored with Maurice Pomerantz, which explores the foundational maqāmāt genre in Arabic literature. Professor Orfali's editorial leadership includes serving as co-editor of Abhath, a prominent journal in Arabic studies, and the Sheikh Zayed Series at AUB Press. Additionally, he is a member of the editorial boards for the Journal of Arabic Literature and al-Markaz Journal of Arabic Studies, where he continues to advance scholarship in Arabic literature and promote cross-cultural academic collaboration. Upon receiving the award, Professor Orfali expressed his gratitude, stating, “I am deeply honored by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation's recognition. This award reinforces my commitment to advancing research in Arabic literature and manuscript studies at AUB, as well as strengthening academic exchanges between AUB and German institutions." As a recipient of the Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award, Professor Orfali has been invited to undertake a research project of his choice in collaboration with German colleagues, further enriching his contributions to Arabic and Islamic studies on an international level.

Dubai: The openness to other faiths enriches Muslim identity, a top UAE diplomat and author said at the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature (Emirates LitFest) in Dubai on Saturday. Omar Saif Ghobash, Assistant Minister for Culture and Public Diplomacy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the UAE Ambassador to the Holy See, was speaking at a session titled ‘Past, Present and Future of Islam’ along with Malaysian journalist, activist and author Marina Mahathir and Iranian-American religious scholar, author and Emmy and Peabody-nominated producer Reza Aslan.

The Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre’s 10-person scientific committee aims to present ideas that will ‘strengthen the presence of the Arabic language.’

BEIRUT, 20th September, 2021 (WAM) -- The UAE Embassy in Beirut has held a virtual seminar entitled, "The Importance of the Human Fraternity Document to Research and Academic Work." The seminar was attended by Prof. Roula Talhouk, Director of the Islamic Christian Research and Documentation Centre (CEDIFR), at the Saint Joseph University of Beirut; and Dr. Bilal Orfali, Sheikh Zayed Professor for Arabic and Islamic Studies at the American University of Beirut. During the event, they discussed the importance of the document, as well as its role in promoting openness and tolerance resulting from the UAE’s related efforts. In its statement, the embassy stressed that the UAE is keen to promote the principles of the document through education, as well as to launch many ambitious initiatives in this area, noting its approach consists of spreading the values of tolerance and international peace. Talhouk discussed several planned initiatives and projects that aim to promote the values and principles of the document and integrate them into all school and university curricula. Orfali explained the role of the Sheikh Zayed Chair in promoting the document, noting that the efforts of Arab and Muslim scholars are crucial as educational systems generate and spread ideas.