WATANI International
8 February 2009
Japanese thought in Arabic
The Dar al-Shorouq publishing house has recently published Arabic translations of two Japanese books. According to Watani’s Mary Fikry, they were translated within the activities of a joint programme involving the Japan Foundation Cairo Office, Dar al-Shorouq and the One Hundred Japanese Books Foundation, which was set up to translate books written in Japanese. Essam Hamza, professor of Japanese at Cairo University, translated Meiji: a Human Force that Led to Change, a review of material aired by Japanese television in 2005 about the Meiji Restoration which began in 1868 and lasted until the death of Emperor Meiji in 1912. During the Meiji period there was concern with preserving Japanese culture and highlighting its individualities, while still benefiting from the West. The second book, Kenichi Ohno’s Economic Development of Japan: the Path Travelled by Japan as a Developing Country, was translated by Khalil Darwish, professor of economy and political science at Cairo University. This examines the history of Japan’s economy since the 19th century and how it is still developing to this day. The Japanese Foundation Cairo Office has presented copies of those two books to libraries of Egyptian universities and to the Bibliotheca Alexandrina.
Nile bride
Al-Dar al-Arabiya issued a new novel for children by Nahed Sherif under the title Arous al-Nil (Nile Bride). In a simple yet interesting way, the writer tackles the issue of pollution of the Nile water as well as offering some practical solutions to this critical problem.
Friday market
The novelist Fouad Qandil presents a new group of short stories collected in one volume entitled Souq al-Gomaa (Friday Market). The stories are closely concerned with matters of everyday life of Muslim and Christian Egyptians such as Fe Madih al-Gomaa (During the Friday Prayers) and Mohamed Girgis–Mohamed being a typically Muslim name and Girgis (George) a typically Christian one. The book was issued and published by Kitab al-Youm (Book of the Day).
Will it commit suicide?
Hal Tantaher al-Logha al-Arabiya? (Will the Arabic Language Commit Suicide?) is one of the most recent books issued by Nahdet Misr. It includes several articles written by the late critic Ragaa’ al-Naqash on certain issues related to the Arabic language such as its history, the challenges it faces especially in the era of globalisation, and some opinions by several intellectuals and those who are interested in the Arabic language in general.
The way to be healthy
The ‘secrets’ of the human mouth are tackled by Dr Hisham Abdel-Fattah, Professor of Dentistry at Cairo University, in his book Al-Asnan…Bawabat Sehat al-Insan (Teeth…Man’s Gateway to Health). He begins with the severe toothache, methods of protecting and treating teeth, and the latest discoveries in that field. The book also gives comprehensive answers to questions related to tooth and gum disease. It looks at the serious effects of smoking on the teeth and the changes in women’s hormones that affect their teeth. A separate chapter deals with the effects of the different kinds of the food and the relation between diseases of the teeth and the body, especially diseases of the kidney, the digestive system, the liver, the respiratory system, and the heart. The book is published by the General Egyptian Book Organisation.