By CARROLL L. JOHNSON
Opinions ranging from the lack of critical acceptance for Kahlil Gibran by America's literary establishment to using Arabic in cyberspace were heard at the Library when six prominent scholars of Middle Eastern studies expounded on "Arab and American Cultural Relations: Past, Present and Future" during a seminar on Sept. 29.
The seminar is the last event in the series "Oriens Illustratus: Programs for the Near East Section at Fifty," which marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Near East Section in the Library's African and Middle Eastern Division.
Said Dr. Billington, who opened the seminar: "It is my hope that this seminar will further enrich Middle Eastern studies and will initiate a continuing dialogue between Arab and American intellectuals. We expect to establish, when funding becomes available, a center for the study of Islamic civilization at the Library to further encourage research, discussion and the full use of our collection in this area."
George N. Atiyeh, head of the Near East Section for the past 27 years, told the attendees that the keynote speaker, Edward Said, professor of English and comparative literature at Columbia University, was ill and therefore could not attend.
Ann Kesch, president of the Middle East Studies Association, introduced the first group of panelists. Irfan Shahid, Sultan Qaboos Professor of Arabic studies at Georgetown University, spoke on "Gibran in the Anglo-Saxon World: The Problem of The Prophet."
He asked, "Who is the best-selling American poet who has outsold all American poets from [Walt] Whitman to [T.S.] Eliot?" And answered: "Kahlil Gibran."
According to Mr. Shahid, Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931) is the only Arab or Arab-speaking author who has succeeded in writing a book that has had an important influence worldwide. "Although Gibran was a Lebanese-Syrian, Arab by birth, he spent three- quarters of his short life in America, where he wrote his masterpiece, The Prophet," said Mr. Shahid. "The book was written in the language of the country in which he became a naturalized citizen."
According to Gibran's publisher, Alfred A. Knopf, The Prophet has sold millions of copies worldwide and the book's success was entirely due its own appeal, since it was never promoted. The book has been translated into all the major languages "and some of the minor languages," said Mr. Shahid.
Despite his global success as a poet and literary author, Kahlil Gibran has been snubbed by America's academics. "The Ivy League universities do not treat him as an American author, let alone as a classic writer," said Mr. Shahid. "The removal of Gibran from the mainstream of American literature is reflected also in his noninclusion, or perhaps exclusion, from the Dictionary of American Biography, The Biographical Dictionary of Contemporary Poets, Who's Who of American Poets and the Encyclopedia of American Biography."
In closing, Mr. Shahid said that "if American literary critics would approach Gibran's works with an open mind, then they would realize that the real Gibran is one of the true literary voices of the 20th century who represents the evolution of the Arab-American community in these United States."
Mr. Roger Allen from the University of Pennsylvania spoke on "Arabic Literature in America: Issues of Translation and Reception." He said that for many translators of Arabic texts, their work has changed from part-time to full-time because of America's increasing interest in Middle Eastern literature.
The professor then provided a look at what it takes to get a translated book on a bookstore's shelf. "There are a host of decisions to be made once a publisher agrees to publish a translated book, including choice of cover, binding and title," said Mr. Allen. "These choices [affect] what the American reader chooses to buy, and also reflect on the status of work and of the author in his homeland. What does or does not emerge from the translation is important and can cause problems such as changing the nature of the work and its understanding in the English version."
"The next area where translation will be important is in the secondary schools," said Mr. Allen. "This is how Middle Eastern studies will survive at the university level. The only way we are going to have an impact on American society is to continue to move out of the academic area into the general area," he said.
Jewett Professor of Arab Studies, Muhsin Mahdi from Harvard University, examined "Near Eastern Studies: Some Future Directions."
"The problem with Near Eastern studies, he said, is: To what extent can one become acquainted with broad cultural questions ... without subsequently learning nothing about everything?" He suggested that students focus on a single area of Arab and Islamic studies.
After lunch, Halim Barakat from Georgetown University, spoke on "Exile and Creativity: The Case of the Arab American (Mahjari) Writers."
Mr. Barakat has studied extensively the interrelationship between creativity and exile.
"Through my search I began to correlate some general observations about the conditions [that influence] creativity in Arabic literature such as severity of exile, encounters between civilizations and the distance from centers of political, social and cultural authorities," said Mr. Barakat.
The breakthrough for the Arab American (Mahjari) writers came in 1921, when Kahlil Gibran, Mikhail Naimy and others founded Ar- Rabithah, a writers organization dedicated to promoting Arabic language and its literature.
"These writers constituted the first wave of literary [output] in the contemporary Arab World," said Mr. Barakat. "In exile these artist created their best and greatest works."
Evelyn Early from the U.S. Information Agency discussed her experiences as Fulbright scholar at the American University of Beirut in her lecture "American Education in the Arab Countries: From Alif to YĆ¾'into Cyberspace." "I have spent 14 years of my life in the Middle East," said Ms. Early. "You cannot discuss culture without discussing politics. ... Cyberspace might be the transcultural phenomenon" to bridge the gap between Arab and American relations.
She suggests that even in cyberspace, with its listservs and electronic bulletin boards, that information will still need interpreters. "In the new world of information assimilation, we will be faced with technologies which offer, perhaps, a level playing field in which Arab and American cultures can continue a cultural dialogue," Ms. Early said.
In the last lecture, Sadeq al-Azm, chairman of the department of philosophy at Damascus University, spoke on "Islam and Secular Humanism: The Implications for America."
"In the past five or six years, during my travels in Europe and in the United States as an Arab lecturer, a series of questions kept cropping up in lectures, and in private conversations with university colleagues, journalists and students," said Mr. al-Azm. "Are Islam and modernity or Islam and secularism or Islam and democracy or Islam and free speech or Islam and religious tolerance compatible?"
According to Mr. al-Azm, in the last quarter of the 19th century a liberal reform movement in religious interpretation was established. Anyone taking cues from this movement, according to the Mr. al-Azm, would not have any problem answering yes to these questions. "On the other hand", he said, "there are [members] of the Islamic movement that believe that secularism and democracy are absolutely incompatible and inconceivable in Islam."
Following the seminar guests attended a reception in the Montpelier Room hosted by Saudi ARAMCO, Mobil Corp. and the National U.S.- Arab Chamber of Commerce. Dr. Atiyeh received an award for his service in the Near Eastern Section from Camille Nowfel, president of the Washington Chapter of the American University of Beruit Alumni Association.
The guests also viewed the exhibit "Hearts and Minds Without Boundaries: The Middle East Experience," which was curated by Christopher Murphy, Turkish area specialist in the Near East Section. The exhibit can be seen in the Mumford Foyer of the Madison Building until Dec. 15.
Carroll Johnson is a communications specialist in Cultural Affairs.