Danish Woman Seeks to Combat Islamophobia by Translating Quran
According to a report by Al Jazeera, the translation of the Quran into Danish by Elaine Wolff, a Danish orientalist, has been published in completely correct academic language and in 544 pages.
Wolff, who spent three years translating the Quran into Danish, stated that the purpose of rendering and publishing this translation was to introduce the religion of Islam to the people of Denmark.
“With the presentation of this translation, the Danes will become familiar with Islam and the misunderstandings, lies, and accusations that have been made to tarnish the image of Islam will be partially resolved,” she said.
The Danish Quran translator also described her action as a response to her country’s far-right party.
Unlike translations of the Quran in other countries, this translation is exclusively in Danish and does not combine the text with the original Arabic text. The reason for this is that the Danish translator believes that limiting it to Danish increases the reader’s focus on the meaning and does not want to confuse the reader between the two languages, even if the reader does not know either of these languages.
It is worth noting that despite her desire to use simple and easy language, her translation is strong, expressive and of a high literary level. Also, this translation does not use the Asbab Nuzul (reasons for the revelation) of the verses, which some consider a major weakness in the translation.
Also, in this translation of the Quran, the word ‘Allah’ is not mentioned and the word GOD is used instead.
A difficult task
Elaine Wolff said that translating the Quran was not an easy task, but rather a very difficult and exhausting one, and it took her more than 3 years to complete.
Regarding the idea of this work, she said that 25 years ago, when a university professor encouraged her to do this, the idea of translating the Quran came to her mind.
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She received her doctorate in Arabic and was unable to complete the translation of the Quran quickly until she received financial assistance from a Danish businessman.
She believes that translating the Quran is a good opportunity for the people of Denmark to become familiar with the religion of Islam in a simple and fluent language, especially after the crisis that erupted in this country following the publication of caricatures insulting Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
Muslim opinions of this translation
Despite the great relief of the Muslim minority in Denmark following the publication of this translation, many points of view were raised about this work. Abdulwahid Pedersen, one of the imams of the Danish Muslim community, emphasized that this translation opens the door to understanding the Holy Quran for Danes and helps to create a public thinking about the teachings of Islam.
Although this translation is very useful for the second generation of Danish Muslims who face many difficulties in reading and understanding the Quran in Arabic, the fact that it was done by a non-Muslim person will reduce its value because it lacks religious and spiritual knowledge and does not address the Prophet’s life and the interpretation of the Quran, which are important tools for understanding the meanings of the Quran, he stated.
As a result, he added, it is difficult to accept this translation as an official and comprehensive source in Denmark.
Jihad al-Fra, the head of the Islamic Center of Denmark, confirmed Pedersen’s opinion, saying the lack of translation of the Quran by Muslims who do not have the financial means or academic qualifications is a shortcoming that must be addressed.
He expressed hope that efforts to expand such translations and achieve their perfection will increase so that these translations can be a reliable reference for the Muslim minority.
Al-Fra, however, believes that the translation of the meanings of the Quran by a Danish researcher in an academic and unbiased manner can be accepted by the general public in Denmark because it has been translated by a non-Muslim academic woman in a correct and unbiased language.
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He emphasized that translating the meanings of the Quran without going into the interpretation of the Quran is a useful task for those within Danish society who are fair towards Islam.
It is worth noting that the first translation of the Quran in Denmark was published in 1967 by Abdullah Madsen, a Danish Muslim. However, despite selling more than 10,000 copies, this translation was not recognized by Danish Muslims because it contained many grammatical errors and difficult terms. Elaine Wolff corrected these errors in her translation, which is considered the second translation of the Quran into Danish published in Denmark.
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