{"quotes":[{"text":"Wars have been waged over millions of square miles, significantly larger than the British Empire at its peak. Historically, Islamic conquests stretched from southern France to the Philippines, from Austria to Nigeria, and from central Asia to New Guinea. The Muslim goal was to have a central government, first at Damascus, and then at Baghdad, later at Cairo, Istanbul, and other imperial centres. The local governors, judges, and other rulers were appointed by the central imperial authorities for far off colonies. Islamic law was introduced as the senior law, whether or not wanted by the local people. Arabic was introduced as the rulers’ language, while the local languages frequently disappeared. Then, two classes of residents were established. The native residents paid a tax that their rulers did not have to pay. In each case, these laws allowed the local conquered people less freedom than was given to Muslims.","author":"Anita B. Sulser PhD","tags":["arabic","austria","bhagdad","british-empire","egypt","imperial-conquest","islam","istanbul","language","nigeria","ruling-class","tax"],"id":3350,"author_id":"Anita+B.+Sulser+PhD"},{"text":"Thank you,’ I answered, unsure of the proper American response to her gracious enthusiasm. In the Arab world, gratitude is a language unto itself. “May Allah bless the hands that give me this gift”; “Beauty is in the eyes that find me pretty”; “May Allah never deny your prayer”; and so on, an infinite string of prayerful appreciation. Coming from such a culture, I have always found a mere “thank you” an insufficient expression that makes my voice sound miserly and ungrateful.” (169).","author":"Susan Abulhawa","tags":["american","arabic","compliment","expression","gift","gratitude","language","thank-you","translation"],"id":29173,"author_id":"Susan+Abulhawa"},{"text":"The dogs may bark, but the caravan moves on.","author":"Joseph Needham","tags":["arabic","bark","caravan","determination","dogs"],"id":61343,"author_id":"Joseph+Needham"},{"text":"In Egyptian Arabic, the word 'insan' means 'human'. If we remove the 'n', the word becomes 'insa', which means 'to forget'. So you see, the word 'forget' is taken from the word 'human'. And since it was God who created our minds and hearts, He knew from the very beginning that we would quickly forget our history, only to keep repeating the same mistakes over and over again. So the ultimate test of every human is to seek wisdom. After all, wisdom is gained from having a good memory. Only after we have passed this test will we evolve to become better humans. Man is only a forgetful mortal, but God — He sees, hears and remembers everything.","author":"Suzy Kassem","tags":["arabic","beginning","change","create","creation","creator","egyptian","egyptian-arabic","errors","evolution","evolve","evolving","finding-meaning","forget","forgetful","forgive","future","god","grow","growth","heart","human-evolution","humanity","humanity","lessons","life","lord","maker","man","mankind","meaning","meaningful-life","memorable","memory","minds","mission","mistake","mistakes","mortal","pain","past-mistakes","purpose","purposeful-living","remember","seek-truth","seek-wisdom","spiritual-growth","test","universe","wisdom","wise"],"id":131199,"author_id":"Suzy+Kassem"},{"text":"...Literary translators are the interpreters of human values - and the true peacemakers.","author":"Margaret Obank","tags":["arabic","banipal","peace","translation","translators"],"id":135464,"author_id":"Margaret+Obank"},{"text":"Assad whistled a few notes of one of his native country's melancholic songs. It sounded as though he was whistling backwards.","author":"Jussi Adler-Olsen","tags":["arabic","assad","funny","singing","whistling"],"id":187035,"author_id":"Jussi+Adler-Olsen"},{"text":"Assad: 'I have written it just down here.'He Pointed to a number of Arabic symbols that could just as well have meant it was going to snow in the Lofoten Islands in the morning.","author":"Jussi Adler-Olsen","tags":["arabic","assad","funny","humor","humour"],"id":224225,"author_id":"Jussi+Adler-Olsen"},{"text":"No blasphemy harms Islam and Muslims so much as the call for murdering a writer.","author":"Naguib Mahfouz","tags":["arab","arab-","arabic","freedom-of-expression","islam","nobel-prize-in-literature"],"id":226836,"author_id":"Naguib+Mahfouz"},{"text":"If I could talk it like Dahoum, you would never be tired of listening to me.","author":"T.E. Lawrence","tags":["arabic","dahoum","language"],"id":238536,"author_id":"T.E.+Lawrence"},{"text":"Laa shay'a waqi'un moutlaq bale kouloun moumkine' -the Wisdom of our Creed is revealed through these words - 'We work in the Dark, to serve the Light. We are Assassins.' --Machiavelli.","author":"Oliver Bowden","tags":["arabic","assassin","bowden","dark","light","wisdom"],"id":262659,"author_id":"Oliver+Bowden"}],"pagination":{"page":1,"page_size":10,"total":18,"pages":2,"next":"?page=2\u0026page_size=10"}}