Islamic Discourse, Ideology and Translation: Sayyid Qutb’s Milestones as a Model

Abstract

Ideology is a critical term in the domain of translation. This study aimed at identifying the ideological implications behind the translator’s lexical choices in Qutb’s Milestones into English. It also investigated the ideological, cultural and religious impacts that affect the flowing of meaning for the target audience. The sample of the study was Sayyid Qutb’scontroversial Islamic book ‘Milestones.’ The book was considered a manifesto of Muslim fanaticism in the eyes of the West. Two translated versions of the book were examined; one version was translated in 1981 by Cedar Rapids (publisher) and the other was translated in 2006 by A.B. al- Mehri. The study compared and analyzed the translator's lexical choices. Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) framework was applied to provide a critical analysis of the hidden ideologies, socio- cultural context, power inequalities and implied meanings between the Source Text (ST) and the translator’s choices of words in the Target Text (TT). The study concluded that the inadequate lexical choice and Qutb’s explicit language were sensitive factors that affected the translational choices. The first and the second translations presented the tendency toward direct strategies such as literal translation and transliteration accompanied with explanatory notes, additions and footnotes to avoid any possible misconception for the non-Muslim target readers. In other cases, some choices underwent less direct options like paraphrasing and preferring accuracy over the economy of the text.