Readers of 69 nationalities set a Guinness record in Abu Dhabi — The National
In Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, readers of 69 nationalities gathered at Zayed National Museum for a reading club meeting that set a new Guinness World Records record. The event was organized by the Kalima Reading Club at the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre, The National reports.
The story of Majnun and Layla
Participants discussed Ruqayya Yasmine Khan’s book Bedouin and Abbasid Cultural Identities: The Arabic Majnun Layla Story. The study is devoted to the story of Majnun and Layla — a classic love tale originating in seventh-century Arabia — as well as its development and reception during the Bedouin and Abbasid periods.
Saeed Al Tunaiji, executive director of the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre, said the initiative is part of the institution’s work to engage different groups in society with reading and the Arabic language. According to him, reading, the work of reading clubs and involving people of different ages are important for spreading the Arabic language in society.
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The club’s work and translations
The Kalima Reading Club was founded in 2018 as part of the Kalima translation project, launched in 2007. The club holds reading meetings at schools, universities and during public events. During the academic semester, the club’s school programme organizes such meetings every week.
The meeting took place after the conclusion of the 35th Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, which was also organized by the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre. Al Tunaiji said that the number of visitors to cultural programmes and book-related events was twice as high as organizers had expected. At the same time, final book sales data are still being analyzed.
The centre also plans to present the results of the first year of the From Kalima to the World initiative at the Frankfurt Book Fair. It was launched last year to support the translation of Arabic books into other languages.
