A member of Greek into Arabic has been awarded the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Award for Translation

Dr. Cecilia Martini Bonadeo awarded for her translation of "Al-Farabi: Philosophy of Plato and Aristotle" from Arabic into Italian

A member of "Greek into Arabic", Dr. Cecilia Martini Bonadeo has received the prestigious "Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Award for Translation" (www.translationaward.org) for her translation of the Harmonization: al-Farabi, L’armonia delle opinioni dei due sapienti, il divino Platone e Aristotele. Prefazione di Gerhard Endress, Plus, Pisa University Press, Pisa 2008. The prize is awarded by the "King Abdulaziz Public Library Council", pursuant to the vision of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, "to promote cultural exchange among peoples of the world and to advance intellectual interaction among civilizations".

In the 10th century al-Farabi wrote several commentaries on Plato and Aristotle, following the lead of the late-antique tradition of exegesis. His personal writings too exhibit an overall acquaintance with the philosophical literature of Hellenism and late Antiquity. In Farabi's times, arguments arose in the learned Islamic society about the naturalization of Greek philosophy and Aristotle's thought. Al-Farabi was keenly aware of the fact that criticisms had been levelled against Aristotle also by some Greek philosophers, like Philoponus. In the Harmonization, he set for himself the task of settling this issue.
As detailed in the Harmonization, Farabi’s point is that if one relies upon Plato and Aristotle in and of themselves and studies their works in due order, one will realize that a profound harmony reigns between their doctrines. The Greek legacy as a whole has its place within the context of an all-embracing system of  sciences. In Farabi's views, this system can overcome the conflicting pretensions to intellectual and spiritual leadership of different groups within the Islamic community. Following Plato’s lead, he is convinced that no city can be virtuous unless the kings are philosophers, or the philosophers are kings. Hence, the true imam of the Islamic community owes his legitimacy to the intimate knowledge of the truth: for this reason, he is entitled to establish virtue in the city.
The Farabian authorship of this work has been challenged, but the detailed analysis carried on by Cecilia Martini Bonadeo tips the scale in favour of genuineness.

The Jury says: "The book is the first translation into Italian of this philosophical and thoughtful book that has contributed, with other similar books, in celebrating Arab and Islamic thought. Dr. Martini has been successful in her translation and rendered the original text in a clear language with a good translation style, accurate structures, and coherent ideas that maintain the meaning of the source text. She also enriched the translation with additions that includes examination, analysis, comments, and explanations".

Further information

• Dr. Cecilia Martini Bonadeo
  
• Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Award for Translation
• Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Ministry of Foreign Affairs

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