Translation and censorship in the Arab world and its diasporas

This chapter explores some of the unique characteristics of censorship in the Arab world. One notable aspect of censorship in this region is that it is not confined to autocratic regimes nor universally perceived as negative. Instead, it also exists in democratic societies and can reflect the prevailing social norms or religious values, whether in printed, audiovisual or digital forms. This chapter critically examines the multifaceted meanings of ‘censorship' in the Arab world, revealing how its Arabic equivalent, ‘riqābah', and its derivatives encompass both positive and negative connotations, highlighting, through illustrative examples, common threads of translation censorship across a diverse range of languages translated to and from Arabic. Informed by this nuanced understanding, this chapter introduces the concept of ‘social translation', which broadens the definition of censorship to include the suppression by governments of social interactions and collaborations among diverse representative groups within the citizenry. This broader understanding of censorship applies not only to the Arab world but also to its diasporas, exemplified by the Arab and Muslim immigrant communities in Quebec and beyond.