This article investigates translation as a mechanism of ideological conscription by examining the 2012 English translation of Ali Abdel Razek's seminal and controversial 1925 Arabic work, Al-Islām wa Uṣūl al-Ḥukm. While Abdel Razek's text presented a radical counter-narrative arguing for a separation of religion and state in its own time, this study argues that its translation demonstrates a powerful strategy of repurposing a historical polemic to serve a contemporary, Western-centric secularist project. Grounded in Mona Baker's narrative theory, the analysis moves beyond a simple source-target text comparison to specify exactly how this renarration is achieved. The methodology involves a close and systematic textual comparison between the Arabic source text and the English target text, with a specific focus on two key areas: the main body of the translation and its assertive paratextual apparatus, particularly the editor's lengthy introduction and the extensive footnotes. This dual analysis reveals a sophisticated strategy: the translation maintains a high degree of linguistic fidelity to the source text, creating an aura of authenticity, while the paratextual framing simultaneously directs the Anglophone reader's interpretation. The findings demonstrate how abstract, non-narrative theological arguments are systematically absorbed and reconstituted within a dominant target-culture political narrative. The study concludes that the perceived fidelity of a translation can work in tandem with its paratextual apparatus to perform significant ideological work, offering a conceptual extension to narrative theory. This highlights the translated text's importance as a cultural and political product in its own right. Therefore, this article recommends that future research apply this analytical model to other politically sensitive translations and that scholars and readers alike adopt a greater critical awareness of the power of paratextual framing in shaping the ideological impact of translated works.

Title

Social Sciences & Humanities Open

Publisher

Elsevier

Publisher Country

Belgium

Indexing

Scopus

Impact Factor

None

Publication Type

Both (Printed and Online)

Volume

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Year

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Pages

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