Acclaimed Gandhi book in four languages set for virtual launch in Bahrain tomorrow

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

A virtual launch of the English, Hindi, Urdu and Malayalam editions of the Arabic-language book “Gandhi: His Engagement with Islam and the Arab World”, written by His Excellency Abdulnabi Al Shoala, will be held via Zoom at 4 pm tomorrow at the Isa Cultural Centre, Manama.

Al Shoala will be joined on the occasion by the Indian Ambassador to the Kingdom of Bahrain Piyush Srivastava, Bahrain India Society Chairman Abdul Rahman Mohammed Juma and Dr Shobhana Radhakrishna, a leading, internationally-renowned Gandhi scholar, who will be the keynote speaker.

The book launch event has been organised by the Bahrain India Society.

The acclaimed book, first published in Arabic two years ago and now in its third printing in the regional language, was snapped up by four different publishing houses in India.

The English-language translation, published by a leading Indian company, is already in its second printing with the Indian-languages versions also ready for the international market.

Al Shoala is the chairman of Dar Albilad for Journalism, Publishing and Distribution Co. B.S.C. and the founding chairman, and advisor to the board of Alfanar Investment Holding Co. B.S.C.

Over his long and illustrious career Al Shoala has served as Minister of Labour and Social Affairs and, later, as Cabinet Minister of State; served as a member of Bahrain’s Advisory Council and, also, been elected to the Board of Directors of the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI).

“Gandhi: His Engagement with Islam and the Arab World” is both Al Shoala’ s homage to the great Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, known by the honorific “Mahatma” (meaning “venerable”) and an effort seeking to address issues faced by Islam and Muslim countries in a Gandhian way.

Al Shoala is no stranger to India, having studied at the fabled St Xavier’s College in Bombay (now Mumbai) in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

His book, he said, is intended to both express his gratitude to India for the hospitality he received while a student and, also, to strengthen ties between India and Middle Eastern countries.

The book makes for fascinating reading as Al Shoala revisits Gandhi’s intellectual heritage, reviews his appreciation of Islam and the Holy Prophet and takes an exhaustive look at the different stages of Gandhi’s life and the impact it had on not just Indian politics and society, but also the Arab world.