Bible in Uyghur Arabic Script (UIGARA)

Overview

The Mukeddes Kalam ("Holy Scripture") in Uyghur Arabic script is a full Bible translation completed in 2010 by the Uyghur Bible Translation Committee. [1] This is one of four script editions of the same translation, published simultaneously in Arabic, Cyrillic, Latin, and Pinyin scripts to serve different Uyghur-speaking communities worldwide. The Arabic script edition serves Uyghur readers primarily in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China, where Arabic script remains the standard writing system. [1] The translation closely follows the original Hebrew and Greek source texts and includes maps, illustrations, and commentaries. Uyghur Scripture work dates back to Johannes Avetaranian of the Swedish Missionary Society, whose Gospel of Matthew appeared in 1898 and whose full New Testament was assembled in revised form by 1914. The 2010 edition also drew on the earlier Kashgar Uyghur translation (1910-1950), which was carried out by Mehmet Xukri and missionaries of the Swedish Missionary Society. [1][2] That earlier translation effort was part of a broader Swedish mission presence in southern Xinjiang, where the mission operated a printing press in Kashgar from 1912 to 1938. [3] The complete Uyghur Bible was first published by the British and Foreign Bible Society in Cairo in 1950, after the Swedish missionaries had been expelled from Xinjiang; the final translation was completed in India by Gustaf Ahlbert, Oskar Hermannson, Dr. Nur Luke (a Uyghur), and others. [2] The 2010 Mukeddes Kalam represents a modern revision building on this earlier work.

Language and People

Uighur (ISO 639-3: uig) is spoken by approximately 10,400,000 people in China. [Glottolog: uigh1243]

References