Tsvetan Teophanov facts for kids

Tsvetan Theophanov (born July 12, 1952) is a professor from Bulgaria. He is an expert in the history and cultures of the Middle East, especially the Arab world. He is well-known for studying and translating important Islamic books and old Arabic writings. He also made the first official translation of the Quran into the Bulgarian language.

About Tsvetan Theophanov

His Education

Tsvetan Theophanov studied Arabic language and literature. In July 1978, he earned his Bachelor's and Master's degrees from the University of Baghdad in Iraq. He then continued his studies at the Cairo University in Egypt in 1984. In 1987, he completed his PhD at the Moscow Oriental Institute in Russia.

His first PhD paper was about an Arabic poet named Abu-l-'Atahiya. It looked at how Islamic religious and philosophical poetry developed. His second PhD paper studied the main opposite ideas in Arabic poetry and Islamic thought. These ideas included society versus personality, and body versus spirit.

His Work as a Professor

Professor Theophanov has worked at Sofia University in Bulgaria for many years. He teaches about classical Arabic literature, Islam, the Qur’an, and Islamic history. He has studied and taught about the Qur’an and prophetic traditions for over forty years. In 1997, after more than ten years of hard work, he published the first Bulgarian translation of the Qur’an. This translation has been printed many times since then.

He has also studied and translated many classical Arabic poems and stories. He translated Riyath as-saliheen (The Gardens of the Righteous Men) by Al-Nawawi. He also translated famous ancient Arabic poems called Al-Muallaqat. He translated poems by other well-known Arabic poets like Abu Nuwas and Al-Ma'arri. He wrote books about Arabic literature, including "The Pagan Arabic Poetry" and "The Medieval Arabic Culture."

When he was younger, he also wrote his own poems. He has published three collections of his poetry.

Professor Theophanov has held important leadership roles at Sofia University. He was the dean and deputy-dean of the Faculty of Classical and Modern Philology. He also leads the Centre of Eastern Language and Cultures and the Department of Arabic and Semitic Studies. He is a member of several international groups that study the Middle East. In 1999, he was a visiting scholar at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies. He has given many lectures and presentations around the world.

He also started the Prof. Tsvetan Theophanov Foundation. This foundation helps connect Bulgarian institutions with the Arab world. It also helps promote the Arabic language and culture in Bulgaria.

Professor Theophanov also created a website called ARABIADA: Arabs and the Arab World Website. You can find it at: https://www.theophanov.com

Awards and Recognition

Professor Theophanov has received several awards for his work:

• The Japan Foundation Grant for important leaders in culture and education (1994).
• Al-Mutawa Visiting Fellowship at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies (1999–2000).
• Alaluddin Rumi Foundation Award (2001).
• Prize from the Newspaper Zaman for helping social peace (2004).
• The Blue Ribbon Insignia of Honour from Sofia University (2017).
• The Sheikh Hamad Award for translation from Arabic (2023). This is a very important award in the Arab world.

His Books and Other Works

Here are some of the books and translations by Tsvetan Theophanov:

• Phenomenology of the Prophet. Sofia. 2015.
• The Medieval Arabic Culture: From Paganism to Islam. Sofia, 2004.
• The Medieval Arabic Culture. Vol. 1. Context. Text. Deeper Meanings. Sofia, 2001.
• The Medieval Arabic Culture. Vol. 2. Love. Wine. Wisdom. Sofia, 2002.
• The Pre-Islamic Arabic Poetry. Sofia, 1998.
• Translation of the Holy Quran into Bulgarian with introduction, commentaries, thematic index. Sofia, 1st ed. – 1997, 2nd ed. – 1999, 3rd ed.-, 4th ed.
• Translation of Imam Nawawi's book The Gardens of the Righteous (Riyadh as-Saliheen) (2 volumes). Sofia, 2008, 2015.
• Translation from English into Russian Shukran Vahide's book Islam in Modern Turkey: An Intellectual Biography of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi. Istanbul, 2008.