Amman, April 20 — Abdul Hameed Shoman Foundation hosted a cultural seminar on Monday evening honoring the intellectual and scholarly journey of prominent thinker and historian Dr. Mohammad Arnaout, in the presence of a distinguished audience of writers, intellectuals, and invited guests.
The seminar, organized by the Abdul Hameed Shoman Foundation Cultural Forum under the title “Mohammad Arnaout: A Bridge Between Cultures,” brought together Dr. Arnaout alongside a panel of speakers that included Dr. Hind Abu Al‑Shaar, former Minister of Government Communication Dr. Muhannad Mubaideen, and researcher Ismail Abu Al‑Bandoura. The session was moderated by Dr. Bassem Al‑Zoubi.
The speakers discussed Arnaout’s most significant achievements, highlighting his status as one of the most prominent Arab scholars in historical studies, particularly in the history of the Balkans and Ottoman‑European relations.
Dr. Arnaout’s significance lies in his role as a cultural and intellectual bridge between Arabic scholarship and global research, as well as in his efforts to restore scholarly attention to regions long marginalized in Arab historical narratives. As a translator, he transferred knowledge not merely as texts, but as tools for critical thinking.
In his remarks, Dr. Mubaideen noted that Arnaout is widely recognized for his substantial body of specialized research and translations, and for his continued academic productivity even after retiring from university teaching. He added that Arnaout has secured a distinguished position in contemporary studies of Islamic endowments and their historical continuity.
He further explained that Arnaout’s work demonstrates intellectual maturity in deconstructing prevailing narratives about the Ottoman Empire and the Devshirme system, as well as a critical reassessment of inherited historical interpretations concerning the Ottoman period, from emergence and expansion to decline.
“From Pristina in Kosovo to Damascus, Istanbul, Irbid, Mafraq, Amman, and later the United States,” Mubaideen said, “Arnaout reshaped historical inquiry by moving beyond conventional periodization and heroic narratives toward an exploration of social phenomena, traditions, and culture. His extensive contributions of articles, academic reviews, and translations reflect how travel shaped his scholarly choices and critical engagement with the modern history of the Middle East.”
Dr. Abu Al‑Shaar remarked that Arnaout’s name has long been associated with the Balkans, particularly Albania, based on her review of his published research, which focused on Ottoman‑era endowments, Jerusalem during the Ottoman period, and other related topics. She praised his prolific intellectual output, much of which bridges Arab and Balkan cultures linguistically and culturally, as well as Islam and Europe.
She added that his academic background in Arabic language studies at Damascus University played a central role in shaping his unified cultural and historical approach. “I always expected that Dr. Arnaout’s efforts in introducing Arab audiences to Balkan cultures—particularly Albania, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Kosovo, would be formally recognized,” she said, noting that his receipt of the Sheikh Hamad Award for Translation and International Understanding in its eleventh cycle constitutes long‑overdue recognition.
Researcher Ismail Abu Al‑Bandoura highlighted Arnaout’s leadership during his tenure as Director of the Bayt Al‑Hikma Institute at Al al‑Bayt University, describing how he transformed it into an international intellectual forum that attracted leading thinkers from the Arab world and beyond, hosting major global conferences on Arab culture and contemporary issues.
He added that following Arnaout’s move to Kosovo, his initiatives continued unabated. He soon headed a Balkan studies institute and spearheaded the translation and publication of numerous books and studies into Arabic, mentoring Albanian scholars with deep connections to Arab culture. These initiatives, Abu Al‑Bandoura said, made previously inaccessible Balkan literature and scholarship available to Arab readers, amounting to an entire library of works introduced to the Arab intellectual sphere.
For his part, Dr. Arnaout expressed his deep appreciation for Shoman Foundation’s initiative to honor him following his recent receipt of the Sheikh Hamad International Award for Translation and International Understanding, noting that the recognition embraces culture in its broadest sense, from intellectual and literary to academic fields.
“I feel deeply grateful to be honored in Jordan,” he said, “the country I came to in 1989 from Yugoslavia intending to stay only two or three years, but where I remained for thirty—longer than I lived in my country of birth, Syria, or in the Balkans.” He added that half of the work for which he was honored was produced in Jordan, and much of it was published in Amman.
Dr. Arnaout reflected on his upbringing, academic journey, and scholarly interests in language, literature, and history across the many countries and institutions where he worked. He noted that even after leaving Jordan in late 2018, he remained connected through his publications, acknowledging in particular the Ministry of Culture for supporting the publication of his book From Government to State: The Arab Government Experience in Damascus (1918–1920) on its centenary in 2020, and its reissue in 2025 as part of the Family Library Project.
Mohammad Muwaffaq Arnaout is a Kosovar‑Syrian historian born into an Arab cultural environment. From an early stage, he developed a deep interest in history—especially Ottoman history and the Balkans as a complex space where identity, religion, and politics intersect. This interest led him to academic specialization and rigorous research based on original Ottoman and European archival sources.
He translated numerous key Western studies on the Balkans and Ottoman history into Arabic, contextualizing them within Arab scholarship and introducing Arab researchers to new historiographical schools and modern critical approaches. His writings are distinguished by their combination of strict historical analysis and critical examination of ideological narratives, seeking to correct distorted images of both the Ottomans in Arab consciousness and Eastern Europe in general.
Arnaout has participated in numerous academic conferences and seminars and played a significant role in advancing Balkan studies in the Arab world. He has also contributed to shaping a new generation of researchers in a field that remained marginalized for decades.
He has received several international honors, including the Republic Medal of Kosovo for lifetime achievement in 2012, and the Sheikh Hamad Award for Translation and International Understanding for lifetime translation achievements from Albanian into Arabic in 2025.