Jordan center translates Babylonian Talmud into Arabic

A Jordanian research center said on Wednesday it has recently published the first Arabic translation of the Babylonian Talmud, described as the "most important" text in Judaism. "This is the first Arabic translation of the Babylonian Talmud, which represents the most important religious teaching in Judaism," Mohammad Najem, spokesman of the Amman-based Middle East Studies Center, told AFP. "It is a literal translation that seeks to help scholars and researchers studying Islam and comparative religious issues understand the Talmud." Najem said 95 translators and researchers had worked on producing the 20-volume Arabic version of Talmud, in 7,100 pages, which took six years to be completed. "It is important to understand how Jews view Islam as well as their own religion," he added. Most universities in Jordan, which signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994, "have obtained copies of the translation," Najem said.