Online Paratexts and the Challenges of Translators’ Visibility: a case of women translators of the Quran

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to assess the visibility or invisibility of women translators of the Quran and to determine which influential elements have been stressed and highlighted in the online paratexts, in order to generate the target reader’s interest and to attract her/him towards the first English translations of the Quran by individual women. I will argue that there is a deep divide between the online paratextual elements surrounding translations produced by women living in Muslim-majority countries and those living in the West. A second important thread is to explain the reasons for this divide and expose the various politics, ideologies and powers that have, in my view, played a key role in shaping the content of the online paratexts.