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Abstract
This paper shows the Arab individuality by investigating historical and contemporary Arabic literary works and the processes of translation into European languages. It first details the arrival of Arab literature during the Islamic period from late 700 AC to the end of the Abbasid Dynasty, before examining Arabic-language literature, and especially the literature produced by female authors, in more current times. The nature of Arabic works translated into European languages for Western readers is also discussed with a particular focus on the politics of selection and depiction associated with these texts. The paper closes by discussing both the possible negative impact that translation may have on conceptualizations of Arabs and Arab identities and the possible of translated works to offer deep insight into various aspects of life in the many and various countries and territories of the Arab world.