La réception de l'oeuvre de Khalil Gibran en Indonésie

Abstract

Gibran’s works are often translated into Indonesian. How can we explain such an amazing fact ? From an Indonesian point of view, the Arabic world is mainly linked with Islamic countries, like Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Egypt. However, Gibran was Lebanese and also Christian. This article argues that this local success of Gibran can be explained by two reasons. First, his bilingual work, written in English and in Arabic, allows us to escape from a globalisation approach, which apparently divides the world into two axes : a Southern one characterized by Islam and the temptation of Jihad and a Northern one characterized by the USA and the domination of capitalist markets. National disintegration and the destruction of the environment, linked with technological development, are indeed the two consequences of globalisation. Secondly, there is a strong connexion between the works of Gibran and the cultural, religious and literary traditions that prevail in Indonesia, especially in Java.