Engaging ancient Islamic traditions in the poetry of Saleha Ghabesh

This paper explores the integration of ancient Islamic heritage in Emirati literature, particularly the history of the rise and fall of the Muslim Empire in Andalusia, in an attempt to confront regional challenges and international transformations in the current era. Navigating the intersection between heritage and identity, the Emirati poet, Saleha Ghabesh, attempts to incorporate the ancient Islamic heritage in Andalusia as a dynamics of liberation in order to articulate domestic issues integral to the geopolitics of the United Arab Emirates and the Arab region in the age of globalization. Transforming the mythic history of Andalusia into a narrative of disclosure, the poet encounters a web of traditions and policies responsible for significant ramifications in the UAE and the Arab world. In a related context, the paper points out that the technique of adaptation, used by Ghabesh, which includes recollection rephrasing and re-writing of ancient heritage and Andalusian legacies to fulfill contemporary purposes, is part of the issue of hybridity and interculturation, characterizing the contemporary experience of political and cultural globalization. By assimilating heritage and historical traditions into contemporary Emirati literature, Ghabesh aims to link the past with the present reconstructing ancient narratives which shaped the cultural mythology of the Arab people.