Ideological Repositioning of Christian Theology in Arabic Children's Translations of Dracula: Skopos, Domestication vs. Foreignization and Purification

Abstract

This paper examines the translation of religious ideology in Arabic children’s adaptations of Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897), focusing on the treatment of Christian symbols and theological concepts for Muslim child audiences. Drawing on Skopos theory, domestication and foreignization, and Klingberg’s purification strategy, it analyzes selected excerpts from two Arabic editions (Pharosbooks, 2018; Dar Al Maaref, 2021). The findings identify four strategies: theological substitution, ideological neutralization, cultural domestication, and religious purification. The study argues that translators act as ideological mediators, reshaping the source text according to target-culture religious values, censorship norms, and publishing expectations. It highlights implications for translation pedagogy, publishing ethics, and children’s literature scholarship in cross-cultural contexts