With two weeks to go, the "Arabs Without God" book translation project on Kickstarter is now 32% funded. Many thanks to those who have pledged contributions.

The purpose of the fundraising is to cover the cost of translating the book into Arabic. The Arabic version will then be posted on the internet where it can be accessed by anyone free of charge – thus helping to stimulate much-needed debate in the Middle East about freedom of thought and belief. You can read more about English edition of the book here. 

Publishing the translation in this way means that almost any Arabic speaker who wishes to read the book will be able to access it. Commercial distribution of books in the Arab countries is often difficult, particularly with a book of this kind dealing with a sensitive topic which is still taboo in much of the region. Publishing on the internet will largely overcome the problem of censorship and other restrictions.

However, this is contingent on the fund reaching its target of £4,600 ($6,200) before December 18. If it's not fully funded by then, under Kickstarter's rules none of the pledges will be collected.

In the meantime, a translator is standing by to start work on the project and has produced a sample translation of the book's introduction. Arabic speakers can download it here. For comparison, the English original can be found on Amazon's website, using the "Look Inside" feature.

Comments on the translation sample are welcome. Several native Arabic speakers who have read it say it's of a high quality, though there are some differences of opinion about how "literary" it should be in style.

If you think this is a worthwhile project, please contribute to the fund, keeping in mind that the deadline is now only two weeks away.