The Philippine Embassy in Iraq has initiated a project to translate José Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere from its original 19th-century Spanish into Arabic.

This marks the first time Noli Me Tangere has been translated into Arabic, a language spoken by over 400 million people worldwide.

The initiative was initially proposed in 2024 by Ambassador Charlie Pacaña Manangan, a Knight of Rizal from the Wilhelmsfeld-Heidelberg chapter in Germany, working in collaboration with the embassy’s cultural diplomacy team, headed by Third Secretary and Vice Consul Anthon Cayaco.

The Arabic translation was completed by Reyadh Mahdi Jasim Al-Najjar from the University of Baghdad.

A manuscript of the translation was officially presented to the Iraqi government, represented by Hisham Al-Alawi, Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Planning Affairs.

Copies of the Arabic translation are expected to be available in 2026.