updated 30 Oct 2015
... and a word for "vegan" in Arabic!
Sharbel Balloutine (pictured on the cover) from Haifa, Israel, has published what seems to be the first book on the topic of veganism written in Arabic (1, 2). This news is not literally all that new, as the book was published in 2012. The translation of the book's title is roughly "Veganism - a sublime way for humans to treat the earth and animals" (1, 3)
(الخُضريّة - تعامل أسمى للإنسان مع الأرض والحيوان). The book is self-published by the author (1).
Front cover
Back cover
Sharbel Balloutine has also coined what seems to be the first word/words in Arabic for "vegan". He has coined the following words:
al khodri الخُضْرِيّ = vegan person (male)
al khodria الخُضْرِيّة = vegan person (female)
al khodria الخُضْرِيّة = veganism (1)
"al" or "el" is the definite article like "the" in English. The last two words - for "vegan woman" and "veganism" - are the same. In Arabic it isn't uncommon for a female person and the name of a movement - like veganism - to have the same name (3).
The Arabic word for "vegetarian" is "nabati".
nabati نباتي = vegetarian (male, person or adjective)
nabatiyya نباتية = vegetarian (female, person or adjective)
The word "nabati" at the same time is the adjective for "plant" (nabat نبات), i.e. "plant-based" or "of plant origin", and it often seems to be understood as "100% plant-based", i.e. vegan (as in vegan food) (3).
The word "khodri" (vegan) is a newly coined word and is probably relatively unknown still. "Kodhri" is related to the words "khodra" (feminine adjective for "green") and "khodrawat" (Modern Standard Arabic for "vegetable") and "khodr" (Lebanese, Palestinian, Egyptian, ... Arabic for "vegetable"). This makes the word "khodria" related to "vegetables" or "green vegetables" (3).
There is a wikipedia-article about Sharbel Balloutine, and also one about the book (both in Arabic).
Thank you to Sharbel Balloutine for the information and for publishing this historic work!
(1) Personal communication with Sharbel Balloutine, September/October 2015
(2) Haaretz, Noa Shpigel: Veganism on the Rise Among Israeli Arabs. 13 September 2015 Link: http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.675472
(3) Personal communication with an experienced vegan Arabic speaker, October 2015