Oriental Studies Scholar Receives Prestigious State Award

Ahead of Republic Day, Samal Tuleubayeva, Doctor of Philological Sciences and Acting Professor at the Department of Oriental Studies, was awarded the Order of Qurmet. The state decoration was presented by Sayasat Nurbek, Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

In 1998, Samal Tuleubayeva graduated with honours in Arabic Language and Literature from the Department of Arabic Language and Literature, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University in Fez, Kingdom of Morocco. In 2004, she completed her master’s degree with honours in Oriental Studies at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, specialising in Arabic Studies. In 2013, she received a second higher education degree in History from the Eurasian Humanities Institute.

In 2010, she defended her doctoral dissertation entitled “The Stratification of Al-Farabi’s Linguistic Personality within the Comparative-Historical Paradigm.” She holds the academic title of Associate Professor.

Samal Tuleubayeva has worked at L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University since 1998. She was among the founders of the Faculty of Oriental Studies, established at the university in 1999 and reorganised as the Department of Oriental Studies one year later. During her career, she progressed from lecturer to Head of Department.

Throughout her years at the university, Samal Tuleubayeva has established herself as a highly qualified professional and developed an original methodology for teaching Arabic. She is greatly respected by her colleagues and students, and her classes are conducted to high organisational and methodological standards.

Samal Tuleubayeva is a nationally recognised scholar specialising in Oriental and Arabic studies, Al-Farabi’s legacy, medieval Islamic civilisation, and the contemporary Arab and Muslim worlds. She regularly provides expert commentary on Kazakhstani television concerning developments in the Arab world, issues affecting the Arab, Muslim and Turkic worlds, the legacy of Al-Farabi, and Kazakhstan’s cooperation with Eastern countries.

She made a significant contribution to the successful organisation of the Year of Al-Farabi in Kazakhstan.

Samal Tuleubayeva is the author of more than 250 publications, including academic and popular-science articles, conference abstracts and translations. Her works include the monograph “One Thousand and One Nights in the Kazakh Folklore Tradition” (2009) and five textbooks:

“Arabic: Event-Based Texts” (2008);

“Arabic: Event-Based Texts” (2012);

“Arabic for Economics” (2014);

“Arabic Studies in Kazakhstan” (2020);

“Classical and Contemporary Oriental Studies” (2022).

She is also a nationally recognised translator working from Arabic into Kazakh and Russian and vice versa. She has been engaged by the Presidential Administration, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Parliament and the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan, as well as other state institutions, to provide interpretation services at high-level events.

In particular, she provided interpretation during official visits by senior Kazakhstani officials to Arab countries, including Nursultan Nazarbayev, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Maulen Ashimbayev, Kairat Mami, Makhmud Kassymbekov, Yerlan Sydykov, Bakytzhan Abdiraiym and others.

She also contributed to the First through Eighth Congresses of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, held in 2003, 2006, 2009, 2012, 2015, 2018, 2022 and 2025, as well as meetings of the Congress Secretariat and its working groups.

In addition, she provided interpretation during official visits to Kazakhstan by leaders and senior representatives of Arab countries, including Egyptian Presidents Hosni Mubarak and Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. She also worked at the World Islamic Economic Forum, international meetings on Syria held within the framework of the Astana Process from 2017 to 2024, and other major events.

Samal Tuleubayeva was the winner of the university-wide “Pride of Eurasia – 2009” competition and received the title of “Best University Teacher of 2013.” In 2020, she was awarded the badge “For Merit in the Development of Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan.”

In 2021, she won an article competition for non-native Arabic speakers organised by Egypt’s Ain Shams University as part of its celebration of World Arabic Language Day. In 2023, she received the Grand Gold Medal “For an Outstanding Contribution to the Development of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University.”