Acknowledging the Arabic language

During these special days of Haj, millions of Muslims around the world are all praying in one voice as a sign of unity. They are invocating in a language of the Holy Qur’an that has been their means for worship for more than a thousand years.
Arabic has always been a major influence in the history of civilizations. Scholars are aware of the tremendous role and contribution it had played in the conservation and dissemination of human culture and sciences in what used to be known as the golden area of the Arabic language.
In 1973, the General Assembly of the United Nations has adopted the Arabic language as one of its official working languages. It was added along with English, French, Spanish, Chinese and Russian to be the key languages of the international body.
Last week the Executive Board of the United Nations Organization for Education, Science and Cultural (UNESCO) has announced the day of Dec. 18 of each year to be celebrated as the “World Arabic Language Day”.
Saudi Arabia and Morocco take the credit for inclusion of the request for this special day into UNESCO’s Executive Board agenda. Dr. Ziad Bin Abdullah Al-Drees, Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board of UNESCO and the Permanent Representative of Saudi Arabia there had played an integral part of this wonderful accomplishment.
The Arabic language is the official language of twenty-two member states in UNESCO. It is spoken by more than four hundred million Arabs, and is commonly used by more than a billion and a half Muslims in their daily lives. It is considered a second language in countries such as Turkey, Chad, Mali, Senegal and Eritrea.
Saudi Arabia is preparing itself for holding the first celebrations on this coming 18 Dec. 18. A special logo have been designed for the occasion and a set of events to be held that will include Arabic literary readings, lectures, theaters, exhibitions and all that will help introduce the Arabic language to other cultures and to explore more about the language and its impact on human civilization
It is the intention of the United Nations through creating special days like this one to increase awareness among member states to all of its languages, and achieve a broader cooperation between cultures through multilingualism, and cultural convergence, and civilizational dialogue, in line with what is contained in its charter.

A Tweet “Language is the road map of a culture. It tells you where its people come from and where they are going.”
— Rita Mae Brown

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