SHARJAH, 16th December, 2021 (WAM) — In the presence of Prof. Awad Hussain Al Khalaf, Acting Director of Al Qasimia University (AQU), Al Qasimia University organised a linguistic forum, on the occasion of the World Arabic Language Day, which falls on the 18th of December each year, entitled the "Arabic Language and Civilised Communication".
The Forum was attended by Prof. Dr. Saleh Belaid, President The Supreme Council of the Arabic Language in Algeria, Dr. Muhammad Safi Al Mosteghanemi, Secretary General of the Arabic Language Academy in Sharjah, member of the Board of Trustees of Al Qasimia University, and Mohamed Hassan Khalaf, Director General of the Sharjah Broadcasting Authority (SBA), in addition to Prof. Hassan Al Malakh, Acting Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College of Arts and Humanities in Al Qasimia University.
The forum was moderated by Dr. Omar Abu Nawas from the Department of Arabic Language and Literature, whereas he explained the interest of Al Qasimia University in the Arabic language, under the directives of its founder, H.H. Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah.
Prof. Dr. Saleh Belaid spoke online about the role of the Arabic language in cultural communication in the Arab-Islamic civilisation.
Prof. Dr. Saleh Belaid mentioned that it had contributed to documenting the achievements of the Arab-Islamic civilisation over several centuries whether in astronomy, engineering, physics, philosophy, sociology, medicine, and other fields.
Mohamed Hassan Khalaf, pointed online, to the importance of preserving the Arabic language in the media as part of the true identity of the Arabs, explaining that foreign words negatively affect the culture of the young generations.
The forum concluded with a paper by Prof. Dr. Hassan Al Malakh on the Arabic word being a civilisation ambassador, explaining that the Arabic language is one of the most important bridges of linguistic communication in the world for nearly two thousand years, rather, it has become important in the modern era after the United Nations’ decision to adopt a global language capable of expressing the United Nations values of peace and progress.
According to UNESCO, the Arabic language is a pillar of the cultural diversity of humanity. It is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, used daily by more than 400 million people. World Arabic Language Day is celebrated every year on 18 December since 2012. The date coincides with the day in 1973 that the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted Arabic as the sixth official language of the Organization.
This year’s World Arabic Language Day theme "Arabic Language, a bridge between civilisations" is a call to reaffirm the important role of the Arabic language in connecting people through culture, science, literature and many more domains.The theme highlights the historic role of Arabic in creating and transmitting knowledge, as well as in enhancing dialogue and building peace.