FICRT announces the opening of Arabic language schools in Spain

On the occasion of World Arabic Language Day, which is celebrated every 18 December on the proposal of UNESCO, the Foundation for Islamic Culture and Religious Tolerance has announced the opening of several centres in Spain to teach Arabic language and culture. According to the announcement made by FICRT through its director general, Jumaa AlKaabi, the foundation will open two teaching centres through which it will offer the teaching of the Arabic language and the promotion of the culture associated with it.

Arabic is one of the six official languages of the United Nations, and is a language spoken by more than 400 million people. For this reason, FICRT seeks to contribute to extending the use of this language through education in Spain. Initially, a centre will be opened in Granada, whose Arabic courses will begin in February 2021, and then another will be opened in Madrid in June next year. In both centres, courses will be given at three levels, with a duration of 120 teaching hours in the case of the two most basic levels and 240 hours in the case of the intermediate level. FICRT intends to extend the presence of teaching centres based on the experiences of these first two. It will also rely on academic institutions, mainly universities, to guarantee quality teaching that can be adapted to current methodologies.

This news was presented during the event organised by FICRT and held in the context of the World Arabic Day, whose theme this year is also the teaching of this language through the academies. The event, entitled 'The Arabic language: between tradition and future', was supported by the United Arab Emirates through its embassy in Spain, and consisted of two round tables in which various academics linked to the Arabic language and culture participated, including a professor from the Emirate's Mohamed Bin Zayed University.

The opening of the event was attended by a councillor from the United Arab Emirates' embassy in Spain, Mr Ali Al Marzooqi, who stressed the importance of the ancient Arabic language, which has become a pillar of cultures and civilisations. He also added that Arabic has a rich presence in literature, both in prose and poetry, which has made it a language of respect and tolerance. The opening of the event was also attended by the foundation's director general, who, for his part, celebrated World Arabic Day and the connection that this language has with universal values and an important link with religion and tolerance, as it is the language in which the Koran is written, as a symbol of tolerance and Arab-Islamic coexistence. Jumaa Al-Kaabi has also stressed the great interest in Arabic that exists in our country, and which has led the foundation to announce the aforementioned opening of educational centres.

The first round table, entitled "The cultural wealth of the Arab language legacy", was moderated by Dr Josep Puig Montada, and the following speakers took part: Dr Ignacio Ferrando Frutos, Dr Rosa Isabel Martínez Lillo and Dr José Miguel Puerta Vílchez.

Professor Ferrando de Frutos has made a very illustrative presentation on the enormous impact that Arabic has on the Spanish language, and how it has developed since the arrival of the Arabs in the 8th century and the creation of Al Andalus. He has also exemplified throughout his exhibition how a multitude of words ranging from names and toponyms to other more common ones are present in our language in a completely naturalised way in a process that has lasted centuries and that, although its presence is difficult to quantify due to issues such as derivation, some experts estimate at more than 4,000, which gives a magnitude of the mark that the Arabic language has left on Spanish, whether in the peninsula or in Latin America.

For her part, Professor Martínez Lillo highlighted two areas in which Arabic must continue to be projected. On the one hand, she pointed to the Mediterranean side, but, on the other, she noted the growing presence of representatives of the Arabic language in America, as can be seen in many literary authors. He also stressed that the growing migration, with greater purchasing power and cultural level, is creating important communities that are helping to spread Arab culture and language. It has also highlighted the fact that countries such as the United Arab Emirates have been gaining a presence in the collective world imagination when it comes to pointing out or identifying an Arab country. 

Finally, the professor from the University of Granada, Dr. José Miguel Puerta, gave a presentation on the Alhambra in Granada as a monument to the Arabic language and culture. He showed the presence of the Arabic language in the aesthetic details of its construction, in what he called architectural calligrams, something unprecedented in the world. The professor commented on how in this complex the Arabic language is elevated to the category of architecture and, therefore, of monument, which, although it is visited by thousands of people, not all of them appreciate the linguistic resignation hidden in its walls.

In the second panel, under the theme "The current situation of the Arabic language", both speakers, Dr. Victoria Aguilar Sebastián from the University of Murcia and Ms. Nouf Ahmed Alsheihhi, emphasised the particular characteristics of the Arabic language today.

In the case of Victoria Gallego, it has been highlighted that the Arabic language is a language which shines with its own light, but in which there are many factors which have an influence and that the teaching systems must continue to be developed to favour its learning. She focused on the student as the focal point of the systems, as he or she may have a vocation for religious or merely educational learning and that this involves adapting all the elements that come into play in the learning of a new language.

The presence of the Emirati professor, Nouf Ahmed Alsheihhi, has shown the situation of language and how it is the backbone of coexistence and tolerance in the Arab world. She pointed out that language is the axis around which aspects such as behaviour and tradition revolve, and the way in which it leaves a legacy of tolerance and cohesion.

Finally, the President of FICRT's Board of Trustees, Dr. Alfred Kavanagh, took stock of everything that had been said during the debates, highlighting the interweaving of Arabic with the noblest universal values. He also stressed the work that the foundation will be doing in the new educational offer on the Arabic language and, finally, he showed the presence of Arabic in the most important work of literature in Spanish, Don Quixote, something that makes us fully aware of the ties that unite both languages and which are the best example of tolerance and coexistence between cultures.