A war has begun in some Gulf countries and has spread to other Arab nations — a war against the Arabic language. Commercial outlets and restaurants do not display even a single Arabic word in their names, whether projected or hidden. If an American were to visit our countries, he might be astonished by this love for a foreign language, a phenomenon not seen in other countries.
The official language of our states is being sidelined, not even written in small fonts. This trend, invented by some Arab capitals, has spread to many of our countries and is beginning to infiltrate Islamic and Arab strongholds such as Madinah and Makkah. In the Cairo of Amr Ibn Al-Aas, I asked a Syrian vendor who had a display on a famous complex’s road why he did not write his store’s name in Arabic alongside the English. His answer, which carried much sadness, was that the complex’s owners required that all writing be in English only.
Who are these individuals with significant capital earned from our lands, attempting to eradicate our language completely? They are the enemies of the Arab nation who wish to keep us backward. They are not satisfied with maintaining us as a consuming nation that spends the abundant wealth Allah granted us without productivity, development or factories — only consuming goods from East and West and flaunting trademarks.
They strongly seek to erase our culture and deprive us of our identity. Imam Al-Shafi’i once said, "People did not become ignorant and differ, except because they left the language of the Arabs.” Al-Hasan al-Basri spoke about the losers, saying speaking in foreign languages destroyed them. Is the ultimate goal to keep the next generations in hidden ignorance, losing their ability to comprehend and innovate?
Who is behind this? The fight against our Arabic language is led by organized groups with abundant money who do not care about profits. A good businessman typically seeks profits, but these individuals seek losses. Many refrain from dealing with their companies or restaurants because they do not understand the language or due to their values that prevent them from entering establishments that do not respect their culture. This is an open war on the Arabic language, and in war, losses are not important; victory is. Will they achieve victory, making Arabic an extinct language? If so, who will read and understand the Holy Quran? This is their ultimate goal.
local@kuwaittimes.com