Arabic

SOURCE: THE NATIONAL BY: ANAM RIZVI Private schools are to roll out a new Arabic digital teaching programme to help pupils use aspects of the language in every day life. Using mobile apps, pupils will be taught common words in a range of topics, including food, sports and exercise. Global education company Pearson will launch … Continued

SOURCE: CBC BY: JOSEE ST-ONGE At Calder School in north Edmonton, the morning rendition of O Canada alternates between English, French, Cree and Arabic. Almost half of the student population is enrolled in the elementary school’s Arabic bilingual program, and embracing other cultures is part of the curriculum. “I like it,” said nine-year-old Teeba Al-Shaikhly. “It makes … Continued

SOURCE: THE WASHINGTON POST BY: MICHAEL E. RUANE As a slave, he was called “Morro” or “Uncle Moreau.” A dignified man in his 60s, he was small in stature, unfit for hard work and had been enslaved for almost a quarter-century. He spoke limited English. But his real name was Omar ibn Said. He had … Continued

Omar Ibn Said, a wealthy intellectual from West Africa, wrote about his capture and enslavement in America SOURCE: SMITHSONIAN BY: BRIDGIT KATZ Omar Ibn Said was leading a prosperous life in West Africa at the turn of the 19th century, devoting himself to scholarly pursuits and the study of Islam, when he was captured, carted … Continued

SOURCE: THE NATIONAL Invented 5,400 years ago in what today is Iraq, writing was the greatest of the cultural legacies left to the world by the ancient Middle East. When it was launched in Abu Dhabi in 2007, the International Prize for Arabic Fiction had two ambitions: to encourage the writing and recognition of contemporary … Continued

SOURCE: THE NATIONAL BY: RUPERT HAWKSLEY The longlist for the 2019 International Prize for Arabic Fiction has been announced and includes seven female authors, the highest number in the prize’s history, and novels by authors from nine different countries, including Egypt, Eritrea, Iraq and Morocco. Two of the authors on the list – Lebanon’s May … Continued

SOURCE: THE NEW YORK TIMES BY: EMMA BUBOLA ROMAINVILLE, France — Early on Sunday mornings, Habiba Hatem, 9, prepares her own breakfast, grabs her flashy pink school bag and jumps into her father’s car — bound for Arabic lessons at her local mosque in a suburb north of Paris. Colorful sketches of how to perform … Continued