Archive for November, 2010
In Indonesia: Deputy Minister Highlights Importance Of Arabic Language
Bandar Seri Begawan – “Students who are studying in Arabic Schools and are able to communicate in Arabic Language have an advantage because they have the opportunity to gain a wider range of religious knowledge which uses Arabic as a medium. With the ability to understand the Arabic Language, students will also be able to understand the meaning of the verses in al-Quran. Therefore, it is undoubtedly that those who understand Arabic Language have many privileges due to the fact that Arabic is closely related to Islamic teachings.”
This was stated by Pengiran Haji Bahrom bin Pengiran Haji Bahar, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Religious Affairs in Indonesia yesterday at the Arabic Oratory and Story Telling Competition at the Conference Hall of the Islamic Dakwah Centre, Kampong Pulaie, organised by the Islamic Studies Department.
The Academic Resource Center (ARC) recently released data indicating the most popular subjects for tutoring at Tufts. Biology 14 was followed by Chemistry 2 as unsurprising first and second places for the Spring 2010 semester. But Arabic 1, a less obvious contender and the only language among the top 10, was fourth, which some have taken as a sign of the Arabic Department’s expansion and increased appeal among undergraduates.
Rana Abdul-Aziz, a lecturer of Arabic at Tufts, has watched the Arabic Department evolve over the last couple of years and explained that its expansion was less a growth spurt than a slow building of student interest in Arabic language and culture over the past decade — specifically since 2001.