On the occasion of World Arabic Language Day, the Director General of Al-Mabarrat Charitable Association Dr. Mohammad Baqer Fadlallah delivered a lecture at Al-Kawthar Secondary School, part of the association, under the title “Protecting the Arabic Language Is a Duty”, in the presence of the school's director Ms. Rana Kobeissi, the teaching and administrative bodies, secondary stage students and a number of parents.
In his lecture Dr. Fadlallah affirmed “that celebrating the Arabic language is celebrating firm roots and wings that aspire to soar in the spaces of progress and innovation”. He said: “What the war the enemy recently waged on Lebanon proved is that holding fast to the Arabic language is not a choice but a national and human duty. The enemy that attacks our land and our identity knows that language is one of the pillars of steadfastness. So we must invest this great heritage and raise up our language as a means of preserving our identity and our culture. Language, like land, needs someone to tend it, to plant in it the meanings of pride and belonging, and to protect it from the fierce winds - because it is the compass that defines our features in a world searching for firmness in a time of change.”
He pointed out that “the Arabic language is among the most refined languages of the world, distinguished by its richness and abundance compared with other languages. It also contains unique features and phenomena, which make it among the world's strongest languages, distinguished by derivation and inflection, which give it flexibility and precision in expression. It is also a musical language carrying an aural beauty and harmony, which makes it expressive of a person's feelings and sensations”.
He added: “Protecting the language is an academic and cultural task, and in essence a religious and national duty. So we must revive it in our daily lives so that it remains the guardian of our Islamic and Arab identity, especially in the face of what we witness today of an invasion of our culture under the banner of globalization and the threat it poses to cultural, civilizational and religious identity. If the Arabs handle this phenomenon well, they can shape it to suit their own development. Hence the Arabic language must keep pace with developments in the digital world so as to become a mirror reflecting awareness and progress. This makes us alert to the dangers of its disappearance and to keeping away from colloquial languages and dialects in presenting any content on social media and in the press.”
He stressed that “the Arabic language is the cornerstone in building bridges between contemporary sciences and our cultural reality. It has never been an obstacle to scientific and technological progress; rather it is the vessel that guarantees this scientific and intellectual progress at one and the same time. It is also the vessel of the divine message and a key to understanding the meanings of the Holy Quran, given the linguistic richness and precision of expression it carries. Accordingly, protecting the language is a religious, national and cultural duty, and preserving it and teaching it to coming generations amounts to protecting the heavenly message from distortion and loss”.
He called on the students “to make the Arabic language the language of knowledge, learning and development, so that it remains a blessed tree pulsing with giving, watering the roots of this nation and carrying the banner of guidance and light for our coming generations”. He also called on them to learn something new about their language every day, to help spread it among everyone, and to preserve this rich language, which carries within it nobility and creativity - and to remember that the Arabic language is the secret of their identity and their strength.
The Director General of Al-Mabarrat closed his lecture with a set of recommendations addressed to the students, summed up as: learning the Arabic language and mastering it; reading the Holy Quran and understanding its meanings, which helps raise one's linguistic store; taking part in cultural activities that focus on the Arabic language; using the Arabic language in daily life, especially on social media; and attending to the Arabic arts, in particular calligraphy and Arabic poetry.
After that the students put a set of questions to Dr. Fadlallah about the subject of the lecture, which he answered directly in an atmosphere of warmth and affection.
In closing, the school honored the Director General of Al-Mabarrat, presenting him with a gift - an olive sapling as a symbol of steadfastness and pride, to plant in his village in South Lebanon - and souvenir photographs were taken with him.
