Izah Azahari

Universiti Islam Sultan Sharif Ali (UNISSA) through its Faculty of Arabic Language in cooperation with the Faculty of Arabic Language Student Body celebrated the World Arabic Language Day recently.

According to the Dean of the Faculty of Arabic Language of UNISSA Associate Professor Dr Siti Sara binti Haji Ahmad, the World Arabic Language Day is celebrated annually on September 18 in conjunction with the selection of the language by the United Nations as one of the official languages of the organisation.

The recognition of the Arabic Language at the global level is a sign of recognition of the great potential of Arabic as the language of Al-Quran, the worship language, the language of knowledge and the language of civilisation.

In the context of Brunei Darussalam, added the dean, Arabic plays a very important role in reaffirming religious experience, appreciation of Al-Quran and learning Arabic in Brunei’s capacity as a Zikir Nation.

UNISSA, in this regard, plays a very huge and significant role in which through the Faculty of Arabic Language, various academic and non-academic programmes have been and are being intensified and enhanced from time to time in accordance with the needs of religion, race, nation and global society.

Chairman of the Faculty of Arabic Language Student Body Izzul Afifi bin Haji Kifli said that a celebration such as this could inspire students to improve their Arabic Language skills not only by practising them in the classroom, but also by actively engaging in any Arabic Language activities.

The chairman added that the body and the faculty have been active and organising activities to polish students’ skills, especially in communication.

Four programmes and activities were launched during the inauguration, such as the Faculty of Arabic Language Student Body online newsletter, the ‘Let’s Practice the Arabic Language’ programme, the ‘Arabic Language via Skype’ programme, and ‘Arabic Language with Peers’ programme.