Does the Arabic Language Encourage Radical Islam?
Native speakers of Arabic have long claimed that Arabic is far more than a language; rather, the language of Islam, the language chosen by God to speak to mankind, influences how a person perceives the world and expresses reality. This, in turn, has a profound impact on a society’s outlook. Thus, Ahmed Taleb Ibrahimi, a former Algerian minister of education, declares that “a people that changes language is a people that changes its soul and its view on the world.” Abdelkader Yefsah, a sociologist, recently wrote that use of the Arabic language “leads straight to . . . the primacy of the religious over all other activity.
