Senate Approves Bill Making Teaching of Arabic Compulsory
The Senate on Monday approved a bill to make the teaching of the Arabic language compulsory in primary and secondary educational institutions across Islamabad.
The ministry concerned will implement the Compulsory Teaching of the Arabic Language Bill 2020, within a period of six months.
The newly approved bill states that Arabic will be taught in schools in Islamabad from grades 1 to 5, while Arabic grammar will be taught to grades 6 to 12.
The bill was moved by PML-N’s Senator Javed Abbasi, who said that the language should be taught from grade 1-5, while students of classes 6-11 should also learn Arabic grammar.
Javed Abbasi added that Arabic has been included in the top five languages spoken in the world and was also an official language of 25 countries. he maintained that Arabic should be taught as a compulsory language in all educational institutions.
Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan termed the bill “the best one” and said govt “categorically supported” the bill. He said this step should be taken 70 years ago.
Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam Senator Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri also voiced his support for the bill.
He said that “Arabic is the language of the heavens”, adding that learning Arabic could help in understanding the Holy Quran.
Senators Mushtaq Ahmed, Maulana Ghafoor Haideri, Sirajul Haq, and other senators also appreciated Javed Abbasi for bringing the bill in the upper house.
Meanwhile, PPP Senator Mian Raza Rabbani opposed the bill.
Offering his dissenting note at the senate session, Rabbani alleged that the legislation was the state’s attempt to use “Islam for achieving a political agenda”.
He further added that the state was trying to eliminate Pakistan’s multicultural and multi-lingual diversity by importing “Arab culture”.
“The Arab culture is not mine, [the] Indus Valley [Civilisation] is my culture.”
“We don’t need a certificate from anyone of being a Muslim,” Rabbani added while disagreeing with the notion of being outside the fold of Islam if one didn’t support the adoption of Arabic.
