As part of their efforts to promote the global presence of the Arabic language, and within the framework of their signed cooperation agreement to build educational and linguistic capacities among teachers and learners in several non-Arabic-speaking countries, the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) and the Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud Foundation launched the “Arabic for Non-Arabic Speakers Curriculum Support Project” in the Republic of Mauritius, in cooperation with the Blue Crescent Society of Mauritius.

Held on Saturday, January 18, 2025, at the University of Mauritius in Port Louis, the project launch ceremony was attended by a number of ministers, senior officials, members of the Mauritian Parliament, ICESCO Director-General, the Director-General of the Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud Foundation, the Secretary-General of the Blue Crescent Society, in addition to a host of experts and specialists in Arabic language education.

At the beginning of the ceremony, Dr. Mahend Gungapersad, Minister of Education and Human Resources of Mauritius, reaffirmed his country’s keenness to support Arabic learners, commending the efforts of ICESCO, its Director-General, and the Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud Foundation in this field, including this pioneering project officially launched today.

In his address, Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO Director-General, expressed his thanks and appreciation to the Government of Mauritius for the keen attention it accords to promoting linguistic and cultural pluralism in this country, a land steeped in history, abundant with diverse cultures and coexisting ethnicities, and deeply rooted in a rich heritage of cultural and religious identities, all proudly standing in one nation.

Dr. AlMalik also shared ICESCO’s hope to develop the project, in cooperation with the Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud Foundation, to become an educational center for developing skills or a training pole for building capacities, praising the distinguished partnership between the Organization and the Foundation in service of supporting Arabic education in non-Arabic-speaking countries.

Moreover, the Director-General stressed that linguistic diversity is a key factor in promoting dialogue and understanding among nations and peoples, a reality that immensely influences the Organization’s works, as evidenced by its programs to support teaching Arabic to students speaking different languages and belonging to other cultures and religions, and promote it as a language of peace, love, science, and dialogue. He further explained that Arabic is considered the richest language worldwide in terms of lexicon, with more than 12 million words; the first language of worship, used by one and a half billion Muslims around the world; one of the most widely spoken languages by non-Arabic speakers, used in more than sixty (60) countries; the language with the fourth largest online presence; one of the UN’s six official languages; and the official language of 25 countries.

Dr. AlMalik concluded his address by pointing out that the findings of several language foresight studies confirm Arabic’s ability to further spread on the global linguistic map, calling on various stakeholders to accord due attention to strengthening its presence through initiatives to mainstream Arabic education in all schools in non-Arabic-speaking countries, expressing ICESCO’s readiness to cooperate with Mauritius and other countries in this field.

For his part, Mr. Saleh bin Ibrahim Al-Khulaifi, Director-General of the Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud Foundation, stated that the launch of this project in the Republic of Mauritius stands witness to the attention the Foundation accords to promoting the status of Arabic at the global level, in cooperation with international organizations, especially ICESCO and the Blue Crescent Society.

He further explained that this approved curriculum, which was developed with funding from the Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud Foundation, in cooperation with Umm Al-Qura University in Saudi Arabia, caters to the needs of Arabic language departments in a number of European universities, pointing to the curriculum’s role in advancing Arabic education in many countries of the world.

Speaking next, Sheikh Ghulam Muhammad, Secretary-General of the Blue Crescent Society of Mauritius, praised the cooperation relations among the Society, ICESCO, and the Foundation to support the Arabic language as a bridge of communication and intercultural dialogue.

Sheikh Ghulam then presented certificates of appreciation to Dr. AlMalik and Dr. Al-Khulaifi. Afterwards, electronic devices were distributed to the beneficiaries, along with certificates of participation in the first training session held in Mauritius, on January 6–11, 2025.

Over the course of three months, the first phase of the project will benefit 15 schools from different regions of Mauritius with a total of 375 students, in addition to intensive training sessions for the benefit of 30 teachers.