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Language, religion, and communication
The case of Islam and Arabic in the Asia-Pacic
Ahmed Saad Al Shlowiy
Royal Commission for Jubail, Saudi Arabia
The Arabic language is associated with Islam and is the language of the Holy
Qur’an, which Muslims believe to be God’s words. Due to religious,
educational, socio-cultural, and geographic factors, Qur’anic Arabic is
revered by many Muslims in the Asian Pacic countries, who use the
language to perform religious rituals. Those Muslims use the language as an
Islamic lingua franca to communicate with each other. This paper discusses
the historical relationship between Islam and Arabic, how this relationship
strengthens both of them, and how they both spread across the world,
especially to the Asian Pacic countries that have the majority of the world’s
non-Arab Muslims. It also sheds light upon the ways in which Islam
preserves the Arabic language and converts it into a universal language that
is used in all of these countries. This leads the discussion of how learning
Arabic in Asian Pacic communities strengthens communication not only
among Muslims but also within each Muslim to conduct his/her religious
deeds, prayers, and behaviors. The paper also attempts to explore the
possibility of learning Arabic as a foreign language by some Non-Muslims
in those communities.
Keywords: Islam in the Asia-Pacic, Arabic in the Asia-Pacic, Qur’anic
Arabic, Arabic maintenance, language maintenance
Introduction
The birth of Islam in the seventh century was the most signicant event in Arab
history. Islam changed the power standards of religion, culture, language, poli-
tics, and economy. Islam initially started in the Arabian Peninsula in the Prophet
Mohammed’s life, and increasingly became an empire to cover a large area. Islam
stretched from the western parts of China to the south of France. It is currently
followed by 1.5 billion Muslims worldwide. In the Asia-Pacic, it is the predomi-
nant religion in many countries, including Indonesia and Pakistan.
https://doi.org/10.1075/japc.00040.shl |Published online: 17 December 2019
Journal of Asian Pacific Communication issn 0957-6851 |e‑issn 1569-9838
© John Benjamins Publishing Company
In parallel, the Arabic language spread from its birthplace to those parts in
Asia and Europe. Its connections with Islam changed it into a religious language.
It is the language of the Holy Qur’an, which is a signicant religious text revealed
to the prophet. Qur’anic Arabic is alive due to its connection with the Qur’an
(Menocal, 1985). It is not a mother tongue to anyone anymore, but it is the ances-
tral language of modern standard Arabic that is used formally in government doc-
uments, educational institutions, and mass media. Arabic plays a central role in
Muslims’ daily practices.
Arabic is important in the Muslim worldview. It also has a complex situation
in any Muslim community across the world due to dierent uses of it. Muslims
do not use and speak Arabic in the same way. Indeed, their connections to Arabic
dier from one place to another (Alsaha, 2016). Most Muslims are non-Arab and
reside in non-Arabic speaking countries. Those non-Arab Muslims need Arabic to
practice their prayers and to read the Qur’an. However, they do not need Arabic
in their communication. Most of them do not learn a spoken form of Arabic.
Arabic has become a pluricentric language that has been used in several coun-
tries (Abd-el-Jawad, 1992). According to Clyne and Kipp (1999), pluricentric-
ity illustrates that a language has more than one center. Each center provides a
national variety with its own norms and linguistic characteristics to distinguish it
from other varieties. A pluricentric language serves as a symbol to represent the
identity and social uniqueness as well as the ocial status in its nation.
This paper investigates the situation of the Islamic religion and Arabic lan-
guage in the Asia-Pacic. It is an introductory overview to present some essential
features of Islam and Arabic in the Asian Pacic countries. Also, it describes the
historical relationships between Islam and Arabic that lead to: (1) the presence of
Arabic in the Asia-Pacic, (2) the learning of Arabic in educational institutions of
some countries in the Asia-Pacic, and (3) the Arabic maintenance among Mus-
lims across the Asia-Pacic.
Arabic language
The Arabic language is a South-Central Semitic language. It is one of the six o-
cial languages of the United Nations. It is the ocial language of 22 Arab coun-
tries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). These countries are mutually
called the Arab World due to the fact that their populations speak Arabic as L1.
Some surrounding countries have speakers of Arabic as a second language, such
as Pakistan, India, and Indonesia in Asia, as well as Chad and Nigeria in Africa
(Huthaily, 2008). It is also spoken as a foreign language in Turkey and some parts
of Southeast Europe. Therefore, it is spoken as a rst language by about 300 mil-
[2] Ahmed Saad Al Shlowiy
lion people across the globe (Sayed, 2015). Moreover, there are about 467 million
speakers of Arabic in general, which makes it the fourth most popular language
(Ammon, 2010).
Arabic functions as the scriptural language of Islam. It is the literary language
of the Holy Qur’an, which is the sacred book of Islam. This religious language is
known as an Al-fusha and Al-arabiah among Muslims. It is known as Classical
Arabic or Standard Arabic in the Western World and among linguists. This stan-
dard language is clearly understood by all speakers of Arabic regardless of nation-
ality. It is studied and familiar in all over the Islamic World. Muslims use it when
they pray, and believe it enables them to understand the God’s message in the
Holy Qur’an (Hewer, 2006). It plays important roles in cultural contexts, social
structures, and linguistic features of all Muslim countries.
From this standard language, Modern Arabic derives and is classied as the
Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). Arabic is the formal language of government,
education, and media (Alsaha, 2016). It has many sub-languages that were devel-
oped as spoken varieties or colloquial Arabic across the Arab world. This means
each country develops its own spoken Arabic variety, such as Yemeni Arabic,
Sudanese Arabic, and Egyptian Arabic. Modern and colloquial Arabic make a per-
fect example of diglossia (Ferguson, 1959), which is a widespread phenomenon in
the speaking communities of the Arab World (Alsaha, 2018). Diglossia makes a
sociolinguistic context for speakers to use two varieties of a language simultane-
ously within a single speech community: a variety for their daily communication
and another for formal communication and writing.
Qur’anic Arabic
The Holy Qur’an was written in Classical Arabic from approximately the sixth
century. Classical Arabic was emerged as a collative language of various tribal
dialects in Arabian Peninsula (Abd-el-Jawad, 1992). Those tribal dialects con-
tacted frequently in Mecca for commercial, religious, and literary purposes. Such
contacts of dierent Arab tribes contributed to the development of a dialect that
was wider than any isolated dialect (Chejne, 1969). It was the dialect of Quraysh,
the tribe of Prophet Mohammed. According to Ryding (2005), Classical Arabic
was a “highly developed formal oral art practiced by all Arab tribal groups and
held in the highest esteem” (p.2). Arab tribes used it in the public recitation and
oral composition of poetry.
Poetry was the main feature of that area before the rise of Islam. At that age,
Arab people were not among advanced nations and did not have a unique civi-
lization. However, they were distinguished by their extremely advanced literary
taste, and they were able to enjoy and appreciate any good pieces of literature.
Language, religion, and communication [3]
While Arabs were illiterate people, they relied on their sharp memory to store
their poetry legacy. Their industry was literature and literacy. Therefore, Arabic
was selected to be the language of the Holy Qur’an, which is believed to be the
God’s word. That God-given language was revealed to the Prophet Mohammed
(Chejne, 1969).
Arabs acknowledge the Qur’an as the rst text that represents their language.
Alsaha (2016) states that the Qur’an is considered as the most perfect book of the
Standard Arabic tongue. Arabs consider the Qur’an as an inimitable masterpiece
of literature. They are attracted to its great majesty, unique melody, extraordinary
beauty, and unmatched style. They enjoy a supreme privileged position over all
other regional dialects and are famous for their eloquence of language. Therefore,
they embarked on a recitation and memorization of the Qur’an.
The relationship between Arabic and Islam
Arabic has much religious signicance and a more prestigious function as the lan-
guage of Islam. Because the Qur’an encourages Arabs to invite all people to Islam,
Islam spread outside the Arabian Peninsula. Non-standard spoken Arabic vari-
eties gradually arose as a result of many language contact situations between Stan-
dard Arabic and other languages spoken outside the Arabian Peninsula (Alsaha,
2016). To understand God’s message in the Qur’an, many non-Arab Muslims had
to learn Arabic in order to read it, to practice a real religion, and have good prayers
(Hewer, 2006). As they struggled to learn the language of the new religion, they
developed some non-native features, which are called lahn in Arabic, when they
read the Qur’an.
It is worth mentioning that learning the language of Islam initiated the
process of language codication to record and systematize the language. Many
Arab grammarians, such as Al-Du’ali and Sibawayh, attempted to protect the
Qur’anic Arabic (Abd-el-Jawad, 1992), to establish the grammatical norms, and to
preserve the purity of the language among Arabic speakers (Elgibali, 1988). There-
fore, Arabic speakers can teach it to non-Arabic Muslims based on its models
and uses in the Holy Qur’an (Eisele, 2002). Because the Qur’an grants the Arabic
language power and elegance, it was rapidly spread all over the old world (Asia,
Africa, and Europe). It was an integral part of the spread of Islam, and it worked
as a lingua franca among Muslims.
Muslims believe that the Qur’an is universal because it addresses all people
and establishes the basic rules of moral and social behavior of the society. It com-
mands Muslims to pursue knowledge and explore nature to look for the Creator’s
signs. Indeed, it was only a matter of time to nd non-Arab scholars and scientists
[4] Ahmed Saad Al Shlowiy
who became well-known to serve Islam, such as Al-bukhari and Muslem (Abd-el-
Jawad, 1992). In addition, Muslims traders also contributed to the spread of Ara-
bic to long distance, and particularly into Asian regions. Besides exchanging com-
modities, trade involved trac of Arab’s ideas, religion, and culture (Ostler 2005).
Islamic Civilization
Muslim scholars were able to create a science-based society while Europe was
still in the Dark Ages. During the medieval ages, Muslims were at the forefront
of human civilization and achievement (Lewis, 2003). Islamic civilization was the
center of the world. Bibbs (1999) states that they created an innovative view of
the world and contributed with an enormous number of empirical studies in the
natural sciences. That period established the foundations of modern universities,
algebra, astronomy, science, and experiential inquiry (Lewis, 2003).
Several generations of Arab scholars not only developed these studies, but
also supported Arabic as the prestigious language of science of that period
(Hinkle, 2009). Arabic was synonymous with learning and science for about ve
centuries (Lewis, 2003). Arabic was not only the language of Muslims (Menocal,
1985), but it was in great demand by non-Arabs who lived within the Islamic
empire. During that time, contact with Arab scholars in dierent branches of sci-
ence required a high level of prociency and literacy in Arabic (Osman, 2003).
Menocal (1985) mentions that this scientic brilliance made Arabic the lan-
guage of the non-native elite, the educated, and the language of prestige in the
eleventh century. Authentic Arabic and translated texts were spread throughout
the world (Gallego, 2003), as well as the broad use of Arabic script for decorative
purposes (Mack, 2002). Furthermore, non-native Arabic speakers started to
translate Arabic texts into other languages (Spade, 1994). Such translations went
together with the Arabization process by the end of the eleventh century
(Corriente, 1997).
There is no doubt that Arabic had become a world language (Mufwene, 2010).
The Islamic empire converted Arabic into a universal language understood by all
Arabs (Eisele, 2002) and a global language (Ammon, 2010). As a result of that
empire, the speakers experience its global reach wherever they travel around the
world. Due to the political and military power of Muslims in the middle ages,
Crystal (2003) considers it an international language. As it still serves purposes
of long distance and international communication, it is considered as one of the
super-central languages, the same as Chinese, English, Hindi, Japanese, Malay,
and Turkish (Ammon, 2010).
Language, religion, and communication [5]
Islam and Arabic in the Asia-Pacic
Islam initially spread outside the Arabian Peninsula due to the widespread trade
routes between Muslims and Asian traders. Trade existed between pre-Islamic
Arabia and Asian coasts before the birth of Islam. Therefore, Islam existed in the
Asia-Pacic as early as the seventh century. Muslim traders arrived the southwest
of India, which is currently known as Kerala state (Ostler 2005). In addition, some
Muslim traders preached in the Maritime Southeast Asia, Indo-China, and China,
which include Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, and China.
Those individual traders, including some companions (Sahaba) of Prophet
Mohammed, peacefully brought Islam to the western coastal trading ports of Asia.
In the eighth century, the Indian subcontinent and parts of west China were under
the Islamic rule (Ostler 2005). From that time to the tenth century, Islam extended
gradually across the maritime and inland silk routes by trade, war, and diplomatic
exchanges.
By the 15th century, Islam was the majority faith of people in many areas
of Asia-Pacic. For example, Islam became the dominant religion in – what are
known today as – Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei. Cur-
rently, Islam is the largest religion in Asia followed by Hinduism. Islam is the
religion of about 25% of people in Asia. The total number of Muslims in Asia
exceeded 1.1 billion in 2010. Therefore, Asia is considered as the home of the
largest Muslim population.
The Asia-Pacic particularly has nearly 62% of the world’s Muslims, according
to Desilver and Masci (2017) on the Pew Research Center analysis. There are
about 986 million Muslims in the Asia-Pacic. Nearly a quarter of people living
in the Asia-Pacic region are Muslim. In India and Pakistan, there are about 344
million Muslims. This number is more than Muslims in the entire MENA region
that has about 317 million. Indonesia is the country with the largest number of
Muslims, about 209 million. The second country of the largest Muslim is India
with 176 million.
Eects on culture, education, and media
As Islam becomes the most broadly practiced religion in many parts of the Asia-
Pacic, its spread has developed major changes in society, culture, and lifestyles.
The growing number of Islamic schools in the Southeast Asia is an example of
these changes. Similarly, the values of Islamic economy and Islamic banking that
avoid charging interest exist in several Asian Pacic countries (Houben, 2003). A
third example is following some medical practices of Muslim scholars, traditions,
[6] Ahmed Saad Al Shlowiy
and wisdom that have had an inuence on the modern medicine. This part shows
the Islamic eects on education, culture, and media in Asia-Pacic.
Asian Pacic countries have multi-ethnic, multicultural, and multi-religious
communities. These countries are inclusive of some foreign cultures due to the
trade, immigration, war, and religion. For example, China has received and
included many cultures since its recorded history of the pre-Qing period, the
Silk Road, and accordingly the arrival of Islamic culture as well as the Buddhism
from India, and the western science and democracy of the current culture (Shi-
xu, 2010). Such a cultural openness claries the contemporary engagement of Chi-
nese society in several foreign cultures. In addition, the culture can facilitate the
transnational role of the global languages, such as English and Arabic.
China is only one example of those countries in which Muslims come from
various social backgrounds and ethnic groups. They also speak dierent lan-
guages. However, they practice common traditions such as performing their daily
ve prayers, reading the Qur’an, teaching their children, and telling them the
Qur’anic stories. Many religious performances demonstrate common literacy
practices among Muslims in the Asia-Pacic. Most of these practices rely on
Islamic culture that has become a common culture in these countries.
Using Arabic language to perform the religious duties by Muslims in these
countries is one of the signicant changes. Arabic is a main part of Islamic culture.
Religious practices and studies require Muslims to learn Arabic, although many
Islamic texts were translated into local languages. Such practices, studies, and
translations rely on government policies as well as the number of Muslims in the
population of any country (Houben, 2003). As a result of the existence of Ara-
bic, many Arabic words are used in other languages of these countries. It has lent
many words to Malay, Bahasa, Bengali, and Urdu.
In Southeast Asia, for example, Malay is the dominant ethnic group, partic-
ularly in Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, and Malaysia. They adopted the Islamic
religion, which is considered as an essential identity with Malay ethnicity and
Malay language (Asmah 1983). In addition, the Malay language is inuenced by
the Arabic language. Malay borrows many Arabic words in religion, science, and
agriculture, such as the Arabic words dean, madrasah, and imam. Dean means
a religion, madrasah means a school, and imam means a religious leader. Also,
many Arabic words are used in the prayers and religious practices. Ismail (1983)
states that Arabic script is used by Malay to produce Islamic books for religious
education.
Moving to education, the Malaysian educational system reects a clear exam-
ple of a multi-ethnic country. This pluralistic country allows various types of
schools to provide their services to dierent Malaysian ethnic groups. For
instance, the education system should satisfy the needs of Malay community that
Language, religion, and communication [7]
relies on Islam and Arabic. Therefore, Arabic has been oered to students in pri-
mary and secondary schools, as well as at tertiary level. Students might learn
it either as a compulsory and elective subject course (Aladdin, 2010). Arabic is
taught to Malaysian students regardless of their religion and cultural background.
In the Indonesian educational system, Arabic is the second largest foreign
language aer English. It is not only a foreign language but also the language of
the Islamic religion and culture, which is the largest religion in Indonesia. Ara-
bic learning starts from and within the pesantrens (schools). Arabic is taught as a
tool to understand the Islamic texts including the Qur’an, Hadith, and the works
of Muslims in ethics, exegesis, law, and theology. Pesantren is considered as one
of the most Arabized educational institutions that provides a densely Arabic envi-
ronment. Its priority goes to reading and comprehension more than other lan-
guage skills (Tohe, 2018). In this environment, a new dialect Arabic is produced as
a mixture with Indonesian or Javanese pronunciation.
The school system provides and transmits the positive values of society to the
younger generation. In the Asia-Pacic, Islamic schools integrate core academic
subjects and Islamic religious subjects within the formal curriculums for Muslims
(Adnan, 2017). They are not just a privilege, but also necessary to maintain the sta-
tus quo (Kilani, 2003) and to strengthen ethnicity, religion, and language within
the educational and sociopolitical contexts (Ilias & Adnan, 2014).
Arabic in education and media
While it is dicult to separate Arabic and Islam and disregard their tight connec-
tion, this part focuses on the language. Arabic receives a special respect as it is
the language of Islam. Arabic is closely connected with Islam and regarded as “the
language of Heaven,” is widely taught in religious as well as in secular schools, and
is academically introduced in universities programs (Abdalla, 2006). In Malaysia,
learning Arabic has found a solid base in which people study Arabic in schools. In
Indonesia, Muslims use Arabic as medium to teach Islam, recite the Qur’an, con-
vey the prophet’s Hadith ‘messages,’ and perform Islamic rituals and prayers. It is
part of the curriculum to aord learners with opportunities to develop their reli-
gious knowledge (Aladdin, 2010).
This case exists in most Asian Pacic countries with the majorities of Mus-
lims, including Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Brunei. Moreover, Arabic is used for
communication by some non-Muslims in these countries. It can be learned by
people of other ethnics regardless of their religion and cultural background
(Aladdin, 2010). The Malaysian education system oers the Arabic language to
students in all levels of schools and at tertiary level. In Indonesia, Arabic learning
is currently conducted in modernized schools aer considering the weaknesses of
[8] Ahmed Saad Al Shlowiy
teaching in the traditional schools. It is not merely a religious language, but more
as a world language for secular purposes (Tohe, 2018).
Regarding the media, the mass media provide people with information about
political issues, social issues, lifestyles, entertainment, and news. The mass media
are among the most powerful agents of public education. Also, they play a critical
role in not only language learning, but also language maintenance (Abdalla, 2006).
Nowadays, media work as a valuable platform to learn various foreign lan-
guages and to support better understanding of dierent cultures. Indeed, modern
digital media enable cultures to navigate the globe with speed. In the language
learning context, the media provide learners with more opportunities to practice
the language and socialize through the language than the school does (Al shlowiy,
2014).
The presence of Arabic mass media diers from country to country in Asia-
Pacic countries. However, the internet and social media make Arabic mass
media accessible everywhere. Nowadays, the world is connected by numerous
means of communication. People can listen to a radio station, watch a television
channel, or read a newspaper in whatever language they prefer (Abdalla, 2006).
Arabic satellite channels, such as Al-Arabiyah and Aljazeera, are available
24 hours a day across the countries. Some channels in several countries show
some Arabic programs, mainly in religious festivals including Friday prayers, Hajj,
and Ramadan (Asmah, 1983). For instance, the Malaysian ART channel is a popu-
lar channel that broadcasts in Arabic (Abdalla, 2006). Muslims are keen to follow
the Islamic programs, watch Arabic channels, and update themselves about inter-
national news.
Language maintenance
Language maintenance means speakers’ ability to continue using their language
in all life spheres, regardless of the existence of any dominant language in these
spheres. According to Giles, Bourhis, and Taylor (1977), three main factors sup-
port language maintenance: status, demographic factor, and institutional support.
They called these factors ethnolinguistic vitality that show the ability of people to
maintain and protect their presence as a communal entity with a distinctive iden-
tity and language. The status factor includes economic status, social status, and
language status. The demographic factor relies on the number of language speak-
ers and their distribution. The institutional support factor refers to the extent to
which the language is represented in dierent institutions of the country.
Similarly, Conklin and Lourie (1983) provide some factors to promote lan-
guage maintenance. First, demographic and social factors such as high concentra-
Language, religion, and communication [9]
tion, geographical proximity, and low permanence of residence. Second, cultural
factors including widespread of minority language institutions and the impor-
tance of the minority language in performing religious ceremonies. Finally, lin-
guistic factors such as if the minority language is the standard written variety of
the language.
Linguistic factors and cultural factors are also signicant to support language
maintenance. Among the importance of the vitality of any group is the extent to
which the language is used as the language of religion Giles et al. (1977). When
language and religion are strongly connected, people can maintain and protect
their language.
The role of religion in language maintenance
Understanding the relation between religion and language has been recognized
by linguists. For example, Crystal (1965) is considered one of the earliest
researchers to focus on religious language. Research in theoretical linguistics
elds includes the context of language in religion. It also discusses language in
specic religions, their holy texts, and their translation, as well as modernizing
their register. Dealing with religious texts requires to address the status of partic-
ular languages in particular religions, such as Arabic in Islam (Suleiman 2004).
Specically speaking about Islam and Arabic, they have consistent and solid
relationships (Menocal, 1985), although the relationships between language and
religion are subject to change across time and place. Since the beginning of Islam,
Arabic went hand-in-hand with it. The Islamic holy book, Al Qur’an, is written in
Arabic. It can be recited only in Arabic because every Muslim, Arab or non-Arab,
must perform the daily prayers in Arabic, regardless if they understand them or
not. There is no doubt that Arabic is a very prominent and has central position in
Islam and for Muslims.
In the domain of religion, there is a high degree of language maintenance,
such the case of Islam and Arabic. Islam is an important factor to preserve the
Arabic language. In other words, the maintenance of Islam means the mainte-
nance of Arabic. Not only religion, language maintenance is supported when the
minority language is used in various governmental institutions and cultural orga-
nization (Giles et al., 1977). Education also contributes to language maintenance
and development (Rouchdy, 2002). This is what Islamic schools do with Arabic in
Muslim communities across the Asian Pacic countries. Therefore, “Arabic retains
its orthodox authority, the Islamic masses are encountering religion in their native
languages oen for the rst time” (Turner, 2007,p. 133).
It is obvious that Arabic maintenance is a complicated process that does not
happen straightforwardly. Many factors play a role in its maintenance, rather than
[10] Ahmed Saad Al Shlowiy
what discussed in the previous paragraph, such as political issues, immigration
policies, numerical strength, diglossia, and pluricentricity (Alsaha, 2018). Litera-
ture has many studies about Arabic maintenance across the globe. Among them,
some studies are conducted in Asian Pacic countries.
Vaish, (2008), for instance, studied how the religion impacts on language use
in Singapore. The results show that Malays maintain the Arabic language in their
religious practices due to its glorious status as the language of the Holy Qur’an.
Outside of school, their children learn Arabic language because it represents their
identity as Malay Muslims. It is also the language that can connect them with
other Muslims all over the world. The ndings show that children have positive
attitudes towards learning Arabic, having more religious knowledge, and discov-
ering Islamic history.
In Malaysia, Abdalla (2006) investigated the Arabic maintenance amongst
Malaysian citizens who were born in Saudi Arabia, but who had moved to live in
Malaysia. The author calls them as Arabized Malays because they were born in
Saudi Arabia and adopted Arabic as their rst language before returning to their
homeland. The ndings indicate that most of Arabized Malays are successful in
maintaining their Arabic language in Malaysia, with no cultural issues. Such suc-
cess is supported by several factors related to the media including reading Arabic
newspapers, listening to Arabic radio, and watching Arabic television channels.
The participants have positive attitudes towards Arabic and its literacy. They have
a high degree of loyalty to the Arabic language and are enthusiastic to transmit it
to their children.
In Australia, Clyne and Kipp (1999) studied the factors to use Arabic in the
Muslims community in Melbourne. The main factor is related to their religious
aliation since the Qur’an and Classical Arabic are essential to Muslims. They
nd that the children must learn and speak Arabic well even in families with only
one Muslim parent. The other non-Muslim parent should learn and speak Ara-
bic. This study indicates that the motivations to maintain Arabic among Muslims
in Australia are: (a) to access to the Qur’an, (b) to communicate with their family
members, (c) to visit their home country, (d) to have Arabic schools in Australia,
and (e) to build an Arabic-language broadcast on the government multilingual
radio station.
These three examples reveal that the Arabic language is best maintained by
Muslims in Singapore, Malaysia, and Australia. Its connection to their religion is
the main reason of this maintenance. As discussed early, it is used as a religious
and ritual language wherever Islam is practiced. In brief, Islam preserves the Ara-
bic language. The language does not lose structure, vocabulary, roots, and style
because it is associated with, and is documented in, the Qur’an. Linguists found
out that documentation is a key to reserve languages. Documentation supports in
Language, religion, and communication [11]
writing vocabularies, describing grammars and structural features, and recording
spoken language. The Qur’an has done this for Arabic since the existence of Islam,
more than fourteen decades ago (Menocal, 1985).
The three examples also show other reasons include the positive attitudes
toward Arabic, the importance of literacy in Arabic for their children, and mass
media. Teaching Arabic is part and parcel of teaching Islam and its related sci-
ences (Menocal, 1985). In some Muslim communities such as the Malay in
Malaysia, teaching Arabic is a compulsory process to raise children and enable
them to pray and perform the basic Islamic principles. Their children have pos-
itive attitudes towards Arabic and do not feel that it is a foreign language. They
believe that it is their very own, and symbol of their identity (Asmah, 1983).
In these examples, Muslims prefer to integrate their children into the Arabic
culture and language. They regard their culture and language as fundamental val-
ues to format their identity. They look for Arabic Satellite channels and programs
that show religious documentaries about prophet’s life and historical events. This
case shows how Arabic serves as “a constant source for the maintenance of
the Islamic heritage and Arabic culture through generations” (Amara & Mar’i,
2002,p.45). In addition, it is a unifying cultural force and a source of integration
of Muslim identity and heritage across time and place (Suleiman, 2004).
Qur’anic Arabic and language change
As this paper shows the historical status of Arabic, some questions rise about the
language change across the history. Moreover, its geographical spread might show
some shis in its structures, styles, or registers. Linguists nd that all languages
change over time at dierent rates for dierent reasons. Language changes occur
in response to religious, social, political and economic pressures. Without these
kinds of inuences, a language change can occur dramatically when its users mod-
ify their way of speaking – particularly in vocabulary, sentence structure, and pro-
nunciation – as a result of a contact with another language (Rouchdy, 2002).
However, language change might not occur when the speakers value its sta-
bility and do not look for novelty, as in the case of Muslims. They have been
traditionally adapted to maintain their status quo that relies on the Qur’an and
Arabic. Both are interrelated to the extent that it makes the Qur’an as the best
book to learn Arabic. Through it, learners can master Arabic better than learn-
ing it through other educational textbooks or approaches. It is the book that
improves language, literature, and rhetoric. Abd-el-Jawad (1992) states that it also
is the resource of the language codication process by which some Arab gram-
marians systematize the Arabic language. This process has helped to build the
[12] Ahmed Saad Al Shlowiy
grammatical norms and to preserve the purity of the language among Arabic
speakers (Elgibali, 1988).
The Qur’anic Arabic has not changed from its original forms. Its roots, fea-
tures, structures, and rules have remained as they were at the prophet Mohammed.
It can resist any change due to its strong roots in and pure links with the Holy
Qur’an. Regardless of the historical and geographical spread of Arabic language, it
has a high stability and strong consistency. Therefore, it has conserved Arabic for
more than 14 centuries as a most ancient lived language in the world. Arabic has
been kept alive since the beginning of the Islamic History (Menocal, 1985).
Conclusion
Religion and language contribute to the foundation of any culture. In the case of
Islam and Arabic, their constant relation empowers them to encounter cultural
barriers and language limitations. For example, Islam and Arabic have expanded
through the Asian Pacic communities and countries through trade, conversion,
war, and immigration. For instance, it became the ocial religion in Pakistan,
Brunei, and Malaysia and is one of the six Indonesian ocial religions.
Muslims in these areas depend on Arabic to practice their religious duties and
recite the Qur’an. While some non-Arab Muslims recite the Qur’an as prociently
as of Arabs, other Muslims need to learn how recite it in Arabic. In addition, most
non-Arab Muslims need an explanation of its meanings and additional transla-
tion.
Such relationship between Islam and Arabic is the central part of Arabic
maintenance. In the Qur’an, God promises to keep and protect Arabic. Verse
number 9 of Surah number 15, Al-Hijr is: “Indeed, it is We who sent down the mes-
sage [i.e. the Qur’an], and indeed, We will be its guardian.” Therefore, many Mus-
lims believe that Qur’anic Arabic has crystal clear sentences, with little ambiguity
or confusion. It is considered one of the most direct and certain languages.
Many Muslims communities are strongly language-centered. Their presence
depends on their religious, social, and cultural entities that are protected by Ara-
bic. Arabic is the linkage between these entities. Therefore, Muslims show a high
degree of language loyalty in their communities, not only in the Asia-Pacic, but
also across the world. They employ dierent ways to pass it to their children.
Language, religion, and communication [13]
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Address for correspondence
Ahmed Saad Al Shlowiy
English Language Institute, Education Sector
Royal Commission for Jubail, Saudi Arabia
shlowiy_a@jic.edu.sa
[16] Ahmed Saad Al Shlowiy
