VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOInews, Jakarta: The Saudi Arabian Embassy in Jakarta on Monday (18/12) hosted a celebration of World Arabic Language Day at the Institute of Islamic and Arabic Science in South Jakarta. The celebration took the theme 'Arabic: The Language of Poetry and Art'. The event was attended by ambassadors from Arab countries, the Indonesian Arabic Language Teachers Association, and several delegates from Islamic universities around Indonesia. This annual celebration was also enlivened by the reading of Arabic poetry and role-play dramas acted out by the academic community of the Institute of Islamic and Arabic Science.

Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Faisal Abdullah El 'Amudi, in his opening remarks, said that the Government of Saudi Arabia has great attention to the development of the Arabic language, which according to him has advantages as an Islamic identity and the language of the Koran. "Attention to the Arabic language has been carried out by the founders of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, since King Abdul Aziz, then the rulers who guard the two holy mosques after that in spreading the Arabic language in various corners of the world." according to the Ambassador who was appointed in January 2023.

"Attention to the Arabic language is carried out through the establishment of various special institutions related to the Arabic language in all Islamic countries, including Indonesia. Arabic is the identity of Muslims and the language of the Koran. Our attention to the Arabic language is in line with the context of maintaining our identity. We hope that those who are concerned about Arabic in Indonesia will continue to collaborate, and the Saudi embassy is very open to cooperation." said Ambassador Faisal Abdullah to the media crew.

World Arabic Language Day is celebrated every December 18. On that date in 1973, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Arabic as the sixth official language of the UN organization. As reported by the UN website, Arabic is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, used every day by more than 400 million people. The Saudi Arabian Government's support for the development of Arabic in Indonesia was proven among others through the development of the Institute for Islamic and Arabic Religious Sciences (LIPIA) in 1980. The institution, which is a branch of Imam Muhammad bin Saud University, now has 4 campuses in Jakarta, Aceh, Medan, and Surabaya, and has produced 21,000 alumni since its founding.