An event in the Senegalese capital, Dakar, in commemoration of International Arabic Language Day (Al Jazeera)

At the same conference of the Muslim World League, the session chair referred the speech to the representative of the State of Senegal, the Arabist writer Sheikh Ibrahim Job (may God have mercy on him), and before granting him the speech, he asked if there was a translation. The Senegalese sheikh only opened his speech with an excerpt from the story of the pre-Islamic poet Imru’ al-Qays. Have I spent my youth without a cat?

He wondered: How do I need a translation into Arabic, when I lived in it and received my education, and my teacher, Sheikh Mauritanian, used to use my tongue until I pronounced the H fluently?

The hall was filled with reverence and appreciation for the sheikh, who for many decades was the president of the Association of Senegalese Scholars, and one of its most eloquent and brilliant speakers in speech and writing.

Sheikh Job is only an example of generations of Senegalese who acquired knowledge of the Arabic language through the original Islamic schools, which were the only educational source in the country of “Senegal” before the entry of the French colonizers, who entered Senegal into a night of Francophonie that reshaped its “official” identity, at least.

A group of pioneers of the Arabic language in Senegal commemorate that day in the capital, Dakar (Al Jazeera)

Arabic...an increase in the bags of Muslim merchants

The Arabic language arrived in Senegal as a young person in the caravans of Muslim merchants who were the first conquerors of hearts before the African countries, and then it was strengthened next to Mauritania, which has a rich history of serving the Arabic language.

The Mauritanian “scholars and merchants” in particular were the closest people to Senegal, and the Dhad was one of the first and most important things to cross the banks of the Senegal River back and forth. The two traditional educational systems are similar to the point of similarity between the two countries, with a difference in the outcomes.

Traditional schools in Senegal adopt a cumulative education that includes, for example:

- Studying and memorizing

the Holy Qur’an

. The Senegalese are distinguished by their keenness to write the Qur’an by hand, to serve as a license, while the Mauritanian regime tends to study a group of texts in drawing and intonation, in addition to an exercise program in memorizing and writing the Qur’an before obtaining the serial license in memorizing and reciting the Book of God.

- In

the knowledge of jurisprudence

, everyone studies the summaries of the books of Al-Akhdari, Ibn Ashir, Mukhtasar Al-Sheikh Khalil, Tuhfat Al-Hakam by Ibn Asim, and other books on the rules and principles of jurisprudence.

- In

the Arabic language

, the two parties study Ibn Malik’s books on grammar, morphology, and dictionary, and Al-Suyuti’s books on rhetoric, in addition to the Diwan al-Siti (the collection of the six pre-Islamic poets), and Hariri’s Maqamat, which are especially appreciated by various Muslim peoples in West Africa, where memorizing them is considered evidence of fatwa. And mastery of the corner of the dhaad.

Those interested in spreading the Arabic language commemorate its day in the capital, Dakar (Al Jazeera)

The books of Sheikh Ahmed Bembe Al-Baki of Senegal also occupied a prominent place in religious education in Senegal. This sheikh was one of the scholars and poets of his country, and the famous anecdote is attributed to him when one of his students asked him, “What do you advise me to do?” by extending (what), and the sheikh replied to him, saying: “I advise you to Do not extend (ma) if it is followed by a verb.

A large number of Senegalese poets have become famous, the most important of whom are Sheikh Hajj Omar Tal, Sheikh Ahmadou Bembe bin Habibullah, the famous translator Muhammad Ould Ibn al-Miqdad, Sheikh Ibrahim Inias, and Sheikh Tierno Hamid An-Talli. He was one of the most venerable scholars and poets of Senegal, and his literature was distinguished by its strong founding. And a spirit of pride when he says:

I am the poet of Al-Baydan and Sudan.. Poems raise the knights of knights

I am the glorious one, pure and beautiful... like a lion when peers crowd together.

The poet Muhammad Ould Ibn al-Miqdad used to have a great gathering where Mauritanian poets and scholars came from all over the world, and gatherings of entertainment and amusement were held there. It was also a destination for princes, masters and major figures. The poet al-Tarjuman used to engage in debates in classical Arabic and the Mauritanian Hassani dialect with his counterparts coming from the northern bank of the river. Senegal (Mauritania), where he was prominent in the various knowledge and values ​​of his time.

In the same context, the poems of Sheikh Ahmadou Bembe and Sheikh Ibrahim Enyas turned into literary icons that millions of disciples sang in various parts of West Africa, as Sufism transformed them into hymns that worshipers and dervishes chanted in circles of remembrance and seasons of spiritual serenity.

Although the past of the Arabization heritage in Senegal was bright, the storms of colonialism and the curtains of Francophonism struck a firm blow to the Arab and Islamic heritage in Senegal. However, the resistance and cultural resistance, especially in its traditional incubators, continued, and Senegalese scholars and intellectuals established multiple associations and clubs in order to protect the language of the Qur’an and its knowledge from The sweeping flood of Francophonie.

The founding of some of these institutions dates back to the first years of the establishment of the national state, as is the case of the Islamic Cultural Union, which was founded in 1953, the National Union of Islamic Cultural Societies in Senegal, which was also founded in 1962, and the Musta’rab Association, which was founded in 1965 and was part of the party. The ruling Senegalese socialist at the time.

Before these groups and institutions, traditional Islamic schools were the main pillar to which Arabic took shelter in its exile under the Francophone cloak. The performance of these schools was enhanced after they were transformed into institutes bearing the name “Al-Azhar Institutes” in Tuba, and Sheikh Abdullah Aniyas Institutes in Kolkh, and the professors had Mauritanians played a major role in supporting these institutions, which produced tens of thousands of Musta’rabs who today lead a relentless struggle for the empowerment of the language of the Qur’an.

Continuous struggle for demarcation

Former Senegalese Minister of Education, Abadir Tam, believes that at least 35% of the Senegalese people speak Arabic, and there are those who raise the percentage to approximately half of the population.

They represent the fuel of the struggle for the empowerment of this language, which in the Senegalese conscience is linked to religion, values, and high social status. They are mainly linked to religious authorities and Sufi orders, which are considered the source and primary resource for the Arabic language in Senegal.

The Senegalese Arabists consider the past twenties to be years of opening and empowerment for Arabic, especially after the adoption of the French-Arab education policy, to which nearly 700 primary schools, 30 secondary schools and more than 110 middle schools belong so far, according to what was stated by the head of the Arabic education department at the Senegalese Ministry of Education, Othman Bah. In an interview with Al Jazeera Net.

Head of the Arab Education Department at the Senegalese Ministry of Education, Othman Bah (Al Jazeera)

Othman Bah said that these schools share time between the Arabic and French languages, as students study in the first the knowledge of the Arabic language and Islamic law, while other scientific subjects are taught in the French language, and this education would establish a dual system that strengthens the Arabic language over time, without interrupting Senegalese students have opportunities to integrate into the almost completely Frenchized Senegalese employment system.

In addition, Senegal approved the Arabic secondary school certificate, as well as opening an Arabic department at the National School of Administration (responsible for training new employees), which will enable Arabized students to enter the career corps, especially the diplomatic corps, as Senegal has close relations with various Arab countries. It seems that the key to this diplomatic gate will, over time, be in the hands of the Musta'rabs.

Despite these prospects, the Arabists still complain of their weak representation in higher education. According to Mr. Ousmane Bah, the lack of a government university in the Arabic language is still an obstacle for hundreds of thousands of Arabized youth, so that the Arabic Language Department at Cheikh Anta Diop University (the largest Senegalese university), and the Department Living Languages ​​at Thies State University is one of the most important outlets for Senegalese students who are unable or wish to immigrate to Arab countries where there are multiple Senegalese communities.

Head of the Arabic Language Department at the Teacher Training School in Senegal, Sheikh Sambo (Al Jazeera)

These Arabists represent the basis of the Arabic Language Department at the Teacher Training School, where they receive qualifying training before enrolling in these schools, where they study scientific and academic specializations that help them assume the responsibility of spreading the language of the Qur’an among the Senegalese generations.

The number of teachers is still limited, compared to the growing need, and the head of the Arabic language department at the teacher training school, Sheikh Sambo, in an interview with Al Jazeera Net, estimates the number of Arabized professors at about two thousand professors who teach the Arabic language in government schools, while the annual subscription volume reaches between 50-80 official teachers, but the number of Arabic language teachers in private schools is estimated at thousands.

Dr. Yacoub Bajal, head of the Dakar branch of Sheikh Ahmed Bemp University, agrees with the opinion of Professor Othman Bah, who stipulates that the Arabic language is a condition for belonging to the faculties of this university, which bears the name of the greatest and most famous scholars of language and Sharia in the country of Senegal.

Head of the Dakar branch of Sheikh Ahmed Bemba University, Yacoub Bajal (Al Jazeera)

The number of students at this university has reached 5,000 so far - according to what Bijal told Al Jazeera Net - including 2,080 who were directed by the Senegalese Ministry of Education to this new university, and those in charge of it are seeking to open new gates for its students to enable them to master at least 3 languages ​​(Arabic, French, English) is the opposite of the Francophones, whose ambitions end with mastering Molière’s language or at least speaking it fluently, according to Jacob Bijal.

Between ambition, hopes, fears, and obstacles, the Arabic language has many cards of strength, and the winds of time blow as desired by the ships of the Mozarabs, who are still breathing the scent of the antidote carried by the ships of Muslim conquerors and merchants, drawing one of the deepest relations between the West and North Africa.

Source: Al Jazeera