The spread of the Arabic language in the West African region and Burkina Faso was influenced by the introduction and spread of Islam (Anatolia)

Although the roots of the Arabic language in Burkina Faso go back several centuries, the French language has dominated for decades, under the influence of colonialism, education and administration in the African country, of which Muslims currently represent the majority of the population. This reality has imposed cultural hegemony at the expense of Arabic speakers and learners in Burkina Faso. .

With the return of the discourse of liberation from the effects of French colonialism - which lasted for more than 6 decades - to the forefront in most of the Sahel countries in the West African region, including Burkina Faso, and the authorities’ direction to abolish the adoption of French as an official language and keep it only as a working language, and demarcate local languages, there is Once again, the issue of the Arabic language in Burkina Faso.

Historical roots

The spread of the Arabic language in the West African region was linked to the introduction and spread of Islam, and this spread contributed to the consolidation of Arab culture through religious education, which acquired the form of a cognitive heritage passed down through generations.

The researcher in the field of history, Abha Abdullah Boudadeh, believes that Burkina Faso was historically “within the scope of western Sudan and therefore it is a region affected by what the region is affected by,” adding that “Islam entered the West African region in general during the second century AH.”

The researcher confirms that “some studies mention the delay in the entry of Islam into Burkina Faso, especially until the borders of the fifth century AH through trans-Saharan trade, as the merchant combined his goods with preaching his religion, and therefore the contact of merchants with the influential class made Islam elitist, as Al-Saadi, Al-Bakri and Ibn Al-Bakri mentioned. Khaldoun.”

Regarding the factors that contributed to the spread of the Arabic language and culture in the region, Boudadeh believes that the West African region “did not witness codification until late, as the culture of the region is based primarily on oral and indoctrinated culture,” pointing out that this fact makes it difficult to determine the date of “the spread of Arab culture there.” It is a culture that actually accompanied the entry of Islam, although caravans were the artery or bridge through which this culture crossed to spread throughout the region.

He adds, "One of the factors that contributed to the spread of Arab and Islamic culture was the spread of Sufi orders, whose sheikhs penetrated the region, in addition to the displacement of some merchants who settled as a result of the nature of their commercial work, as well as the delegations of Arab tribes such as Beni Hilal, Beni Slim, and Beni Maqil to Mauritania, which is the gateway to West Africa." ".

The Great Mosque in the city of Kongossi in central Burkina Faso, where most of its residents are Muslims (Shutterstock)

Impact of colonialism

Within the framework of its colonial policy in other African countries, France, during its colonial era in Burkina Faso, adopted a policy based on consolidating the French language and culture, especially in educational and administrative institutions, in exchange for marginalizing local languages, and trying to tighten control over and monitor Arabic language teaching.

Teaching the Arabic language in Burkina Faso before French colonialism relied on traditional religious schools, and by the mid-fifties of the last century, modern schools began to be established to teach Islamic and linguistic sciences.

Demands for the formalization of Arabic language teaching in Burkina Faso began early. In the 1960s and 1970s, demands were made to include Arabic as a subject in secondary education curricula, in addition to demands for the recognition and development of Arabic schools.

Statistics indicate that the number of Arab schools in Burkina Faso has reached more than 2,500 in recent years, representing 70% of all private schools in the country, and 25% of all primary schools.

Continuing challenges

The researcher in the field of history, Boudadeh, considers that one of the most prominent challenges facing the spread of the Arabic language in Burkina Faso and the West African region historically is that this region “was far from the Islamic world, and the natural and climatic conditions contributed to the delay in the spread of Islam and Arab culture there.”

It appears that this challenge still exists in one form or another. The weakness of cultural communication between the Arab world and West Africa contributes to the decline of the influence of the Arabic language on culture and society in the countries of this region.

In addition to this challenge, another challenge is the lack of official recognition for some Arab schools, as statistics indicate that about 55% of Arab schools in Burkina Faso are not recognized by the ministry supervising education.

New stage

The effort to replace the local languages ​​in Burkina Faso with French as an official language, and to keep the latter as a working language only, opens the door to a decline in the influence and dominance of French in education and administration, which means a great opportunity for the Arabic language to have a more effective presence within Burkinabe society, especially since it is a language that adapts... On a well-established historical accumulation over the centuries.

Burkina Faso's effort to abolish the official French language comes after a similar decision adopted by its neighbor Mali in its new constitution, which indicates a new phase of the decline of the influence of French culture and language in some former French colonies in the African Sahel region.

The opportunity to enhance the presence of the Arabic language in Burkina Faso remains governed by the condition that there is an official approach to restore the reputation of the language, which represents the cognitive incubator of Islam to which the majority of the country’s population adheres, and the presence of a cultural effort that pushes towards this endeavour.

Source: Al Jazeera