The Center of Arabic for Non-Arabic Speakers at the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) took part in the First International Conference on Arabic and Human Values, being held by Mohamed bin Zayed University for Humanities in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The two-day event brought together a host of scholars and academics from different parts of the world.

The opening session was held on Wednesday 23 February 2022, via videoconference and featured the remarks of Dr. Khaled Al-Yabhouni Al-Dhaheri, Chancellor of Mohamed bin Zayed University for Humanities; Dr. Salah Fadl, President of the Academy of the Arabic Language in Cairo; Amhamed Safi Mostaghanmi, Secretary-General of the Arabic Language Academy in Sharjah; and Dr. Abdelfattah Lahjomri, Director of the Arabization Coordination Bureau in Rabat.

Dr. Majdi Hajj Ibrahim, Head of the Center of Arabic for Non-Arabic Speakers, represented ICESCO at the Conference and gave a presentation titled, “The Phenomenon of Linguistic Violence in the Islamic World.” In his presentation, Dr. Ibrahim noted that the notion of linguistic violence refers to language misuse, abuse, violation of its communication principles and disregard of conversational ethics, stating that this phenomenon is prevalent in modern societies as languages shifted purpose, from a tool of communication, understanding, and social cohesion, to a means of separation and violence and conflict incitement. The ICESCO official also stressed the need to denounce linguistic violence and lay down rules for language communication to regulate these processes among people to ensure the sustainability of human relations.

The conference discusses sic themes, namely ethical and aesthetic concepts in Arabic; human dimensions in literary and linguistic heritage; human values in contemporary poetic and linguistic discourse, Arabic dictionary and its relation to human values; human values in works translated into Arabic; and the role of Arabic and values in anchoring tolerance and coexistence.

The Conference aims to highlight the noble values and elements of civilizational sense of belonging in Arabic, given this language’s linguistic depository.