ISLAMABAD: The Senate on Monday passed a bill making the teaching of Arabic language compulsory in all educational institutions in the federal capital.

The house witnessed fiery speeches following opposition by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senator Raza Rabbani who later, however, did not vote against the bill.

The ‘Compulsory Teaching of Arabic Language Bill 2020’ had been introduced as a private member’s bill by Javed Abbasi of the PML-N in August last year. It will become an act of parliament after its passage from National Assembly.

Arabic language will be taught from class I to V and grammar from VI to XII

The house passed the bill unanimously after a majority of the treasury and opposition members spoke in support of it. They said the step would enable the young generation understand the holy Quran and Islam in a better way.

The law will be applicable to “the students in all educational institutions of Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), including educational institutions affiliated with the Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education and all public sector institutions owned and controlled by the federal government, wherever they may be”.

It says: “There shall be in all educational intuitions compulsory teaching of: (a) Arabic language in classes, grades or, as the case may be, level I to V in prescribed manner; and (b) the grammar of Arabic language in classes, grades or, as the case may be, levels VI to XII in such prescribed manner so that proficiency in Arabic language is completed up to class, grade or, as the case may be, level XII.”

The statement of objects and reasons attached to the bill stated that “besides having religious importance for Muslims, Arabic is among the five largest spoken languages of the world. A large number of population from around the world seeks to do business and employment in the rich Arab states. Thus, knowledge of Arabic language will not only enlighten the understanding of Islam and the message of Holy Quran, it will also broaden the employment and business opportunities for the citizens of Pakistan as well.”

Hailing the PML-N senator for moving the bill, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Mohammad Khan recalled that the National Assembly had already passed a resolution recommending that no student should be issued a degree from any university without proving that he had read the complete holy Quran with translation.

However, Mr Rabbani said the bill had nothing to do with Islam, the holy Quran or any sect. He said they were all Muslims and they did not want a certificate of it from anyone.

“There has been a trend of issuing certificates of Muslims and patriotism in the state of Pakistan. I do not need any such certificate,” said the PPP senator, who had previously served as the Senate chairman.

Mr Rabbani said Pakistan was a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural country and alleged that “efforts are being made to end this diversity and impose an artificial culture on the country.” He said right from the day one, the state has been making efforts to impose Arabic culture on the country. He said it was from diversity that the unity was born.

“Arabic culture is not my culture. Indus Valley Civilisation is my culture,” he declared.

Mr Rabbani said it was true that the holy Quran was revealed in the Arabic language but it would not be justified to say that “a person who doesn’t know Arabic will not be considered a Muslim.”

Mr Rabbani, however, received a backlash from all sides and even his own party colleague Rehman Malik didn’t support his arguments.

Mr Malik said if they could learn Chinese only for monetary gains, what’s wrong in learning Arabic. It was only after the passage of the bill that PPP’s Sherry Rehman simply stated that no other language but only the mother tongue could be made compulsory.

Senator Mushtaq Ahmed of Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) said it was former PPP chairman Zulfikar Ali Bhutto who had inserted Article 31 in the 1973 Constitution which stated that “steps shall be taken to enable the Muslims of Pakistan, individually and collectively, to order their lives in accordance with fundamental principles and basic concepts of Islam and to provide facilities whereby they may be enabled to understand the meaning of life according to the Holy Quran and Sunnah.”

JUI-F’s Abdul Ghafoor Haideri recalled that videos of former interior minister Rehman Malik and PPP’s Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan were available on social media in which they had been shown doing wrong recitation of the verses of the holy Quran.

Mr Malik, who was sitting in the house, protested over Mr Haideri’s remarks and termed them “insulting”. He also asked Mr Haideri to apologise over it and claimed that the video had been edited by a TV channel to discredit him.

Published in Dawn, February 2nd, 2021