Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!samsung!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!wuarchive!husc6!m2c!wpi!mohamed@ecs.umass.edu
From: mohamed@ecs.umass.edu
Newsgroups: soc.religion.islam
Subject: [Over]Emphasis of Arabic ?
Message-ID: <14109@wpi.wpi.edu>
Date: 20 Jul 90 12:57:53 GMT
Sender: shari@wpi.wpi.edu
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Approved: sadeghi@oxy.edu




			ARABIC IN ISLAM
			---------------


I have a question on the emphasis of the language (Arabic) in Islam. First, I'd
like to know if it is a requisite for every muslim to know Arabic (references,
please, not opinions).

I personally know a significant number of people who have little or no knowledge
of the language, except how to read the script. In other words, many, including
me, utter arabic words without knowing what we're saying.  Somehow, it doesn't
make complete sense to me.

Whenever I have raised this argument, people have said that reading the same
material in a different language would mean a loss of the finer nuances in the
text. Surely, that did not convince me to be an excuse to go on uttering
'sounds' without knowing what they mean. Also, it is my opinion that in order
to really get a flavor for each word, one needs to have a significant mastery
of the language, either by usage or by study.

I don't know how the message can be destroyed just by translation. If this is
entirely true, then one could say that arabic is essential to understand the
true message, hence be an 'aware' muslim. On the contrary, if the message
can be relayed to different populations in their own languages, then why do
we still have significant numbers of people using Arabic when they really don't know what they're saying ??

P.S Is it true that in some parts of Turkey, prayers are in Turkish and not in
Arabic ??