Manuscripts of the Muslim World and Al-Bustan Seeds of Cultural are offering free, virtual Arabic Conversational Classes!

There are many reasons to learn conversational Arabic...

• There are over ten words for "love".
• It’s the fifth most spoken language in the world, so it’s great to know when traveling.  
• Arabic (classical Arabic) is the language of the Quran.
• The Free Library has over 1000 items you can check out from our catalog related to Arabic!
• Forget Klingon! Arabic has sounds that don’t exist in other languages.
• Interested in joining the United Nations? Arabic is one of its six official languages.
• English has many words which originate in Arabic like "algebra", "algorithm", "sofa", and "zero". 
• Arabic is the official language in Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Chad, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Palestine, and Western Sahara.

Learning a new language broadens your mind and makes learning about other cultures and religions more fun. 

Register for free Conversational Arabic Classes. Classes begin on October 20 and October 24.

Language learners may choose Wednesday evening or Sunday morning classes. Classes are VIRTUAL and limited to no more than 10 students to ensure quality instruction. Students will learn Modern Standard Arabic taught by a qualified instructor. Register once for five consecutive weekly classes that finish before the end of November. 

Classes will be taught by Fadi Skeiker, originally Syrian, an Associate Professor of Theatre at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, where he teaches directing, collaboration, and script analysis. Prior to joining UArts, Fadi served in academic or research positions at The University of Jordan, Free University of Berlin, and The University of Minho in Portugal. Fadi is an accomplished applied theatre scholar/artist. He connects applied theatre to issues of active citizenship, equality, and justice. Most recently, Fadi has been involved in connecting applied theatre to refugees issues, mostly Syrian refugees. His work with and for refugees has been taking place in Jordan, Germany, and the USA. Fadi holds a PhD in Performance as Public Practice from The University of Texas at Austin.

While waiting for classes to start, join the groundbreaking Manuscripts of the Muslim World Project and browse upcoming events scheduled! 

This project is made possible by the Building Bridges Program of the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art.