Tradition

Modernity

Political Importance
The Arab Spring has again reminded us of the political importance of the Arab World. While the revolt was completely unpredictable, the socio-economic transformation of the Arab World has given rise to new social forces that the old regimes proved unable to suppress.
Liturgical Language
In addition to the millions of native speakers, many more millions know Arabic as a foreign language, since as the language of the Qu’ran, it is understood by Muslims throughout the world. For this reason, the Arabic language also plays an important role in Indonesia— the country with the largest Islamic population in the world.