Podcast: The afikra Podcast (LS 40 · TOP 1.5% what is this?)Episode: Prof Yasir Suleiman-Malley | Arabic in the Fray: Language Ideology and Cultural PoliticsPub date: 2025-06-23Get Podcast Transcript →powered by Listen411 - fast audio-to-text and summarizationProfessor Yasir Suleiman-Malley speaks about the complexities of Arabic tracing his personal journey with the language, from early struggles with grammar to a deep appreciation for its richness. We explore the historical and pedagogical challenges of teaching Arabic, especially given its sacred status connected to the Quranic text and the socio-cultural resistance to modernizing its grammatical teaching methods. The conversation also delves into the dual nature of Arabic, the spoken and the written forms, their impact on education, everyday use, and the broader implications of Arabic as a cultural and identity-defining symbol in the Arab world.  00:00 Introduction 00:05 Professor Suleiman-Malley's Early Relationship with Arabic01:24 Challenges in Teaching Arabic Grammar05:34 Cultural and Historical Context of Arabic Pedagogy11:30 Arabic as a Symbol of Identity and Conflict15:43 The Health of the Arabic Language23:50 Decolonization and Language29:45 Reviving and Managing Languages38:26 The Role of Language in Identity39:19 Language as a Membership Card41:04 Diversity and Unity in the Arab World42:50 Cultural Arabness vs Racial Arabness45:39 Historical Perspectives on Arab Identity54:01 The Concept of Diglossia01:03:08 Challenges of Written vs Spoken Arabic01:07:11 The Future of Arabic Language and Identity01:13:30 Final Thoughts Professor Yasir Suleiman-Malley is Chair of the Panel of Judges, British-Kuwaiti Friendship Society Book Prize in Middle Eastern Studies. He serves as Trustee on the Boards of Arab-British Chamber Charitable Foundation, International Prize for Arab Fiction (in association with the Man-Booker Prize), Banipal Trust for Arab Literature and is trustee of the Gulf Research Centre-Cambridge. He is also Chair of the Advisory Board of the Centre for the Advanced Study of the Arab World, Chair of the Centre for the Study of the International Relations of the Middle East and North Africa (CIRMENA), Board Member of the Islamic Manuscript Association, Member of the Advisory Board of the Centre for Evaluation and Research in Muslim Education, Institute of Education, Member of the Advisory Board of The Doha Institute, Qatar and Member of the Advisory Board of Our Shared Future. He is a member of the editorial boards of a number of journals and book series. He is also Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, formerly Head of the Department of Middle Eastern Studies, and Founding Director of the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Centre of Islamic Studies. Hosted by Mikey MuhannaConnect directly with Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://instagram.com/mikey_mu Theme music: Peninsular, Tarek Yamani 🔊 https://spoti.fi/47I59ns
Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gbFOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/lb/podcast/the-afikra-podcast/id1529437743» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5nafoF1Zs7F48mGZjlhrze» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=sharedABOUT AFIKRAafikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from afikra, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.

Ver todos los episodios