The bill, which was introduced by PML(N)’s Javed Abbasi last year, was unanimously approved
Senate passed a bill to make the teaching of the Arabic language compulsory at all educational institutions in the federal capital. The ‘Compulsory Teaching of Arabic Language Bill 2020’ was introduced as a private member’s bill by Javed Abbasi of the PML-N in August 2020.
Teaching the Arabic language between class I and class V will be compulsory while Arabic grammar will be aught from class VI to class XII. The bill will now be presented to the National Assembly and will become an act once approved.
The bill received unanimous support from benches on both sides. The lawmakers believed that the step would enable the young generation to better understand the noble Quran and Islam.
Raza Rabbani, the former chairman of the senate, provided the lone verbal opposition to the bill saying that 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. He added his civilization is from the Indus Valley and not Arab. “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 Rabbani. He, however, did not vote against the bill.
His argument was countered by a number of members including people from his own party. Jamaat-i-Islami’s (JI) Senator Mushtaq Ahmed said it was former PPP chairman Zulfikar Ali Bhutto who 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.”
The bill will help the youth learn the Arabic language and better understand the noble Quran. It is important though that the course is planned in a manner that creates interest in the school children.