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Fehr Al-Jefri, a member of the Saudi Institute of Internal Auditors, achieved the highest score in the William S. Smith Award for the Certified Internal Auditor program.
He earned the gold medal in a competition against candidates from the Philippines, China, and the US.
Al-Jefri is the first Arab to receive the highest award offered for auditing by the CIA, which consists gold, silver, bronze, and student levels. These awards are determined by individual performance in the core CIA exams.
The International Institute of Internal Auditors recognized and honored Al-Jefri for successfully completing all core exams within a year.
His accomplishment is a testament to the support provided by the Saudi leadership to individuals in various fields, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Tuesday.
According to the International Institute of Internal Auditors, this recognition signifies the role of Saudi Arabia in supporting the internal auditing profession and its practitioners. It highlights the “efforts made to help them overcome challenges, succeed in their professional work, and enhance work mechanisms.”
Abdullah Saleh Al-Shebeili, the CEO of the Saudi Institution of Internal Auditors, affirmed that the country’s achievements persist due to the steadfast support of the leadership toward the overall control system and, specifically, the internal audit profession. Al-Jafri’s victory serves as undeniable evidence of this sustained support.
Al-Jefri expressed his pride in receiving the award, considering it not only a personal accomplishment but recognition for his nation.
He also praised the role played by the Saudi Institution of Internal Auditors in bolstering the profession and advancing its practices.
Al-Jefri highlighted the institution’s efforts in organizing courses and seminars aimed at enhancing efficiency, improving performance quality, and strengthening oversight.
He also expressed his gratitude and appreciation to the institution for providing him with the necessary resources and support to achieve success. He emphasized that obtaining the CIA certificate signifies a high level of excellence in the profession and creates numerous opportunities for career advancement.
The William S. Smith Award, launched in 2010, catalyzes the advancement of the CIA program. It showcases participants’ commitment to addressing evolving challenges and equipping professionals with the necessary experience, credibility, knowledge, and competence to excel in the field and make a difference in various domains.
source/content: arabnews.com (headline edited)
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Fehr Al-Jefri, a member of the Saudi Institution of Internal Auditors, and the first Arab to receive the Gold William Smith Award for the CIA. (SPA)
Young Moroccan women are bringing new and inclusive energy to the centuries-old art of Gnaoua, a spiritual musical repertoire traditionally reserved for men.
Also known as “tagnaouite”, it gained worldwide recognition after it was listed by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage in 2019.
“Why shouldn’t women be part of this dynamic?” asked Asma Hamzaoui at the Gnaoua World Music Festival in Essaouira, a southern coastal city steeped in the musical tradition.
The 26-year-old Casablanca native is one of the first women to perform Gnaoua, which blends African rhythms with spiritual chants and poetry.
Her father, a Gnaoua master, initiated her into the artform at a young age.
“I’ve accompanied him to his evening gatherings since I was seven years old,” recounted the young woman, who in 2012 formed the group “Bnat Timbouktou”, or The Girls of Timbuktu.
“I gradually learned to play the guembri, a three-stringed lute made of camel skin. My father made sure that I learned as much as possible before I flew solo.”
The all-female ensemble wowed the festival-goers — with Hamzaoui on vocals and the guembri, and four musicians on qraqeb steel castanets.
They played alongside the Amazones d’Afrique, another all-female group, from Mali.
‘Feeds the spirit’
“It’s exceptional to have women playing Gnaoua music, which shouldn’t be reserved for men,” said Hamza Tahir, a member of the audience. “They bring fresh air into this music.”
Inspired by Bnat Timbouktou’s success, rising star Hind Ennaira developed her passion for tagnaouite in her hometown of Essaouira.
Its fortified citadel on the Atlantic coast is a breeding ground for the mystical musical tradition, in which religious hymns invoke ancestors and spirits.
Originally practised by enslaved people and dating back at least to the 16th century, Gnaoua has gone from being practised largely in private gatherings, where therapeutic rituals accompanied the music, to public events such as concerts and festivals.
“The city of Essaouira is the cradle of tagnaouite,” said Ennaira, who was taught to play the guembri by friends. “It is beautiful heritage that feeds the spirit. It is important for young people to value it.”
Ennaira put her own touch on the tradition by bringing in a guitarist and drummer to accompany the traditional ensemble.
“At first, there were some differences because they were not used to working with a woman,” she said. “But after some challenging exercises, they adapted to me and we became complementary.”
‘Jimi Hendrix’ style
Yousra Mansour — the front woman of the band Bab L’bluz (“The Blues Gate”), which fuses Gnaoua, rock and blues — also encountered challenges entering the music scene.
“There were two constraints for me: first, the fact that this field is usually reserved for men, but also how we interpret traditional music,” the musician told AFP.
“It is not very accepted or even tolerated by some of the stricter individuals.
“We replaced the bass with the guembri and the guitar with the awisha (a small guembri) and created a kind of ‘power trio’ in the style of Jimi Hendrix with reimagined traditional instruments,” explained Mansour.
The 32-year-old vocalist passionately defends women’s freedoms, saying that “as a woman, I have not had an easy life”.
“There was a lack of women in this field. When I see Asma Hamzaoui or Hind Ennaira, they are magnificent,” she said.
“It is not easy to evolve in a predominantly male universe, but we see changes emerging.”
New course offers four tracks specific to journalism, humanitarian work, health care and business
“Arabic for Professionals” carricula are proofed by Arabic academics from top universities
Six Syrian refugees in the US have crafted the “Arabic for Professionals” course launched on Wednesday by NaTakallam, a refugee-powered social enterprise that provides language learning, translation and interpretation services.
The course’s contents have been proofed by Arabic academics from top universities, such as the American University of Paris, according to a press release by NaTakallam.
Tailored for upper-intermediate and advanced Arabic students, “Arabic for Professionals” offers four tracks specific to journalism, humanitarian work, health care and business.
“The program is the outcome of conversations about common teaching challenges among NaTakallam language partners, especially when it comes to Arabic in practice,” said Carmela Francolino, NaTakallam’s talent and community manager.
“After defining the general profiles of our students and their needs, the necessity of structured courses for intermediate and advanced students was clear, as were the topics we needed to focus on,” she said.
Combining synchronous and asynchronous learning, “Arabic for Professionals” provides flexibility to fit busy schedules. The curricula are divided into several units, including exercises to reinforce each point and ten one-hour private lessons with an experienced tutor.
In addition to a focus on Modern Standard Arabic, a lingua franca used across the Arabic-speaking world, the one-on-one tutoring sessions offer students the opportunity to practice what they have learned in spoken dialects of Levantine Arabic.
Multiple pilot students have noted that the blended structure of the course provided an impetus for them to continue learning the language after their progress had stalled.
“For NaTakallam, whose core mission is to showcase the talents of displaced and conflict-affected people, it is especially meaningful that our language partners are not only teaching this curriculum but have created it in its entirety,” said Aline Sara, co-founder and CEO of NaTakallam.
Besides the new Arabic for Professionals program, NaTakallam offers an Integrated Arabic Curriculum, a 25-hour course that teaches Modern Standard Arabic and Levantine Arabic concomitantly, as well as one-on-one language tutoring in Arabic, Armenian, French, Kurdish, Persian, Russian, Spanish and Ukrainian.
Longtime scholar Linda Jacobs calls it “the best-kept secret in New York history.” She is talking about New York City’s forgotten Syrian enclave of immigrants (often referred to as Little Syria) that once thrived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, forming the first Arab-speaking community in the US.
As part of an initiative supported by Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Jacobs led in-person walking tours on Washington Street, the main hub of Little Syria, this summer. For Jacobs, it is a story that hits close to home.
Just-landed Middle Eastern immigrants at Ellis Island, ca. 1905. (Supplied)
All four of her grandparents emmigrated from modern-day Lebanon in the late 1800s, moving to Washington Street. “I was just interested in doing my family genealogy, and more importantly, for me, understanding if the myths or stories we were told as children in our family matched the reality … Some made it, some didn’t,” she told Arab News.
Aside from the presence of Arabs, Washington Street was home to other nationalities, including German and Irish families. It was an economic and cultural center, full of stores, cafes, and factories. It was not a bed of roses, though, according to Jacobs.
Built on landfill, Washington Street suffered from poor living conditions and a lack of clean air. Because the area was located near the tidal Hudson River, water would come up through the basements of tenement buildings.
60-62 Washington Street, where dozens of Syrian-owned businesses were located, 1903. (Supplied)
To make matters worse, the rate of infant mortality, due to tuberculosis, was high. “It makes you cry, it’s really sad,” said Jacobs. “You can imagine that people did not want to remember this time of their lives, and I think that’s why my grandmother never talked about it. She never mentioned the word(s) ‘Washington Street’.”
A majority of the people referred to as Syrians who came to New York City most likely hailed from Lebanon, seeking better economic opportunities. Those who initially arrived were farmers and laborers, later followed by wealthier classes. The lucrative trade of peddling was a common profession amongst Syrians, who saved up money to open their own businesses and relocate to safer boroughs, such as Brooklyn.
By the 1940s, the Syrian community was non-existent on the street. The physical neighborhood was destroyed, making way for building the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel. Today, Washington Street is a neglected area, where only three buildings, including the facade of St. George’s Melkite Church of the Syrian Community, have survived, but most lack landmark status granted by the city.
Conducting such walking tours around the area is important for Jacobs. “All were surprised because no one had any idea that this community existed,” she remarked. “It’s a mixed blessing, because in a way, it’s a real lesson to others to try and save their communities from total destruction. And on the other side, it’s very sad to have it all be gone.”
source/content: arabnews.com (headline edited)
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New York City’s forgotten Syrian enclave of immigrants (often referred to as Little Syria) thrived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. (Supplied)
The King Salman Global Academy for Arabic Language has launched the “Khawalid” initiative, an audio platform that aims to record 1,000 selected poems from the pre-Islamic era, in line with the Ministry of Culture’s Year of Arabic Poetry.
Abdullah Al-Washmi, secretary-general of KSGAFAL, told Arab News that the initiative, which translates to “living forever,” aimed at enriching Arabic content in various media.
He said: “Strengthening the role of the Arabic language is part of the set of goals from which the King Salman Global Academy for Arabic Language stems.”
One of its goals is to highlight the scientific, cultural and civilizational status of the Arabic language. It aims to create a platform that helps preserve Arabic content in the field of poetry.
Al-Washmi added that it will also make poetry, especially Arabic poems from the pre-Islamic era, more accessible to the public.
He said: “It highlights the value of the Arabic language, which expresses the linguistic depth in Saudi Arabia, to bring it closer to the public and endear them to it, to deepen its status, and to raise awareness of it as an integral part of the identity of the Arab person.”
The initiative will focus on the era that began approximately 150 to 200 years before Islam, and the KSGAFAL will direct work over all stages.
Its task will involve verifying work and its attribution to its author, along with determining the meaning and integrity of the content.
The selection will be limited to poems that are no less than 10 verses, taking into account the diversity of the poets and the selected works.
Al-Washmi said: “Poetry in the pre-Islamic era constitutes an important literary material that can be invested in building linguistic knowledge, enriching the artistic and aesthetic experience, and contributing to linking the contemporary generation with its authentic literary heritage.
“This initiative confirms the KSGAFAL’s interest in the culture and arts of the Arabic language, in addition to its great care in planning, teaching and computerizing it, striving in all of this to achieve its goals, which are a target of the Human Capacity Development Program, one of the Saudi Vision 2030 initiatives.”
Prominent Egyptian gynaecologist and author Mohamed Abul-Ghar won on Sunday the State Nile Award in Science and Advanced Technological Sciences.
Minister of Higher Education and Head of the Scientific Research and Technology Academy Mohamed Ashour announced that Cairo University’s Professor at the Faculty of Medicine Dr Mohamed Abul-Ghar and Mansoura University’s professor at the Faculty of Medicine Dr Hassan Abul-Enein won the State Nile Award in Science and Advanced Technological Sciences.
“It is the state’s recognition of scientists’ efforts in advancing the nation and building the new republic and knowledge economy,” Ashour said on Sunday in a press conference at the New Administrative Capital.
Abul-Ghar started, with a group of medical doctors, Egypt’s first-ever centre for in vitro fertilisation (IVF).
Abul-Ghar, 82, received the Egyptian National Award for Scientific Excellence in 1999. He also received honourary membership of the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology in 2004 and honourary membership in the International Federation of Fertility Societies in 2000.
Abul-Ghar has also been active politically as he established, with other university professors, the 9 March Movement for the Independence of Universities during the rule of the late President Mubarak. He was also among the spokespersons of the National Association of Change.
Following the ouster of Mubarak in February 2011, Abul-Ghar was among the founders of the left-liberal Egyptian Social Democratic Party.
Aside from his medical scientific career and political activism, the prominent gynaecologist established himself in recent years as a bestselling non-fiction author with a special interest in the modern history of Egypt, specifically the pre-1952 liberal era.
Among his bestselling books are Egyptian Jews in the 20th Century, The Egyptian Legion and The Pandemic that Killed 180,000 Egyptians.
Panthera co-founder Thomas Kaplan told Arab News the resolution will boost the work of wildlife champions worldwide, as well as those in the Kingdom
The Arabian Leopard has been etched into Saudi consciousness for thousands of years, he said, but is the most persecuted of all big cats and critically endangered
When the UN General Assembly voted this month to adopt a resolution designating Feb. 10 as International Day of the Arabian Leopard, Thomas S. Kaplan’s reaction was one of “absolute delight.”
The leopard has been etched into Saudi consciousness for thousands of years, he said, with the petroglyphs on AlUla’s ancient walls that depict the animal bearing witness to its significance to the Saudi people and their ancestors.
Having the importance of the Arabian Leopard now finally enshrined by the UN General Assembly is therefore “a major triumph for the Saudi people and for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia itself,” Kaplan added during an exclusive interview with Arab News.
As co-founder of Panthera, the global wild cat conservation organization, and founder and chairperson of the Global Alliance for Wild Cats, Kaplan in 2019 signed an agreement with Prince Badr bin Abdullah, the Saudi minister of culture and governor of the Royal Commission for AlUla, to support regional and international conservation initiatives, at the heart of which is the Arabian Leopard Initiative to protect the critically endangered animal, which is indigenous to AlUla.
“The Arabian leopard is the most persecuted of all the big cats,” Kaplan said. “So having a champion like Saudi Arabia helping us to do the work that we do so passionately is really a gift from God.”
The UN resolution enshrining an International Day of the Arabian Leopard is “a clear win, both for the leopard and for the Kingdom,” he added. “It is in many respects a beautiful affirmation of one of the most ambitious environmental and conservation initiatives in generations: The restoration of AlUla as a cultural center point for the new Saudi Arabia is complemented by one of the most significant environmental restoration programs in the world.”
Wild cats play a critical role in ecosystems. They are considered an “umbrella species” when making conservation-related decisions, because efforts to protect them also indirectly protect many other species. They represent “Apex Predator Strategy Opportunities.” What this means is that a thriving wild cat population can help ensure the survival of its entire habitat.
Even the human population can benefit when the animals thrive, because they help boost tourism and shine a light on local communities. In the case of Saudi Arabia, such communities can become important parts of the Kingdom’s broader development agenda, leading to better local amenities and opportunities.
“In places where we have gone in to save leopards or jaguars or other animals that are part of the local tourist industry, we have always brought with (us) increased medical attention, building schools, building clinics, (showing) the local communities that not only do they have nothing to fear, but they have everything to gain by a thriving cat population, (and that) because of the leopard, there will be socioeconomic opportunities for their children,” said Kaplan.
“If in its own way the Arabian Leopard Initiative is something that not only gives people national pride, but gives those who live in the same habitat as the leopard even greater opportunities for their children, then this is a huge win.
“So the success of the Arabian Leopard Initiative becomes a signal to the Kingdom, and to the rest of the world, that Saudi Arabia has been successful in restoring the landscape. For these reasons, I believe that AlUla is one of the most transformational initiatives in the preservation of cultural and environmental heritage for future generations.”
None of this would have been possible, he said, without “the passion and commitment” of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman; Prince Badr; and Princess Reema bint Salman, the Kingdom’s ambassador to the US. “The revolution from above that has been implemented by the crown prince is the catalyst for all (the reforms that) followed, and the Arabian leopard is no exception,” said Kaplan.
“I have personal experience in engaging with the Crown Prince on the Arabian leopard and leopard conservation globally. He is truly committed not only to the Arabian leopard but also to advancing the cause of leopard conservation in other countries that are not necessarily playing catch-up like Saudi Arabia, but trying to stay ahead of the curve.
Regarding Prince Badr’s role, Kaplan said “everyone knows that (he is) the initiator of the Arabian leopard process. He is, in many respects, the father of the Arabian leopard program, for which I think he will go down in the history books.” Kaplan also had nothing but praise of Princess Reema.
“Anyone who has come into contact with Princess Reema in Washington DC, or elsewhere, immediately is presented with the passion of what the Arabian leopard means for the Kingdom,” he said.
“It’s not simply because the Arabian leopard is, in my mind, to Saudi Arabia what the panda is to China, an instrument of soft power, it’s much more than that. “The crown prince, Prince Badr and Princess Reema understand that the Arabian leopard is a symbol of national unity for Saudi Arabia. It is something that goes back thousands of years.”
The UN recognition of the animal’s importance will help boost the efforts of conservationists to save the leopard, Kaplan said.
“Being able to show the buy in of the international community allows us the freedom to show to environmental activists all over the world the significance of this initiative,” he added.
“It allows us to be able to evidence that the reintroduction of the Arabian leopard is real, that it has the full support of Saudi Arabia, that it is not some form of power exercise but it’s the product of passion.
“This in turn allows people such as myself on the international stage to be able to recruit the highest-quality experts to work with us in our field.”
Kaplan said the UN resolution will also aid the work of Saudi environmental and wildlife champions, including Catmosphere, a foundation established by Princess Reema to assist big-cat conservation efforts worldwide.
“Catmosphere has the potential to be the most important cat-conservation awareness program ever undertaken, not simply in the Middle East, but globally, and that was originated by a Saudi, by Princess Reema,” he said.
“It’s an extraordinary story. The impact that it can have on cat conservation is very obvious but, at the same time, the impact that can have on our agenda, which is to get people to see the Arabian Leopard as being Saudi Arabia’s panda, as being a symbol of commitment to the best practices in wildlife conservation, this is absolutely enormous.”
“When you combine the work that Prince Badr is doing at the Royal Commission of AlUla with the work of Catmosphere, what you see is an organic, Saudi-generated initiative and campaign to save the Arabian leopard and, as the crown prince asked us to do, to be able to help countries around the world save their leopards, so that rather than playing catch-up, they’re getting ahead of the curve, and are not in the same situation.
“This is an act of generosity to the world, and it’s coming from Saudi Arabia.”
source/content: arabnews.com (headline edited)
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Arabian leopard(s) at the Arabian Leopard Conservation Breeding Center of Taif, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. March 2023. / Panthera and Saudi Arabia signed an agreement in 2019 to protect the Arabian leopard, which is said to be “the most persecuted of all the big cats” in the world. (Photo courtesy of Arabian Leopard Breeding Center)
Gulf Food Production Company “Raw’a“, one of the leading companies in the State of Qatar in dairy production, won the Fine Taste Award for the year 2023, which is one of the most prestigious awards in the field of food and beverage industry worldwide, presented by the International Taste Company Institute in Brussels, Belgium. The evaluation was conducted by a committee of more than 200 international chefs with 86 Michelin Stars awarded to the finest chefs and restaurants around the world after competing with more than 120 international products.
136 hours of blind tasting
Rawa is the first Qatari dairy company to receive the award for good taste, after it was subjected to an organoleptic assessment that includes the visual, aromatic, flavour and textural aspects, in addition to the final mouth texture. The evaluation process took place over 136 hours of blind tasting conducted on hundreds of products from around the world, with the aim of selecting the best among them.
Award-winning product
The award-winning product is yogurt consisting of four grains and fruits containing (wheat – barley – oats – rye – apple fruit – coconut fruit). It is a healthy choice full of wholesome fruits and grains . It is the consumer’s first choice in market’s and best seller.
Mr. Mohammad Ali Al-Kuwari CEO of Raw’a, stated that Gulf food Co. pursues a strict strategy related to the quality and safety of its products and revolves around adopting several practices in its factories, including, for example, the activation of several internal audits on dairy products. In addition, the quality of these products is periodically tested.
The company is always keen to perform the above in order to ensure the safety of its products and their compliance with the highest standards of quality and taste before they reach the consumer.
It also pays great attention to developing its products with the support of a specialized research and development team to ensure that the company is compatible with the latest technologies that guarantee quality and taste while maintaining the characteristics that Qatari consumer is accustomed to in our range of products.
Morocco wins the Arab Futsal Cup for the third consecutive year, cementing their status as a force to be reckoned with in the world of futsal.
Morocco’s national futsal team achieved a remarkable 7-1 victory over Kuwait in the final of the 2023 Arab Futsal Cup, securing their third consecutive championship title.
Led by coach Hicham Dguig, the team made history as the most successful in the tournament’s record books.
Before the clash at the Ministry of Sports Hall in Jeddah, Kuwait faced off against Algeria, emerging victorious with a hard-fought 3-2 win, which propelled them into the finals.
They also faced off against Egypt in the quarter-finals, clinching a 6-2 victory.
The Moroccan team exhibited a remarkable performance throughout the tournament, overwhelming their opponents with a series of commanding victories. Their journey started with a 5-0 triumph over Comoros, followed by a 6-0 win against Lebanon.
In the knockout stages, the Atlas Lions continued their relentless pursuit of victory. They faced Saudi Arabia in the quarter-finals, delivering a 5-2 win, and then went on to conquer Libya with an impressive 5-1 victory in the semi-finals.
Moroccan coach Hicham Dguig’s squad members previously defeated Kuwait 4-2 in the group stage, entering the game with confidence and a clear understanding of their opponents’ strengths and weaknesses.
Morocco’s national futsal team is currently ranked 8th globally and leading the Arab world and Africa in the Futsal World Ranking (FWR).
Meanwhile, Kuwait is ranked the third highest-ranked Arab nation and ranked 41st globally.
With their awe-inspiring performance in the final, the Moroccan national futsal team has undoubtedly etched their names in the annals of Arab futsal history.
This remarkable achievement will not only be celebrated by the team and their fans, but will also inspire future generations of Moroccan futsal players to strive for greatness on both regional and international stages.
Beyond the Middle East, scores of towns and cities owe their names to the region’s far-reaching influence.
In 711, Arab commander Tariq ibn Ziyad led his victorious Berber army across the narrow strait between North Africa and Spain, where he took the first step towards founding what would become the Muslim state of Al Andulus.
To honour his achievement, the mountain where the army had first landed was named after him. They called it Jabal Tariq – Mount Tariq.
More than 1,000 years later, we now call it Gibraltar , the name evolving with the centuries that saw the peak regained by Spain, only to later become a British territory.
It is a reminder that Arab influence is often visible in plain sight, sometimes far from the boundaries of the Middle East.
The Mexican city of Guadalajara is known for mariachi music and two football World Cups. It has little to do with river beds or stones, yet that is the origin of its name: Wadi Al Hajarah, translated as the Valley of Stone from Arabic, or possibly the fortified valley.
Guadalajara in Mexico is also a product of conquest. In the 15th century, it was founded by a conquistador who named it in honour of his boss Nuno de Guzman, who had been born in the Spanish city Guadalajara, which once fitted the description. The city in Spain was named during the Muslim rule over the Iberian Peninsula.
The South Pacific island of Guadalcanal, more than 16,000 kilometres from Spain, was the scene of one of the bloodiest battles of the Second World War, with more than 30,000 Japanese and American soldiers killed in six months of fighting.
Guadalcanal was part of the British Solomon Islands, now independent, but had been colonised by Spain in 1568 and named after a town near Seville, one of the country’s biggest cities in the south. Seville was originally founded by Arabs as Wadi Al Qanal.
These names mark the rise and fall of empires – Arab, Spanish and British – and the conflicts that shaped our world, from the creation of the Caliphates, which once stretched from Afghanistan to Portugal, to the British Empire, on which it was said the sun never set.
London’s Trafalgar Square honours one of that empire’s great heroes, Admiral Lord Nelson, who defeated the combined might of the French and Spanish naval fleets in 1805.
The square and the column that carries Nelson’s statue take their name from the Cape of Trafalgar, where the famed battle of the same name took place offshore. It was first known as Tarif Al Ghar or Tarif Al Gharb, thought to mean either Cape of the Cave or the West, respectively, in the original Arabic.
It is estimated at least 4,000 Spanish words have their origins in Arabic. Benacazon, another city in Spain, was originally Bani Qasum, or the Sons of Qasum. El Burgo, in Malaga, is simply “the tower”, or “al burj”. In neighbouring Portugal, the popular holiday destination the Algarve was once Al Gharb, or The West.
Granada, the city at the heart of Islamic Spain, was first Garnata to the Arabs, although the meaning of the name is unclear and may be much older. Its famous palace, the Alhambra, comes from the Arabic “al hamra”, or “red one”, after the colour of its walls.
Arab reach in Europe stretched beyond Spain. The Italian island of Sicily was an emirate between 831 and 1091, with the city of Marsala, famous for its wine, probably either Marsa Ali – Ali’s harbour or anchorage – or Marsa Allah. Many smaller towns begin with the prefix “cala”, evolving from the Arabic word “qalat”, or fortification.
In France, the small town of Ramatuelle, close to Saint-Tropez, was once ruled by the Moors, who raided the Rhone Valley in the ninth and 10th centuries. At that period, it was called Rahmatallah, an Arabic phrase meaning “mercy of God”.
The Bosnian town of Gornji Vakuf-Uskoplje derives the second part of its name from the Islamic word “waqf”, meaning a charitable gift.
Thousands of kilometres away, and on another continent, the Comoro Islands in the Indian Ocean, owe their name to the Arabic “qamar”, or moon. The population converted to Islam as far back as the 7th century.
In East Africa, Mozambique was named by Portuguese colonisers after the offshore island of the same name. That Mozambique is actually derived from Mussa Bin Bique, the Arab trader who ruled the island before the Portuguese took over in 1544.
In the Middle East, though, many place names are derived from languages other than Arabic. Baghdad comes from Farsi for “God’s gift”; Byblos is Greek, as is Alexandria in Eygpt, which is named for Alexander the Great.
The city of Aleppo is called Halab, which is originally Aramaic, the language of the Hebrew Bible. Beirut is unclear but possibly a Phoenician word for a “well”.
And Amman, the capital of Jordan? This shows how complex the origin of place names can be. Three thousand years ago it was founded as Rabbath Ammon by the Ammonites, who spoke a Semitic language. Rabbath, originally used to mean “king”, but was dropped as the city eventually became Amman.
For around 50 years though, in the 3rd century, it was part of the kingdom of the Pharaoh Ptolemy II, who renamed it using a combination of the Greek words “brotherly” and “love” – “phileo” and “adelphos” – or Philadelphia.
Nearly 2,000 years later, the Quaker William Penn named a new town he was building in the American colony of Pennsylvania. Inspired by the sentiments of Ptolemy, he also called it Philadelphia in a state which, incidentally, also includes a Damascus, Hebron and Bethlehem.
