Renowned Author Advocates for Arabic Language Education in Schools to Combat Islamophobia

The writer was the guest of the "ça fait du bien" program hosted by Anne Roumanoff. He had come to talk about his new book, "La philo expliquée aux enfants". He took the opportunity to speak out on the controversy generated by the issue of teaching the Arabic language in schools. Tahar Ben Jelloun is very clear on the matter. "Teaching Arabic is not just teaching a language, it is teaching a culture, a civilization, a world," lists the Franco-Moroccan. It is for him a notable cultural enrichment.

He invites us to go beyond prejudices to see in this opportunity a kind of reconciliation. For the writer, poet and painter, the teaching of Arabic "will demonstrate that, ultimately, the Arab world and the Muslim world are not just Islamism and terrorism, fear and hatred".

Tahar Ben Jelloun believes that teaching Arabic in schools would help heal some French wounds. "It is true that being Muslim or being Arab in France is not easy," but it must be remedied by the teaching of the Arabic language and Arab culture. The writer is convinced that this will allow "to rectify an image that has been crumpled by misfortune."