Saudi Gazette A high school student in Jeddah has just completed teaching other students a twenty-five hour Arabic calligraphy course in Al-Ibrahimiya High School, where he himself studies too. Abdullah Ba Yashoot is gifted with beautiful handwriting in Arabic and he shared his gift with his peers and helped them adopt the necessary techniques in Arabic writing. He has memorized the name and elegant design of each of the distinguished Arabic scripts. “This course has shown positive results in the students' penmanship and they have begun to fully appreciate the beauty of Arabic calligraphy and to understand the important role Arabic writing has played in our history and culture. Learning the different styles of Arabic writing had been highly prized and respected for several years, and this art should live on today,” said Yashoot. During the two-week course the students learned rules of the different style of writing and practiced profusely. Many students who were scolded for bad hand handwriting have now gotten rid of their weakness, and they further plan to improve and master the skill of calligraphy. “I would like to thank the calligrapher and handwriting teacher, Ibrahim Al-Arafi, for his continued support and for encouraging me to teach. My teacher, Nader Ba Mashmous, was very precise in correcting my handwriting of each letter of the Arabic alphabet and in preparing me to offer this course. In addition, the school principal and other teachers were highly supportive and helped make the Arabic calligraphy course possible,” said Yashoot. __
