RIYADH — The Ministry of Religious Affairs in Indonesia signed a cooperation agreement with the Al-Sharq Center for Dialogue and Civilization to develop Arabic language education in the southeast Asian country in cooperation with the Center for Research and Knowledge Communication in Riyadh. The signing ceremony was attended by Dr. Ali Al-Mayouf, the center's advisor and a faculty member in the Arabic Language Department at King Saud University. Dr. Al-Mayouf indicated that the Center for Research and Knowledge Communication had previously cooperated with scientific and cultural bodies in Indonesia. Last year, following an agreement with the Ministry of Religious Affairs in Indonesia, the Center contributed to reviewing and auditing 33 textbooks in Arabic for the benefit of the Republic of Indonesia, including 15 textbooks for teaching Arabic language and its sciences, and 18 courses in Shariah sciences written and taught in Arabic, namely: Hadith and interpretation, jurisprudence and its principles. Additionally, the Center has previously suggested switching curricula into online learning, which is what this agreement aims at. He pointed out that the mission and objectives of the Center for Research and Knowledge Communication are in line with serving Asian Arabization, scientific communication, and contributing to strengthening the deep brotherly relations between the Saudi and Indonesian societies. In turn, the head of the sub-department of the General Administration of Islamic Education and Curricula, Dr. Ahmed Hedayatullah, expressed his hope that this cooperation would result in the formation of an Indonesian generation capable of speaking Arabic fluently. He elaborated: "Cooperation between the Center for Research and Knowledge Communication in Saudi Arabia and Indonesian institutions to develop Arabic language will contribute to strengthening relations between the two countries and their peoples." For his part, Director of the Orient Center for Dialogue and Civilization Muhammad Anas praised the efforts of the Center for Research and Knowledge Communication in establishing cooperation and implementing the agreement to support and develop Arabic language education in Indonesia.
