Department of Arabic - University of Kerala

Department of Arabic in University of Kerala was established on 29/01/2001 at university campus in Kariavattom. In the same academic year, the department began teaching providing students with the master's degree, with a syllabus based on modern curricula and new methods of teaching. Dr. Ubaid was the head of the department at the time of establishment. The department began to offer M.Phil programmes from 2004 in common stream and Ph.D program was started in 2001 in Arabic language and literature area. Prof. Dr. Ubaid, the first head of the department, was a graduate of the University of Aligarh.

In 2005, The University appointed Dr. Nizarudheen, as Associate Professor. It was he who created the new curriculum and academic pursuit in this department when he assumed the position of its head. Since then this department took the name and fame worldwide due to his consistent efforts. He conducted two major international conferences as well as a number of minor international and national conferences. The two were the famous International Conference on ‘Language, interpretation and the science of the Holy Quran’ from 29 April to 01 May 2010, and an ‘International Conference on the Prophet's Hadith’ from February 14-18, 2012. The literary material presented therein formed as an initial nucleus of an integrated system that was later employed by the Department for its future academic pursuit. It holds annually one or two international conferences, besides of creative discussions on various important topics related to the Arabic language and literature.

The Department has achieved a prominent role in offering the effective literary education from the very beginning. It has contributed a remarkable number of teachers in Arabic language & literature, translators and efficient professionals in various fields in India and abroad. Many graduates of this department work in Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries. It upholds its pivotal role guaranteed by outstanding outputs in the academic arena as well as moulding highly skilled professionals in Arabic oriented job sector.

The Department has tried well in the expansion of Arabic language among students and promoted deep knowledge of Islamic and cultural topics by developing their written and spoken skills. Over the past ten years, and still, it has been providing invaluable services and creating a new generation of skilled scholars with high quality and unparallel standards.

The department opened its own library in 2001, which includes a lot of books, references, periodicals, Doctoral/Post-Doctoral theses. Now the work is on progress to computerise all the procedures and material sources.

The Department of Arabic is one of the most important departments in University of Kerala. It aims to enhance communication skills and academic standards among students by motivating them to be creative and contribute socially meaningful life. The department teaches all courses focused on the academic skills of the Arabic language, which meets the needs of students at University level. The focus is on reading, writing, listening and speaking skills as well as focusing on language structures, rules and academic outputs.

The regular academic structure of this department follows the enrolment of students completed their bachelors degree to continue their masters degree in the university in four semesters within two years. The students will later enrol to the M.Phil and then finish the Ph.D here after fulfilling formalities and particulars of the courses.

The department began publishing "Majalla Kairala" Peer Reviewed Academic journal in 2010 but was stopped for a while due to internal problems. But it resumed publishing as it now continues to issue as semi-annual academic magazine (ISSN: 2277-2839), named ‘Majalla Kerala’. The journal publishes purely academic research articles in January and July (in Arabic and English). The Magazine has been enlisted by UGC in approved Journal. 

The Department has held successive international and national conferences on various topics. These seminars and conferences have had a profound impact on the academic, cultural, social and political spheres. The Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to India participated in one of these conferences and discussed with the then Chief Minister of Kerala, Oommen Chandy and announced the launch of the UAE Consulate in Trivandrum - The capital of Kerala. The titles of international conferences held by the Department of Arabic since its establishment are as follows:-

1. The First International Conference on the Holy Quran, April / May 2010
2. The Second International Conference on Indian Relations in the United Arab Emirates, 2011
3. The Third International Conference on the Prophet's Hadith, February 2012
4. The Fourth International Conference on the Arab Spring, 2013
5. Fifth International Conference on Arabic Language and Literature after 1970, February 2015
6. Sixth International Conference on Interpretations of Holy Quran, April 2015
7. Seventh International Conference on the Origin and Development of Children's Literature in the Arabic Language, January 2016
8. The 8th International Conference on Education and Ethics in Light of the ‘RASILU NOOR’ of Saeed Al- Noorsi, February 2016
9. The Ninth International Conference on Teaching Arabic to Non-Speakers: Prospects and Challenges, February 2017
10. The Tenth International Conference on Methodology of Arabic Language Taching, February 2018

The books were published after all the conferences and seminars for the benefit of researchers, scholars and readers in the Arabic language. These events help Kerala University in its valuable initiatives to spread this blessed language in the world. I ask God Almighty, to accept this blessed venture. I would like to thank all those who helped for the success of these events in spreading the Arabic language.