The language of Islam, the fastest growing religion in the world, is gaining popularity despite its renowned difficulty.
And it's offered here at Purdue.
Student enrollment in Arabic has quadrupled in the past four years and Purdue has taken many steps to meet that growing demand. Six semesters of modern standard Arabic and four semesters of conversational Arabic are present in the curriculum.
Since 1998, enrollment in Arabic classes has increased by 92.5 percent. The primary reason for this rise in popularity is derived, in part, from the realization of the relative smallness of the globe and the need to broaden horizons in order to better communicate with other cultures. U.S. foreign affairs with Arab nations have also piqued interest in the language.
"I think what Sept. 11 did was raise Arabic to a level of visibility on campus," said Keith Dickson, head of the Arabic department.
With the increased U.S. involvement in the Middle East, "(Arabic) is important for future communication in international affairs," said Jason Overmyer, a junior in the College of Liberal Arts who's in his fourth semester of Arabic.
The language is also useful in acquiring jobs.
"It was because of my Arabic background that I got an internship with national security," said Harry Drozdowski, a junior in the College of Liberal Arts.
The Arabic courses offered at Purdue teach modern standard Arabic as opposed to the more common colloquial dialects.
Despite growing popularity, the University has yet to hire an official Arabic professor. All the courses are taught by native-speaking graduate students. Dickson suggests this is a result of negative stereotyping associated with Arabic. "It's time to stop dealing with stereotypes and meet reality in the face," he said.
Students' reasons for taking Arabic range from business work to military advantages to the ability to read religious texts.
The U.S. government has placed Arabic in the category of one of the most difficult languages to learn along with Chinese, Korean and Russian.
Drozdowski insists that it's not all that bad. "It's medium hard. Not easy, but you have to work at it at little."
"I think it's difficult," said Overmyer, "It's very challenging for an English-speaking person, especially since the script is different."
"It reminds me of creeping ivy," said Rabia Qaseem, a junior in the School of Computer Engineering, "So graceful and flowing."
"I'm taking Arabic to better acquaint myself with Allah's word which, of course, is the Quran," said Qaseem. "The absolute complexity and beauty behind the language is indeed a reflection of Allah's mastery over the things we tend to overlook."
The language of Arabic is often described as guttural due to the presence of deep sounds; however, Qaseem described it as a "melodious song that rings in your ears long after you've finished speaking it."
"It's a beautiful language, really rhyming and fluid. It's poetic. That's the word!" said Overmyer.