Join on WhatsApp
Join on Telegram
Rabat – The Youssoufia Atlantic Club of Rabat sent a letter on December 24 to Morocco’s Royal Basketball Federation (FRMBB) in Korean, protesting against the use of French in official documents issued by the federation.
The letter was widely shared on social media platforms due to the unusual language it used.
The club chose to use the Korean language as a way of protesting against FRMBB’s official statements and press releases that are always written in French.
In the letter, the club urged the federation to find a common ground for communication, requesting them to “translate the general laws and regulations [of the federation] in Arabic as stipulated in Morocco’s constitution.”
The Youssoufia Club drew attention to the neglect of Arabic in official matters, despite Arabic being the first official language in Morocco.
Many netizens described the move as an unusual way of protesting while welcoming the message it carries.
Last week, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) included Arabic calligraphy to its Intangible Cultural Heritage List.
There are approximately 466 million people who speak Arabic worldwide, which makes it the 6th most-spoken language in 2020. The language is widely dominant in Morocco alongside Tamazight.
Although Arabic is rarely taught in the Republic of Korea, 73.5% of high school students in the East Asian country chose Arabic as a second foreign language in their college entrance exam in 2017, according to reports from the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation.
Read Also: Arabic Caligraphy Enlisted in UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage List
