Language and Civilization: The Role of Arabic Language in the Spread of Islam

Abstract

This study seeks to examine the strong relationship between language and civilization by unveiling the role of Arabic in the spread of Islam and the expansion of the Arabo-Islamic civilization outside the Arabian Peninsula. The study argues that both language and human interaction have contributed to the formation of that civilization. It will demonstrate this through exploring the language policy that began with the emergence of Islam in the Arabian Peninsula, coupled with the language planning that accompanied the spread of the religion and the Arab conquests in the Middle Ages. The study will conclude that Islam had an essential impact on producing a language policy in the Arabian Peninsula, a policy that strengthened the identity and unity of the entire community.