PHOTO BY THE FACULTY OF ORIENTAL STUDIES.

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Generous support from Mr Abdulaziz Saud AlBabtain has secured the future of this post, ensuring teaching and research in this important discipline can benefit future generations. In recognition of his benefaction, the Chair has been renamed the Abdulaziz Saud AlBabtain Laudian Chair in Arabic.  During the ceremony, a plaque was unveiled to commemorate this event. The Laudian Chair of Arabic was first endowed in 1636 by Archbishop William Laud and is one of the oldest Chairs of Arabic in Europe.

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At the event, Professor Mark Smith, Chair of the Faculty Board of Oriental Studies, gave a speech outlining the history of the Arabic Chair at Oxford and thanked Mr Albabtain for his generosity and his tireless efforts to promote dialogue and cultural exchange between East and West.  He noted that after 380 years the Chair remains one of the pillars of the Faculty of Oriental Studies and one of the most important chairs in Humanities at Oxford, commenting that the new name pays public tribute to Mr Albabtain’s role in supporting the study of Arabic language and literature at the University

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The plaque will be on permanent display at the Oriental Institute”

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Previous Chairs for Arabic Culture

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Promoting learning of the Arabic language and understanding of the Arabic culture in foreign universities were always on top of Abdulaziz Albabtain priorities. Therefore, he launched the training courses which had been developed into Chairs for Arabic Culture in several universities around the world.

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These Chairs offer Arabic language classes for non-native speakers during the academic year. The student receives a certificate at the end of each year stating the end of an Arabic language level. At the end of the third year, the student is given the final certificate. The Chairs also offer monthly lectures on the influence of Arabic culture in the hosting countries and vice versa.

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Abdulaziz Saud Albabtain Chair for Arabic Culture at the University of Cordoba, Spain, established in 2004.

Abdulaziz Saud Albabtain Chair for Arabic Culture at the University of Granada, Spain, established in 2007.

Abdulaziz Saud Albabtain Chair for Arabic Culture at the University of Malaga, Spain, established in 2008.

Abdulaziz Saud Albabtain Chair for Arabic Culture at the University of Seville, Spain, established in 2009.

Abdulaziz Saud Albabtain Chair for Arabic Culture at the University of Nice, France, established in 2010.

Abdulaziz Saud Albabtain Chair for Arabic Culture at the University of Roma Tre, Italy, established in 2013.

Abdulaziz Saud Albabtain Chair for Arabic Culture at the University of Beijing, China, established in 2015.

Abdulaziz Saud Albabtain Chair for Arabic Culture at the University of Modern Chinguetti, Mauritania, established in 2016.

Abdulaziz Saud Albabtain Chair for Arabic Culture at the University of Mogadishu, Somalia, established in 2016.

Abdulaziz Saud Albabtain Chair for Arabic Culture at the University of Palermo, Italy. Established in December 2016, after the meeting of Abdulaziz Saud Albabtain with the Mayor of Palermo Leoluca Oralando and the President of the University.

Abdulaziz Saud Albabtain Chair of the Arabic Culture at the University of Kara, Togo, established in 2017.

Abdulaziz Saud Albabtain Chair of the Arabic Culture at the University of N’Djamena, Chad, established in 2017.

Abu Al-Qasim Al-Shabi’s Poetry Chair, which was established in cooperation with the Tunisian Presidency and inaugurated at the City of Culture in Tunis in presence of H.E the president of the Tunisian Republic Mr. Béji Caid  Essebsi ,  the Tunisian Minister of Culture, the members of the Kuwaiti-Tunisian Cooperation  Council, ambassadors, intellectuals and also poets on  June 29, 2018.