Learning Arabic

I've been quiet for some time, this has mostly been due to income hunting and keeping work in the pipeline. It's given me quite some time to think about this years challenge. Last years challenge was to learn how to Salsa, something that I completely failed at. I realise I am a thinker, I think too much and I felt that being a thinker and being a musician would have given me the ability to move my feet in the direction required however it did not. I imagine it is very much like swimming... if you think about it too much you won't be able to do it properly whereas if you just do it then it is the sort of thing that a natural instinct will let you do (at least I've found that).

Anyway, I decided a few years ago that every year I would try and do something that I had never considered before or something that seemed a big challenge. When my life flashes before my eyes, however soon or far that may be I would very much like to feel I have fulfilled my life with as many learning experiences as possible and this year, the one that I have chosen is to learn Arabic; if God is of course willing...

As I begin this course using as many free resources as possible to get a founding in the language, it looks like an incredible challenge and one which I hope my partner will help me with.

So why Arabic?

As you can see from the pictures above, North Africa and the Middle East are places which I have visited quite regularly. I have been truly amazed by the kind culture that the Arabic communities have given to me both as a tourist and with passage through their lives. I find the location truly inspiring as many of them have such limited resources but still continue to show a respect to other races around them. There could be a number of reasons for this with varying amounts of true generosity. However... I like to consider myself quite a broad minded individual and because of this, I refuse to get caught in any of the small mindedness of what is unfortunately, in my opinion, issues with popular culture and translation of culture in the Western world.

For many years, arabs and muslims and the cultures which they have brought into out Western lives have perhaps been shrugged off and disregarded with less respect than what they are due. Much of this may be the fault of the extreme few who disregard the true words of Mohammed and the Qu'ran by using the Islamic religion as a Ji'had scripture. This is not a logic which I can follow with my interpretation and therefore the only conclusion which I can currently arrive at is that, as in any race or religion, there will be nut-cases and psychopaths, as there will always be people who choose to take paths for political gain, an ideology for which I can see guilt on both sides of the coin. To blame this on the culture itself, is however both naive of those who are small minded enough to do so and unfortunate enough for those genuine kind hearted people who have to share their cultural representation with dangerous and unstable individuals.

Let me be fair, many individuals in the Western World who are uneducated in this cultural understanding fall victim to the popular media which rarely gives insight into the reasoning and reality behind these 'holy arguments', therefore it is not difficult to get caught up in the belief that the news and images we see in Western culture of the Arab or Muslim communities give a fair insight of the reality in these lands. I believe these are political wars ran into the minds of those who do not require further investigation, again, common on both sides of the upset.

As a media producer and with an interest in international beliefs and cultures, I hope that by learning arabic I may be able to communicate and read the other side of an argument that I am not accustomed to as well as be able to discuss our Western views with the Arab people. The differences in language and interpretation make this a big task but as I sit in front of a bunch of scribbles, I hope that soon I will be able to prove to myself that all cultures are packed full of excitement and interest and that politicians and the media continue to look only into their personal bias of making money.

I believe money is the root of all evil and that greed is the messenger... but maybe I will too prove myself wrong but not until I have done this undoubtedly will I truly be educated enough to join what I currently believe a mass group of the deluded.