Under the patronage of the President of the University of Basrah and the supervision of the Dean of the College of Arts, the Department of Arabic Language held the fifth annual Al-Ḍād Festival in celebration of World Arabic Language Day.

The festival opened with verses from the Holy Qur’an, followed by the recitation of Al-Fātiḥah in honor of the souls of the martyrs, and the playing of the national anthem. This was followed by the College’s address delivered by the Assistant Dean for Administrative Affairs, Dr. Mohammed Abd Kazem, who welcomed the attendees and expressed his gratitude to the committee organizing the festival. Afterwards, Dr. Dhefaf Nazim delivered the address of the Arabic Language Department, in which she praised the festival and highlighted the efforts made to ensure its continuity.

The festival activities then commenced, featuring a lecture by Dr. Walid Muzhir entitled “Al-Ḍād Between Challenge and Response.” In his talk, he pointed to the great capacity of the Arabic language to confront numerous challenges, most notably linguistic error, eloquence and inimitability, and the challenge of the transition from polytheism to monotheism. He explained how the Arabic language rose to meet all these challenges through a highly organized, precise, and expansive process of composition.

The lecture was followed by poetic recitations celebrating the occasion, which were warmly received and enthusiastically engaged with by the audience. Poems were recited by Dr. Siraaj Mohammed, Montadhar Al-Aqili, Kazem Al-Lami, and Mohammed Yaseen. The festival segments were presented and hosted by lecturer Habib Al-Salhi, and the event was attended by a large gathering from among the members of the College of Arts.