Al Maghrib - No 112 - March 3, 1939
Some people are surprised to read under my pen that by dedicating a few hours to study French during the secondary school cycle, the University of Karaouiyine student would have an easier access to the Institute of Higher Learning in Rabat and be more able to prepare for the qualifying exams in either the legal profession or other equivalent discipline. They justify their astonishment by the fact that the university graduates find all sorts of difficulties in adapting to courses taught in French which some are able to follow only via an incredible amount of effort.
These (traditional) Moroccans appear to have an inflexible opinion with regards to studying French and hence are not able to see through a different lens that learning this language is achievable. They have noted that modern education does allow the Moroccan student to master the French language in terms of reading, writing and speaking to a level equivalent to that of his French counterpart. The reason behind this is that the lion's share of the educational programs in the (modern) public schools is taught in French. Teachers are handpicked based on their competence to teach the curricula, including carefully selected courses on French literature and all other subjects that are taught in the language of Voltaire such as history, geography, mathematics, science and philosophy.
Our (modern) public schools treat French as if it was the principle language and the Moroccan student is taught under the same conditions as a French student. However it is clear that, if the Moroccan graduate from these schools is not directed to study the Arabic language and its associated subjects then he can be added to the list of francophone Moroccan intellectuals who benefit neither the French community, which can count amongst its ranks intellectuals sprouting by the thousands nor the Moroccan society which is averse to the notion that French could become the main tool for communication. Those who study the revival period of Arabic discover as part of its foundation another method to exploit foreign languages. This method consists of learning Arabic as the basic language using traditional instruction and to study in parallel a foreign language, not for the purpose of specialization, but so as to take advantage of reference texts in the scientific or literary field that have been established in that language.
The heavyweights of contemporary Arabic literature lend their interest to the study of foreign languages only when they find it useful for carrying out their methodical research. They pay no heed to nuances of style that typify written work by great authors nor to the rules of discursive reasoning by master orators. First and foremost they try to understand the technical terms used in their domain of specialization. Thereafter they are able to follow fairly easily the university courses while they consult reference books in Arabic in the pursuit of their research work. When they take their faculty's exam, they will demonstrate the knowledge and theoretical concepts they have acquired using for sure a very unrefined French. However it should suffice to allow them to obtain their university diploma and develop enough self-confidence to fulfill their duty as intellectuals who choose to serve their country and national language.
One can cite heavyweights of Arabic literature from the revival period such as Taha Husain, Haykal, Saki Moubarak, Zyat and others from Egypt and Al Jabri, Khalil Mardan from Syria. If those Moroccan youth who received a modern upbringing were to access the theses and research carried by these great authors written in a foreign language, they would find it to be average with respect to composition and writing style. Yet these men are standard-bearers of Arabic rhetoric. This is because they began to familiarize themselves with foreign languages only after achieving a solid command of Arabic. They took advantage of other current languages not for the purpose of belonging to a linguistic community that daily practices these languages, rather they took advantage of what they had to offer to consolidate their intellectual experiences and allow them to fulfill their mission with respect to their mother tongue.
On the other hand, one who starts in his early childhood to study in a foreign language and acquire good command of it can only be useful to serve his society and mother tongue up to a certain point and even then, only sporadically. It is essential that our society have at its disposition intellectuals who have been brought up in a bilingual culture. Moreover the Karaouiyine students must direct themselves to study French. Without French their university diploma will not open doors other than those for the traditional judiciary and law fields because these graduates lack the basics of modern schooling. And likewise (most) graduates of the modern schools lack the understanding of Moroccan heritage such as manifested in its history and its statutes.
The addition of this missing link in our traditional Moroccan school system will ensure our nation a true cultural revival. It will also allow the Karaouiyine student to be aware of the intellectual work of modern civilizations and to produce for Morocco literary and artistic works in Arabic to last for years to come. It is heartening to observe that a significant number of Moroccan youth brought up in the French system have studied and excelled in the language and great literature of their forebears. By so doing they have set the first cornerstone for the building to serve as a shelter for the missing link of our cultural rebirth.
Is it possible for us to hope that the Karaouiyine students will engage in this path by adding knowledge about modern culture to the knowledge acquired in the Arabic and Islamic disciplines? Will they set the second cornerstone in the building of a new generation to bridge between Morocco's wonderful past and its radiant cultural future?
