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PHOTO CREDIT: Above photo by John Rickman Photography, San Jose, California.

Arabella

Learn the Arabic Alphabet!

By Arabella

Ladies and gentlemen, if you really love Arabic music, then do yourself a big favor - learn the Arabic alphabet!

It is much easier than you might think, and for the most part, quite logical. And you can do it without leaving home; you can learn it easily from a book.

You will feel very clever indeed, next time you're in an Arabic store and can decipher those squiggles on an album cover.

I recommend two books, because each one covers some material omitted by the other.

The Arabic Alphabet: How to Read & Write It

Written by Nicholas Awde and Putros Samano, published by Lyle Stuart, Inc. in Secancus, New Jersey. Can be ordered directly from Indigo Books, takes 4-6 weeks to deliver.

Arabic Alphabet Book Cover

Arabic Reading & Writing Made Easy

Written by Dr. Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips. I'm very proud to say that Dr. Philips is a Torontonian. The book consists of 8 lessons, and each takes about 3 hours to complete. But you will be amazed at how much you can read after the first two! Costs about $12.00.

ICNA Book Service

100 McLevin Avenue
Unit 3A
Toronto M1B 2VS
Ontario
Canada

Telephone: (+1) (416) 609-2452
or (+1) (877) 301-ICNA (4262)
Fax: (+1) (416) 292-2437

ICNA Book Service

391 Burnham Thorpe RD-G
Oakville L6J 4Z2
Ontario
Canada

Telephone: (+1) (905) 257-5782
Fax: (+1) (905) 257-0848

E-Mail: icnabook@canada.com
Web Site: www.islamiccircle.com

Dawah Centre

1168 Bloor Street West
Toronto M6H 1N1
Ontario
Canada

Telephone: (+1) (416) 536-8433
Fax: (+1) (416) 536-0417

E-Mail: comments@islamicinfo.com
Web Site: www.islamicinfo.com

Learn the Arabic Alphabet! Article by Arabella.
Learning Arabic: My Journey, Part 1. Blog by Shira.
Learning Arabic: My Journey, Part 2. Blog by Shira.
Learning Arabic: My Journey, Part 3. Blog by Shira.
Christmas Songs in Arabic. Lyrics.

Review of Pimsleur's Egyptian Arabic Audio CD Program. Instruction in speaking Arabic.
Review of Habibi You Are My What? Video by Leyla Lanty.

About the Author

Arabella, the author of this article, has contributed many informative pieces to this web site on a variety of topics, including:

Analysis of technique for doing certain dance moves
Costume ideas
Essays and opinion pieces
Understanding Middle Eastern music
Helpful how-to's, such as remembering choreography

Please visit Arabella's home page on this web site for a full list of articles she has contributed.

Arabella began her dance studies with Russian Ballet classes. Frustrated by ballet's impossible ideals, and curious about more ethnic dance disciplines, she moved on to study various other dance forms. Moving further east each time, these included Spanish flamenco, Escuela Bolera, Middle Eastern, and East Indian Odissi.

Arabella, based in Toronto, Canada, is also a certified Mastercraftsman in crewel embroidery, with a special passion for metal thread and ethnic embroidery. Currently she particularly focuses on Palestinian and East Indian embroidery.

Copyright Notice

All articles, images, forms, scripts, directories, and product reviews on this web site are the property of Shira unless a different author/artist is identified. Material from this web site may not be posted on any other web site unless permission is first obtained from Shira.

Academic papers for school purposes may use information from this site only if the paper properly identifies the original article on Shira.net using appropriate citations (footnotes, end notes, etc.) and bibliography. Consult your instructor for instructions on how to do this.

If you wish to translate articles from Shira.net into a language other than English, Shira will be happy to post your translation here on Shira.net along with a note identifying you as the translator. This could include your photo and biography if you want it to. Contact Shira for more information. You may not post translations of Shira's articles on anybody else's web site, not even your own.

If you are a teacher, performer, or student of Middle Eastern dance, you may link directly to any page on this web site from either your blog or your own web site without first obtaining Shira's permission. Click here for link buttons and other information on how to link.

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