The Case for Early Arabia and Arabic Language: A Reply to the New Arabia Theory by Ahmad al-Jallad

Authors

Saad D. Abulhab, CUNY Central OfficeFollow

Document Type

Working Paper

Publication Date

4-2020

Abstract

A reply to an article published on May 23rd, 2018, in The New Yorker magazine by Elias Muhanna, titled A New History of Arabia, Written in Stone, introducing a new theory by Ahmad al-Jallad, a Harvard trained scholar of ancient Near East languages and scripts, asserting that the Arabic language (and presumably the Arabs) was originated in the south Levant desert and migrated southward. This theory would reverse the established conclusions set forth by the esteemed work of numerous Islamic Arab linguists and historians, over more than a thousand years, who believed the Arabs and the Arabic language originated in the southern Arabian Peninsula region. This reply also addresses several claims raised by al-Jallad, Sofia Chair of Arabic at Ohio State University, to support his new theory, during his recent lecture in Kuwait on December 16th, 2019, titled The Rise of Arabic: From an Epic Past to an Evidence-Based History.

Comments

This unpublished essay was submitted as an open reply to the article published on May 23rd, 2018 by Elias Muhanna, in The New Yorker magazine, under the title "A New History of Arabia, Written in Stone".