Unicode and Arabic

[Nadim Shaikli <shaikli at yahoo dot com>]

This is an ultra important topic which everyone should read carefully.

Its come to our collective attention (as it has in the past) that we,
as Arab speakers, don't have much of a presence in the Unicode.org
forums, community and lists to correct the various misconceptions
and semi-odd ideas and statements.  The Unicode lists are in dire
need of our collective participation on two levels,

 1. We really really really need to start contacting linguist,
    language history experts, Quran experts and overall Arabic
    language specialists (in Universities, Governments,
    Organizations, EVERYWHERE) to tell them that they are
    critically needed and _must_ consider joining the Unicode
    Consortium.  This is no longer optional and is VERY much
    a necessity on major fronts.

    Can we get a list of people who'd be willing to go and pitch
    the idea to various professors or government organizations ?

    Munzir can you run this by KACST ?  Are there people willing to
    go on tour about this topic in Egypt ?  In UAE ? etc...

 2. Since point-1 above will take time, we all need (irrespective of
    programming and/or computer skill) to join the unicode lists now
    to better educate those that are lacking in the fundamentals of
    our complex language.  We can at a minimum give those that are
    pondering various ideas a user's prospective.

You are ALL asked/urged/pleaded-with/begged to join the following
mailing-lists,

 a. 'unicode at unicode dot org' - follow the instructions on,

      http://www.unicode.org/consortium/distlist.html

    and note the bottom section of the URL for details.

 b. 'bidi at unicode dot org' - mail "ecartis at unicode dot org" with
    the subject "subscribe bidi".

Note that the 'bidi' list will require an admin to OK your request
(nothing abnormal there).  The lists are not archived so our
immediate involved is nothing short of mandatory to play a larger
more concentrated effort on how current/future specifications
affect our language and how we are to interface to them.

You are not asked to participate on those lists in any other topic
beyond Arabic.  In other words, you can safely ignore all emails
that don't affect or address Arabic specifically.

Again, I am personally pleading with everyone that has a decent
command of the language to join the lists above and to seriously
think about how we can get more of our Arabic "experts" involved.
This is not meant as a means to stem anything, but as a means to
get involved and to better establish the Arabic Language user's
needs and requirements.

Salam.

 - Nadim



		
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