This Middle Eastern tongue is making its mark at Montclair State University.
Montclair State’s Arabic program is the third most popular of nine language courses offered by the World Languages and Cultures department. As of Spring 2025, 326 Montclair State undergraduates are enrolled in Arabic classes. Only French and Italian draw more students with 476 and 443 respectively, according to Dr. Lois Oppenheim, the chair of the World Languages And Cultures Department in Schmitt Hall.
The program has allowed its students to get opportunities that enable them to use their degrees to make an impact.
Reportedly, the Arabic matriculation figure comprises 20 language class sections, with 10 alone for beginning Arabic. Professor Mazooz Sehwail, the Arabic program coordinator, began teaching as an adjunct in the spring of 2008. In the fall of 2008, he replaced an Arabic instructor hired before. Then Sehwail began teaching the language full-time.
Arabic became available as a major in 2016. As of this spring, Sehwail he said the Arabic program employs six adjunct professors. He said the curriculum includes literature classes, advanced spoken language skills, business Arabic and classical Arabic.
Students await Arabic Professor Mazooz Sehwail's arrival for Beginning Arabic II class in Schmitt Hall Room 212. Thomas Boud | The Montclarion
Oppenheim described Arabic’s ranking in the top three studied languages as “impressive.” Arabic is “exceedingly popular,” despite the subject’s steep learning curve.
“I think one thing that adds to the difficulty of Arabic is the different alphabet,” Oppenheim said. “I think that’s the first thing that should be said. That does make it more difficult.”
Oppenheim said she did not foresee Arabic becoming a trend when starting at Montclair State in 1988 as a French professor.
“Did I see it coming? To be honest, I don’t think I did. I mean, I knew it was important,” Oppenheim said about having Arabic in the world languages curriculum. “That’s why we added it, but I didn’t know it would grow so significantly so quickly, which it did.”
Sehwail mentioned several factors behind Arabic’s rise. They include the Arabic culture’s richness and the large Arab communities in North and Central Jersey. Abundant Arabic-speaking job prospects also boost the appeal of the language.
“People with knowledge of Arabic would have a lot of job opportunities; especially with the government,” Sehwail said.
Arabic Professor Mazooz Sehwail displays first person present tense Arabic verbs during a Beginning Arabic II class in Schmitt Hall Room 212.
Sehwail said employment examples are immigration, police, social services and courts of law. He said the Passaic County court system faces an acute shortage of Arabic interpreters. He added the education and business worlds also have demand for the tongue.
Sehwail also said on-campus Arab culture exhibitions have yielded Arabic course sign-ups. Two fall 2024 showcases about Arab teas and traditional costumes became buzz-inducing events.
“This brings a lot of people talking about Arabs. ‘What is this? What is that?’,” Sehwail said, regarding Arab culture questions. “Then we tell them about the major. This attracted so many people.”
He added in the fall of 2024, the Arabic program saw “big enrollment” in the Arabic major and minor.
Sehwail said a watershed moment in United States history sparked a sudden focus on Arabic.
“There was a big jump in the interest in the Arabic language after Sept. 11,” he said, referring the 2001 terrorist attack on the United States. “People start hearing more about Arabs after Sept. 11. This also gave Arabic language popularity, and after Sept. 11, so many colleges start offering Arabic.”
About the Arabic program’s success, Oppenheim said Sehwail makes learning Arabic easier for students. She said his welcoming personality facilitates teaching the tongue.
“He’s very approachable. He’s very patient. He is very inviting,” Oppenheim said. “He encourages his students, and he is not in any way demeaning of anything they do. They’re dealing with a difficult language, and he supports them very much.”
Oppenheim said Sehwail also chooses teaching conducive Arabic language professors.
“He is very careful about what instructors he engages to hire when we have a need for an adjunct. He gets people that are really on his team, on our team, and that’s important,” Oppenheim said.
Oppenheim said Arabic’s increasing prominence also stems from growing recognition of the former French colonies’ linguistic heritage.
“I think that as we were more largely in North Africa, the recognition that ‘Hey, wait a minute there’s Arabic there too!’” Oppenheim said. “And that it’s not only limited to the Middle East. Then with everything that is going on in recent years, and I don’t mean politically right now, [but] the recognition of the importance of the various countries of the Middle East. All of that has contributed to it largely.”
One person who can attest to Arabic’s workplace practicality is alumna Farah Saleh of Totowa. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 2023 in business language and culture with a concentration in Arabic.
According to Saleh, she uses Arabic on her job with Africa Relief and Community Development. The Clifton based nonprofit provides aid to many African countries. The outfit’s involvement includes North Africa’s Arabic speaking nations.
Saleh said she has used her Arabic many times since starting at Africa Relief a year ago. She said one recurring scenario is dealing with the language barrier. She said her Arabic helps with handling monetary contributions and transactions.
“The donors and clients are sometimes not that good with English. Sometimes, the old people are not that good with English,” Saleh said.
The alumna said she also uses the language to write social media flyers about Africa Relief. She added that studying Arabic “opens your eyes” to wider cultural and employment horizons.
“This will open more opportunities in different areas. With your language, you will find more benefits on the job,” Saleh said, referring to career advancement.
Fatimeh Alhomeidany of Elmwood Park is also vouching for an Arabic degree’s usefulness. She is a class of 2021 Montclair State University alumna with a bachelor’s degree in Arabic. She works for Africa Relief And Community Development as an events and convention manager.
Alhomeidany said she uses Arabic at the nonprofits’ fundraising conventions around the United States. She added the language proves vital in conducting the organization’s overseas business. She said those affairs entail Google Teams sessions with people in North Africa.
“In Africa, they don’t speak English at all. It’s a lot easier,” Alhomeidany said about knowing Arabic on the job. “The most important thing here is when you see you understand them. Right away, they can speak with me.”
Fatimeh Alhomeidany, an Arabic program alumna. Thomas Boud | The Montclarion
The alumna said her Arabic speaking skills opened the door to her Africa Relief position.
“That was the main reason they hired me on the job, because I speak Arabic,” Alhomeidany said.
Alhomeidany said she feels knowing Arabic is important in the 21st century. She said many people speak the tongue in different settings, including work and home.
When asked, Alhomeidany said new Arabic students should be patient with learning the language. She said this is true even if having outside classroom Arabic knowledge, since Arabic is complex.
“My advice for them is to start from the beginning,” Alhomeidany said. “Don’t jump to the second level.”
