Friday 21 Rajab 1442 - 5 March 2021

The problem of Muslims’ linguistic assimilation in foreign countries


We Muslims who live in foreign countries are faced with the problem of linguistic assimilation, whereby we speak the language of the Kuffaar in the west in a conscious or unconscious effort to get along with the people around us, and because we are influenced by the environment we are in. What is the Islamic view of this problem, and how can we overcome it?


Praise be to Allah.

Shaykh al-Islam Ahmad ibn ‘Abd al-Haleem ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) spoke very effectively about this problem, explaining its seriousness and effects, and the Islamic viewpoint concerning it. This is what he said:











In addition to the above, we advise the following:

  1. Muslims should strive – along with their families and children – to speak Arabic in their homes and gatherings. Parents should set the example for their children within the home, and sometimes they should deliberately not answer their children if they do not speak Arabic.

  2. Try to put the children in Arabic schools and academies wherever possible.

  3. Families should try to form housing co-ops or live close to one another, so that the neighbourhood and the local environment will be Arabic-speaking.

  4. Try to set up Arabic-language courses and seek reward and draw closer to Allaah by doing so. Books, tapes and other modern educational means should be used for this purpose.

  5. Continually listening to recordings of the Qur’aan, listening to lessons on tape and attending Islamic lectures in Arabic.

And Allaah is the source of strength. May Allaah bless our Prophet Muhammad,

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Source: Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid