Say Ras Al Khaimah, not RAK, urges Sheikha Jawaher

Ras Al Khaimah - Sheikha Jawaher took to Twitter to express her concern over using the acronym.

Sheikha Jawaher Bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, Wife of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah and Chairperson of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs, expressed her concerns over youngsters use of the acronym 'RAK' instead of the full name of the Emirate, so many Emirati nationals have concurred the same.
On her official Twitter account, she said she felt so sorry to hear young people, particularly those of Ras Al Khaimah, using acronym RAK instead of the full name of the emirate.
"This abbreviation is a promo brand of a company or a bank, but the name Ras Al Khaimah has longer been used since the time of Alexander the Great in 321 BC in one of Ptolemy books," she said.
"The name of Sharjah and Umm Al Quwain were also mentioned," she affirmed. "Be honoured and proud (of these names)," she urged.
Khalid Safar, an Emirati national, believed that Sheikha Jawaher has raised a "critically important issue; changing Arabic names with foreign ones." This is mainly due to this generation's use of the English language and western culture, he explained.
"The UAE Government has issued several resolutions to enforce the use of Arabic language in official transactions," he added.
However, this new generation still needs to take responsibility and preserve these Arabic names.
"We all should be proud of these names since we are the nation of the Quran, which has been revealed in the Arabic language; the best and most immortal language in the world," Safar said.
Aish Saif, an Emirati young woman, thanked Sheikha Jawaher for her passion. "She always urges youth to be proud of their Arab identity, and never be misled by western culture and tradition," she said.
Raghda Al Saeed, another Emirati woman, said there are several attempts to destabilise the UAE heritage and uproot Arab values and principles."It is our responsibility to fight back, and counter all these intruding trends," Al Saeed said.

Renowned Emirati writer and poet Habib Al Sayegh thanked Sheikha Jawaher for her post. "I have raised the same issue before whenever I hears some youth saying RAK," he said.
Emirati scholar Dr Mohamed Alsahi said that the Emirates of Ras Al Khaimah and Sharjah are the headquarters of the Qawasim tribes. "Both emirates have their deeply rooted history, and the monuments discovered in Ras Al Khaimah and Sharjah proved that they did exist in 1000 BC," he said.
"They also have their famous reputation in the Islamic era," he added.
But Abdullah H., an Emirati young man, said there is no harm in using the acronym."Los Angeles is abbreviated into LA though its name was mentioned in the Bible," he said.
Abdulaziz Abdullah, an Emirati national, said the name is so nice and meaningful."The Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah was known before as Julphar," he said.
ahmedshaaban@khaleejtimes.com

• Sharjah
• Ras Al Khaimah