Prince Charles learning the language of the Quraan
Cii News & Agencies | 14 March 2013
The Prince of Wales has revealed he is taking Arabic lessons.
Prince Charles told guests at a reception in Qatar that the language “goes in one ear and out the other”, but an aide disclosed that he has been having private tuition for more than six months.
The Prince’s new skill could help his desire to encourage dialogue between different religions, as he would be able to read the Quran in its original form.
Charles was in Doha at the Qatar-UK Alumni Network, for Qataris who have attended British universities, when he told a group of guests: “You all speak such good English.”
He is in the Middle East on an official trip with the Duchess of Cornwall.
Dr Mohammed Bin Saleh al Sada, chairman of the association and Qatar’s energy minister, asked the Prince if he spoke any Arabic.
He replied: “I tried to learn it once but I gave up. It goes in one ear and out the other.”
Dr al Sada told him: “It’s never too late to learn.”
An aide confirmed afterwards that Charles has been taking lessons.
He also speaks French, some German, and has also had tuition in Welsh.
In 2003, Charles made iftar with Muslims at the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque UAE after touring the mosque for almost two hours.
The British Royal took keen interest in studying various sections of the mosque, including the main prayer hall. He later broke fast with a large congregation of people from different nationalities as he sat with folded legs in an open courtyard.
In 2010, Charles urged the world to follow Islamic ‘spiritual principles’ in order to protect the environment during a speech to Islamic Studies students at Oxford University.
He has also recited from the English translation of the Quran while talking to other Muslims around the world.
Yesterday the Prince had a private audience with Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, the second wife and official consort of the Emir of Qatar.
She is the head of the Qatar Foundation, which works to improve education, science and community development in the country, but is best known in Europe as the sponsor of Barcelona FC.
The Duchess went on to meet a group of Qatari Bedouin women, who work for Vodafone selling mobiles to women within their tribes.