Arabic has great potential to grow beyond classical religious and scholarly traditions, extending into international diplomacy, education, and digital technology innovation. This spirit was the focus of Kalijaga Arabic Fest (KAF) 2026, organized by the Student Association of the Arabic Language Education Study Program (PBA), Faculty of Tarbiyah and Teacher Training (FITK), UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta, on Thursday (10/15) in the Convention Hall, 1st Floor.

Under the theme “Arabic on the Global Stage: Bridging Tradition and Driving Innovation,” KAF 2026 drew 105 participants across seven competition categories. Participants came from various secondary schools, Islamic boarding schools (pondok pesantren), ma'had aly (Islamic higher learning institutes), and public and private universities in Indonesia. International participation came from the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) Pagoh and the Arabic Debate Club (ADC) Pagoh, Malaysia.

The event gave young people a space to develop their Arabic competence while broadening their understanding of the language's relevance in modern life. Through competitions and academic forums, KAF encouraged participants not only to study the scholarly heritage of Arabic but also to develop its potential as a means of communication, knowledge development, and innovation.

KAF 2026 Organizing Committee Chair Rahma Zahida said the festival was designed as a venue for learning, growing, exploring potential, and building experiences and friendships. In her view, the success of the event is determined not only by who wins but also by the knowledge and experience participants gain during the competition.

“Arabic is not only a scholarly heritage to be preserved, but also a bridge to the future,” she said.

Head of the Arabic Language Education Study Program at FITK UIN Sunan Kalijaga, Nurul Huda, S.S., M.Pd.I., expressed appreciation for the support of university and faculty leaders for KAF 2026. He hopes the event can continue to grow through synergy among the undergraduate, master's, and doctoral levels in developing Arabic language education.

This year, KAF was held at the international level, continuing the events of previous years. This wider reach is expected to strengthen learning motivation and deepen relationships among students and academics from various institutions.

“If coffee makes us brothers, then Arabic makes us family,” said Nurul Huda.

The development of Arabic in the global era was the main topic of the studium generale (public lecture) session, which featured two speakers: Dr. Faiq Ilham Rosyadi, S.Pd., M.Pd., a PBA lecturer at UIN Sunan Kalijaga and CEO of Innovonesia Teknologi Inc., and Dr. Cahya Edi Setyawan, M.Pd.I., of STAI Masjid Syuhada Yogyakarta. The session was moderated by student Muhammad Anas Nasrulloh.

In his presentation, titled “Arabic on the Global Stage: Bridging Linguistic Tradition with Educational Innovation in the Digital Era,” Faiq stressed the importance of transforming the roles of Arabic students and academics. It is not enough for them to master theory and be users of technology. They also need to take on the role of innovation developers who can expand the use of Arabic in society.

Faiq likened the scholarly tradition of Arabic to a river that has sustained human civilization for centuries. Its sources include the Qur'an, hadith, the literature of classical scholars, and various disciplines such as medicine, astronomy, mathematics, nahwu (syntax), sharaf (morphology), balagah (rhetoric), and mantik (logic).

In his view, the task of today's generation of Arabic learners is to ensure that this flow of knowledge continues to reach new spaces. One way is to combine Arabic mastery with digital technology to produce learning products that are more engaging, accessible, and suited to community needs.

He highlighted the use of technology in language learning, or Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL), including through learning apps and interactive platforms. Developing educational games, digital content, and Arabic-language apps also opens opportunities to increase interest in learning while creating economic value.

Faiq also emphasized that Arabic learning needs to bridge two main needs: mastery of religious and academic heritage, and communicative skills for professional purposes. With this approach, Arabic is not only understood through classical texts but also used actively in communication, further study, work, and international relations.

The second speaker, Dr. Cahya Edi Setyawan, M.Pd.I., of STAI Masjid Syuhada Yogyakarta, reinforced the discussion of Arabic's strategic position through the perspectives of tradition, globalization, and innovation. He stressed that Arabic should not be viewed merely as a religious language, because it also has academic, practical, pragmatic, and economic value relevant to the needs of the times.

According to Cahya, the future development of Arabic rests on three interrelated dimensions. First, tradition, rooted in the Qur'an, hadith, exegesis, and turats, or the classical scholarly heritage. Second, globalization, which positions Arabic as a means of diplomacy, international education, cultural exchange, trade, and relations among nations. Third, innovation, which opens opportunities to develop Arabic through artificial intelligence, digitalization, machine translation, digital corpora, and voice technology.

In his view, these three dimensions need to be developed together. Tradition provides the scholarly foundation, globalization expands the space for use, and innovation brings new methods and technologies so that Arabic remains relevant amid a changing world.

Cahya also highlighted the shift in the orientation of Arabic education at the global level. Learning can no longer focus only on mastering grammar rules. It must also build the ability to use the language to think, communicate, and understand texts in depth.

Mastery of Arabic can thus become an asset for students and professionals to pursue further study, build careers in Arabic-speaking countries, and widen access to both classical and modern sources of knowledge. This approach also affirms that preserving tradition and developing technology are not opposing goals but can reinforce each other.

Besides the academic forum, KAF 2026 featured seven competition categories held both online and in person. The seven categories are Munadzoroh (debate), Khitobah (speech), Qiroatus Syi'ir (poetry recitation), Musabaqah Qiroatil Kutub (MQK, classical text reading competition), Calligraphy, Ghina Aroby (Arabic singing), and Taqdimul Qissoh (storytelling).

These varied categories gave participants the chance to showcase their abilities in argumentation, public speaking, literature, reading classical texts, singing, and storytelling, as well as to express their creativity through the art of calligraphy. The diversity of competitions also shows that Arabic learning can be developed through various approaches, whether academic, communicative, or artistic.

Through Kalijaga Arabic Fest 2026, UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta strengthens a space of collaboration for students, learners, and academics to develop Arabic competence from a broader perspective. The event is also part of efforts to connect the strength of the Islamic scholarly tradition with educational and technological innovation, so that Arabic continues to grow as a language of knowledge, cross-cultural communication, and global civilization. (humassk)