Arabic Wikipedia
Encyclopedia
The Arabic Wikipedia is the Arabic language
version of Wikipedia
. It started on 9 July 2003. As of September 2011, it has over 150,000 articles, 400,000 registered users and over 11,000 images. The Arabic Wikipedia is currently the 25th largest edition of Wikipedia by article count, and is the first Semitic language
to exceed 100,000 articles.
The design of the Arabic Wikipedia differs somewhat from other Wikipedias. Most notably, since Arabic is written right-to-left
, the location of links is a mirror image
of those Wikipedias in languages written left-to-right.
in Syria
with no official reasons given by the Syrian government. The block began on April 30, 2008 while all other language versions of Wikipedia remain unblocked and freely accessible. This block continued until February 13, 2009, where the block on the Arabic Wikipedia was suddenly lifted by the Syrian government, again without any official notification on why it was blocked in the first place. Wikimedia continues to be blocked, which causes all images on Wikipedia (in all languages) to be unavailable.
In 2010, Tarek Al Kaziri, from Radio Netherlands
, believed that Arabic Wikipedia reflected the Arabic reality in general. Low participation lowers the probability that the articles are reviewed, developed and updated, and political polarisation of participants is likely to lead to biases in the articles.
In 2008, an article from an israeli newspaper (The Jerusalem Post
) accused the Arabic Wikipedia of being biased against Israel and on many other issues. The article was written by a journalist who says that he doesn't "read or speak Arabic" and used Google Translations to understand the content of the Arabic Wikipedia.
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
version of Wikipedia
Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 20 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site,...
. It started on 9 July 2003. As of September 2011, it has over 150,000 articles, 400,000 registered users and over 11,000 images. The Arabic Wikipedia is currently the 25th largest edition of Wikipedia by article count, and is the first Semitic language
Semitic languages
The Semitic languages are a group of related languages whose living representatives are spoken by more than 270 million people across much of the Middle East, North Africa and the Horn of Africa...
to exceed 100,000 articles.
The design of the Arabic Wikipedia differs somewhat from other Wikipedias. Most notably, since Arabic is written right-to-left
Bi-directional text
Bi-directional text is text containing text in both text directionalities, both right-to-left and left-to-right . It generally involves text containing different types of alphabets, but may also refer to boustrophedon, which is changing text directionality in each row.Some writing systems of the...
, the location of links is a mirror image
Mirror image
A mirror image is a reflected duplication of an object that appears identical but reversed. As an optical effect it results from reflection off of substances such as a mirror or water. It is also a concept in geometry and can be used as a conceptualization process for 3-D structures...
of those Wikipedias in languages written left-to-right.
Blocking
The Arabic Wikipedia has been blockedBlock (internet)
On the Internet, a block is a technical measure intended to restrict access to information or resources. Blocks should not be confused with bans, although they are often used to enforce a ban.-Effects of blocks:...
in Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
with no official reasons given by the Syrian government. The block began on April 30, 2008 while all other language versions of Wikipedia remain unblocked and freely accessible. This block continued until February 13, 2009, where the block on the Arabic Wikipedia was suddenly lifted by the Syrian government, again without any official notification on why it was blocked in the first place. Wikimedia continues to be blocked, which causes all images on Wikipedia (in all languages) to be unavailable.
Evaluation and criticism
In September 2011, Arabic Wikipedia scored 223 in termes of depth (a rough indicator of the encyclopedia's quality). Which is better than the German version (90), the French version (149) or the Japanese version (55), but far behind the English Wikipedia (630).In 2010, Tarek Al Kaziri, from Radio Netherlands
Radio Netherlands
Radio Netherlands Worldwide is a public radio and television network based in Hilversum, producing and transmitting programmes for international audiences outside the Netherlands...
, believed that Arabic Wikipedia reflected the Arabic reality in general. Low participation lowers the probability that the articles are reviewed, developed and updated, and political polarisation of participants is likely to lead to biases in the articles.
In 2008, an article from an israeli newspaper (The Jerusalem Post
The Jerusalem Post
The Jerusalem Post is an Israeli daily English-language broadsheet newspaper, founded on December 1, 1932 by Gershon Agron as The Palestine Post. The daily readership numbers do not approach those of the major Hebrew newspapers....
) accused the Arabic Wikipedia of being biased against Israel and on many other issues. The article was written by a journalist who says that he doesn't "read or speak Arabic" and used Google Translations to understand the content of the Arabic Wikipedia.
Milestones
- Arabic Wikipedia was launched in September 2001, yet due to MediawikiMediaWikiMediaWiki is a popular free web-based wiki software application. Developed by the Wikimedia Foundation, it is used to run all of its projects, including Wikipedia, Wiktionary and Wikinews. Numerous other wikis around the world also use it to power their websites...
software migration, the oldest surviving edit dates back to 9 July 2003. - Article number 10,000 was نكاف (MumpsMumpsMumps is a viral disease of the human species, caused by the mumps virus. Before the development of vaccination and the introduction of a vaccine, it was a common childhood disease worldwide...
) created on 25 December 2005. - Article number 50,000 was جامعة تكساس مدرسة الطب في هيوستن (University of Texas Medical BranchUniversity of Texas Medical BranchThe University of Texas Medical Branch is a component of the University of Texas System located in Galveston, Texas, United States, about 50 miles southeast of Downtown Houston...
) created on December 31, 2007. - Article number 75,000 was ترتيب الصحارى من حيث المساحة (List of deserts by area) created on 30 August 2008.
- Article number 100,000 was المعهد العالي للفنون والحرف بقابس (University of GabèsUniversity of GabèsThe University of Gabès is a public university located in southern Tunisia with headquarters in Gabès. The university is oriented primarily toward Information Technology and is the home of the famous Ecole Nationale d'Ingénieurs de Gabès , commonly called "ENIG." This department provides high...
) created on 25 May 2009.