Top Gifts For Arabic Nerds And Language Learners (2022)

If you celebrate Christmas or need to buy gifts for loved ones, you will know the problem. It is quite difficult to find unique presents related to Arabic.

I’ve compiled a list of the top gifts for Arabic nerds and geeks. No matter what your budget is, there is something to fit into it. These gifts, of course, work for any occasion and not only Christmas.

Seiko watch in Arabic design

Price: between $150 and $230

The Japanese manufacturer of watches offers a special edition: The Seiko 5 has a remarkable black Eastern Arabic dial – you get the so-called Hindu-Arabic.

Unfortunately, you can only order it in specific countries and not worldwide. If you cannot get it on Amazon, try to search for the following model names:

SNKP21J1 (42 mm) and SNK063J5 (34 mm)

The watch is available at amazon.com

Here is a video about the watch:

Gift card to study the Qur’an

Price: One-year gift card for $89.99; three months for $29.97

Tarteel advances your Qur’an memorization by interacting with you as you recite: Be notified of mistakes in your recitation in real-time. Tarteel closely follows along with your recitation and notifies you of incorrect words. Tarteel enforces correct sentence structure and detects when you miss a word or recite the wrong verse.

Mugs to show off you know Arabic

Price: between $11 and $14

Square Kufic (خَطُّ كُوفِيٌّ مُرَبَّعٌ) uses the most basic forms of the Arabic letters. It is a precursor to pixel art – although it was invented and applied hundreds of years ago in Islamic architecture in tiles and bricks.

You can choose from two different designs:

• The word Muhammad in Arabic (محمد)
• Sura 2:255 (Throne verse)

Palestinian watermelon necklace

Price: $34.95 – shipped from California, USA

In Palestine, the watermelon is a symbol of resistance. With its colors mirroring the Palestinian flag.

Palestinian embroidered accessory bag

Price: $30 – shipped from UK

Handcrafted by refugees from Syria, Palestine and Iraq living in Jordan.

This embroidered accessory bag is perfect for holding jewelry, make up, toiletries or other personal items.

Necklace with personalized name in Arabic

Price: starting at $20

A perfect gift for her – a necklace in gold (or silver) with her Arabic name. When you order, you can write down the name in Arabic.

Mouse pad with Arabic verb conjugation

Price: starting at $12

People who start learning Arabic often struggle to fully conjugate a verb. With this mouse pad, you won’t forget it!

Books

Alaa Abd el-Fattah: You Have Not Yet Been Defeated

Price: starting at $15

Alaa Abd el-Fattah, a major voice since the Arab Spring, is being held in prison by Egypt’s military dictatorship for flimsy and absurd reasons. He is an independent thinker who blends politics and technology in powerful prose, an activist whose ideas represent a global generation that knows only the struggle against a failing system, a public intellectual with the rare courage of personal, painful honesty.

• ISBN: 978-1913097745
• 280 pages
• Publisher: ‎Fitzcarraldo Editions
• Language: English

Taha Hussein’s The Days – a guided study for Arabic learners

Price: $29.95

Taha Hussein’s autobiographical novel The Days (الأيام) remains one of the most influential and best-known works of Arabic literature. With this guided study, the complete first volume of the novel is accessible to students of Arabic in a way never previously available. Recommended only to students at the advanced level.

• ISBN: 978-1617971310
• 224 pages
• Publisher: The American University in Cairo Press
• Language: Arabic

Malika Moustadraf: Something Strange, Like Hunger

Price: $9

Malika Moustadraf (1969 – 2006) is a cult feminist icon in contemporary Moroccan literature, celebrated for her uncompromising depiction of life on the margins. Something Strange, Like Hunger is the first full-length translation of her work into any language.

Something Strange, Like Hunger presents Moustadraf’s collected short fiction: haunting, visceral stories by a master of the genre. Here, we tune into Casablanca’s unheard: a sex worker struggling to keep warm on the streets; a housewife flirting with strangers online; a kidney patient, priced-out of treatment, facing the harsh reality of his condition; and a mother scheming to ensure her daughter passes a virginity test.

• ISBN: 978-0863569166
• 160 pages
• Publisher: Saqi Books
• Language: English

About the author: Malika Moustadraf (1969–2006) was a writer from Casablanca, Morocco, celebrated for her distinctive style and experimental language. An exacting social critic, she wrote unflinchingly about life in the margins and was persecuted for her taboo-busting subject matter. Denied the life-saving treatment she needed, Moustadraf died at thirty-seven of kidney disease, leaving behind a semi-autobiographical novel and a collection of short stories.

Arabic for Nerds 1 and 2

Price: $19.99

If you are desperately searching for gifts, you could also consider one of my books.