Honourable senators, I am mindful of the time. I’m normally very brief, but I’ll be even briefer still.

Honourable senators, I rise today to speak as the official critic for Bill S-227, which would designate the month of April as Arab heritage month. Thank you to Senator Al Zaibak for reintroducing this important bill.

As I was getting ready to speak, I asked myself, “Who is an Arab?” Well, Arabs are considered to be Semitic peoples, and they speak Arabic, a Semitic language. The Arab world consists of 22 countries in the Middle East and North Africa where Arabic is the main spoken language. In terms of religion, most Arabs are Muslims, but there are also Arab Christians and Arab Jews — just as there are Muslim, Christian and Jewish Canadians. Despite their differences in ethnicity and religion, Arabs are united by their distinctive history, culture, music, art forms, food and customs.

In Canada, the first Arab immigrant to arrive is widely believed to have been Ibrahim Abou Nader, who settled in Montreal in 1882. Since then, the Arab-Canadian community has grown steadily, with the biggest communities located in Montreal and Toronto.

Honourable senators, the Arab world has offered gifts to humanity that transcend borders, centuries and disciplines. The roots of Arab contributions to global civilization run deep. I would therefore like to highlight a few Arab inventors who paved the way for Newton, Galileo and even the Wright brothers.

First, something as innocuous as our morning cup of coffee originated in the Arab world. Legend has it that coffee was first discovered by a goat herder named Khalid or Kaldi in the 9th century Ethiopia who noticed goats chewing on seeds and getting particularly excited. Coffee plants were taken across the Red Sea in Yemen, where it was first cultivated and brewed in the 15th century. The port city of Mocha, or Al-Makha, on Yemen’s Red Sea coast became the epicentre of the global coffee trade from the 15th to the 17th centuries. From there, coffee spread across the Islamic world, reaching Mecca, Cairo, Damascus and then the Ottoman Empire before eventually making its way into Europe. This Arab-led domestication and commercialization of coffee laid the foundation for modern global coffee culture.

A thousand years before the Wright brothers invented the flying machine, Abbas Ibn Firnas, an Andalusi polymath, invented the first heavier-than-air flying contraption to be recorded in history. He crafted a rudimentary glider from wood, silk and feathers and was said to have launched himself from a mountain in Yemen, gliding for several minutes and steering well enough to land near his starting point. This endeavour presaged concepts that centuries later informed the work of Leonardo da Vinci and the Wright brothers.

In mathematics, ancient Egypt and Babylon were the centres for the development of algebra, a word that was derived from the Arabic word “al-jabr,” which means “restoration” or “reunion.” Ancient Babylonians were the pioneers in using algebra in the field of mathematics, with evidence suggesting that this practice dates back as far as 1900 to 1600 BC.

We have heard about the first medical doctors. Al-Zahrawi, a celebrated physician, surgeon and chemist, published a book in the year 1000 called Kitab al-Tasrif, a 30-volume Arabic encyclopedia on medicine and surgery which was used in Europe as a medical reference for the next 500 years.

Another prominent figure was Ibn Sina, known in the West as Avicenna, who wrote The Canon of Medicine, a text that became a standard in European universities for more than 500 years. His detailed observations laid the groundwork for clinical trials, quarantine procedures and holistic treatment centuries before modern science caught up.

Honourable senators, these are not just footnotes in history. These are the cornerstones of modern science and culture.

We don’t hear much about these inventors as recorded history is subjective, but I hope that with Arab heritage month, we can learn about the rich culture and history, and the notable achievements and contributions of Canadians of Arabic origins.

These contributions are not locked in the past. They live and breathe among us here in Canada. Arab Canadians have made and continue to make outstanding contributions to the social, cultural, scientific and political fabric of this country.

We know that in recent years, Arab communities — particularly those who are Muslim, racialized or newcomers — have faced discrimination, profiling and marginalization. Recognizing Arab heritage month is not only an act of celebration but also an act of solidarity, an affirmation that every Canadian, regardless of origin, belongs fully and equally to this country.

Honourable senators, let us use Arab heritage month to ensure that Arab-Canadian youth see themselves reflected in our institutions, that every Arab-Canadian culture is celebrated in our classrooms and that Arab-Canadian voices are heard in our conversations. With this, we can all look forward to weaving a more authentic version of our collective history together.

Thank you. Shukran.