I love gn0sis's idea described in Using Unicode on E2 for adding the native name, in Unicode, to your writeups about foreign terms, concepts, people, etc.

Here are many important terms I have gathered in Arabic, all of them already noded or certainly nodeable.
They are listed first in English alphabetical order of the English word, English spelling, or English transliteration.
There are no doubt errors here since I don't speak Arabic, so please /msg me if you find an error, have an addition, or if you use one of these in a writeup of yours.

To use these, you can try just cutting and pasting into your writeup - this works for some browsers depending on the configuration. Otherwise, use your browser's "View Source" menu and cut and paste the HTML entities.

Arabic (العربية):

abaya (العباية)
Abu Alaa, Abu Ala (?)
Aladdin (?)
Abu Bakr (?)
Abu Mazen (ابو مازن)
Ahmed Chalabi (احمد الجلبي)
Ahmed Korei (?)
Al Fatah, Fatah (الفاتح)
algebra (الجبر)
Algeria, Algiers (الجزائر)
Ali Hassan al-Majid, Chemical Ali (?)
Allah (الله)
Allahu akbar (الله اكبر)
Al-Aqsa Mosque (المسجد الاقصى)
Al-Jazeera (الجزيرة)
al-Ma'mun (المأمون)
al-Qaeda (القاعدة)
Al-Samoud II (الصمود 2، الصمود ٢)
Amman (عمان)
Anwar Sadat (أنور السادات)
Arab League, League of Arab States (جامعة الدول العربية)
Ashbal Saddam (أشبال صدام)
Ayatolla, Ayatollah (آية الله)
Ba'ath party (البعث)
Baghdad (بغداد)
Bahrain (البحرين)
Bashar al Assad (بشار الاسد)
Basra (البصرة)
Beirut (بيروت)
burqa (?)
Cairo (القاهرة)
caliph (خليفة)
Casablanca (الدار البيضاء)
Chad (تشاد)
Comoros (القمر)
Damascus (دمشق)
Dar es Salaam (دار السلام)
Dead Sea (?)
dinar (دينار)
dirham (درهم)
Djibouti (جيبوتي)
Dodi Fayed (?)
Doha (الدوهة)
Egypt (مصر)
Euphrates (الفرات)
fatwa (فتوى)
Fedayeen Saddam (فدائيين صدام)
Fès (فـاس)
fiqh (الفقه)
franc (فرنك)
Gamel Abdel Nasser (جمال عبد الناصر)
hadith (الحديث)
Hafez al Assad (حافظ الاسد)
Hafiz of Quran (حافظ القرآن)
hajj (حاج)
halal (حلال)
Hamas, HAMAS (حماس)
haram (حرام)
hijab (الحجاب)
Hizbullah, Hezbollah (حزب الله)
Hosni Mubarak (حسنى مبارك)
imam (الإمام)
Intifada (الأنتفاضة)
Iraq (العراق)
Iraqi National Congress (المؤتمر الوطني العراقي)
Irbil (اربيل)
Islam (الإسلام)
Islamic Jihad (الجهاد الإسلامي)
Iyad Allawi (اياد علاوي)
jihad (الجهاد)
Jordan (الأردن)
Karbala (كربلا)
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (خالد شيخ محمد)
Khartoum (الخرطوم)
khutba (?)
King Faisal (الملك فيصل)
Kirkuk (كركوك)
Kufa (الكوفة)
Kuwait (الكويت)
Lebanon (لبنان)
madrassa (?)
Mahmoud Abbas (محمد عباس)
Manama (المنامة)
Marrakesh (مراكش)
Mauritania (موريتانيا)
Mecca (مكة)
Medina (مدينه)
Meknès (مكناس)
Middle East (الشرق الأوسط)
minaret (المئذنة)
Mohammed Fayed (?)
Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf (محمد سعيد الصحاف)
Morocco (المغرب)
mosque, masjid (المسجد)
Muammar Qaddafi (معمر القذافي)
muezzin (المؤذن)
mufti (?)
Muhammad (محمد)
mullah, mollah, mulla, moolah (ملا)
Mullah Mohammed Omar (ملا محمد عمر)
Muscat (مسقط)
Naguib Mahfouz (نجيب محفوظ)
 Midaq Alley (زقاق المدق)
Najaf (نجف)
Naji Sabri (ناجي صبري)
Nasiriya, Nisiriyah, Nassiriya (الناصريه)
Nouakchott (نواكشوت)
Oman (سلطنة عمان)
Osama bin Laden (أسامة بن لادن)
ougiya (اوغيا)
Palestine (فلسطين)
Persian Gulf (الخليج الفارسي)
PLO, Palestine Liberation Organisation, Palestine Liberation Organization (السلطة الوطنية الفلسطينية)
pound (جنيه)
Qatar (قطر)
quran, qur'an, koran (القرآن)
Qusay Hussein (قصي حسين)
Rabat (الرباط)
ramadan (رمضان)
Ramallah (رام الله)
rial, riyal (ريال)
Riyadh (الرياض)
Saddam Hussein (صدام حسين)
sahara (الصحراء)
Said ibn Sultan (?)
Saudi Arabia (السعودية)
sharia, shari'a, shari'ah (الشريعة)
sheikh (شيخ)
shia, shi'a, shi'ih, shiite, etc (الشيعة)
shilling (شيلينغ)
The Six Day War (?)
Sudan (السودان)
sunnah (السنة)
sunni (سونى)
Syria (سوريا)
Taleban, Taliban (طالبان)
Tariq Aziz (طارق عزيز)
Tigris (دجلة)
Tikrit, Takrit (تكريت)
triliteral (?)
Tripoli (طرابلس)
Tunisia, Tunis (تونس)
UAE, United Arab Emirates (الامارات)
Uday Hussein (عدي حسين)
Umm Qasr (ام قصر)
Yasser Arafat (ياسر عرفات)
Yemen (اليمنية)
Yusuf Mehdi (يوسف مهدي)
Zamalek (?)


The 99 names or attributes of Allah
(for rk2001, taken from a post by casosa on http://www.salaamway.de)

Allah: Allah's proper name - الله

Al-Rahman: The Beneficient - الرحمن
Al-Raheem: The Merciful - الرحيم
Al-Malik: The Souvereign Lord - الملك
Al-Quddus: The Holy - القدوس
As-Salaam: The Source Of Peace - السلام

Al-Mu'min: The Guardian Of Faith - المؤمن
Al-Muhaymin: The Protector - المهيمن
Al-'Aziz: The Mighty - العزيز
Al-Gabbaar: The Compeller - الجبار
Al-Mutakabbir: The Majestic - المتكبر

Al-Khaliq: The Creator - الخالق
Al-Baari: The Evolver - الباري
Al-Musawwir: The Fashioner - المصور
Al-Ghaffar: The Forgiver - الغفار
Al-Qahhar: The Subduer - القهار

Al-Wahhab: The Bestower - الوهاب
ِAl-Razzaq: The Provider - الرزاق
Al-Fattah: The Opener - الفتاح
Al-'Aleem: The All-Knowing - العليم
Al-Qabid: The Constrictor - القابض

Al-Basit: The Expander - الباسط
Al-Khafid: The Abaser - الخافض
Al-Rafi': The Exalter - الرافع
Al-Mu'izz: The Honorer - المعز
Al-Mudhill: The Dishonorer - المذل

As-Sami': The All-Hearing - السميع
Al-Baseer: The All-Seeing - البصير
Al-Hakam: The Judge - الحكم
Al-'Adl: The Just - العدل
Al-Lateef: The Subtle One - اللطيف

ِAl-Khabeer: The Awake - الخبير
Al-Haleem: The ForBearing One - الحليم
Al-Azeem: The Great One - العظيم
Al-Ghafoor: The All-Forgiving - الغفور
Al-Shakoor: The Appreciative - الشكور

Al-'Ali: The Most High - العلى
Al-Kabeer: The Most Great - الكبير
Al-Hafeez: The Preserver - الحفيظ
Al-Muqeet: The Maintainer - المقيت
Al-Hasseeb: The Reckoner - الحسيب

Al-Jaleel: The Sublime One - الجليل
Al-Kareem: The Generous - الكريم
Al-Raqeeb: The Watchful - الرقيب
Al-Mujeeb: The Responsive - المجيب
Al-Wasi': The All-Embracing - الواسع

Al-Hakeem: The Wise - الحكيم
Al-Wadood: The Loving - الودود
Al-Majeed: The Most Glorious - المجيد
Al-Ba'ith: The Resurrector - الباعث
Ash-Shaheed: The Witness - الشهيد

Al-Haqq: The Truthful - الحق
Al-Wakeel: The Trustee - الوكيل
Al-Qawee: The Most Strong - القوي
Al-Mateen: The Firm - المتين
Al-Walee: The Protecting Friend - الولي

Al-Hameed: The Praiseworth - الحميد
Al-Muhsi: The Reckoner - المحصى
Al-Mubdee: The Originator - المبدي
Al-Mu'eed: The Restorer - المعيد
Al-Muhee: The Giver of Life - المحي

Al-Mumit: The Creator Of Death - المميت
Al-Hayy: The Alive - الحي
Al-Qayyum: The Self-Subsisting - القيوم
Al-Wajeed: The Finder - الواجد
Al-Majid: The Noble - الماجد

Al-Wahid: The One - الواحد
Al-Ahad: The One - الأحد
As-Samad: The Eternal - الصمد
Al-Qadir: The Able - القادر
Al-Muqtadir: The Powerful - المقتدر

Al-Muqaddim: The Expeditor - المقدم
Al-Mu'akhir: The Delayer - الموخر
Al-Awwal: The First - الأول
Al-Akhir: The Last - الأخر
Az-Zahir: The Manifest - الظاهر

Al-Batin: The Hidden - الباطن
Al-Wali: The Governor - الوالى
Al-Muta'ali: The Most Exalted - المتعال
Al-Barr: The Source Of All Goodness - البرّ
At-Tawwaab: The Acceptor Of Repentance - التوّاب

Al-Muntaqim: The Avenger - المنتقم
Al-'Afoo: The Pardoner - العفو
Ar-Rauf: The Compassionate - الرؤف
Malik-ul-Mulk: The Eternal Owner Of Souvereignty - مالك الملك
Dhul-Jalal-Wal-Ikram: The Lord Of Majesty And Bounty - ذو الجلال و الإكرام

Al-Muqsit: The Equitable - المقسط
Al-Jami': The Gatherer - الجامع
Al-Ghanee: The Self-Sufficient - الغني
Al-Mughnee: The Enricher - المغني
Al-Mani': The Preventor - المانع

Ad-Daarr: The Distresser - الضار
An-Nafi': The Propitious - النافع
An-Nour: The Light - النور
Al-Hadee: The Guide - الهادي
Al-Badi': The Incomparable - البديع

Al-Baqi: The Everlasting - الباقى
Al-Warith: The Supreme Inheritor - الوارث
Ar-Rasheed: The Guide To The Right Path - الرشيد
As-Saboor: The Patient - الصبور


Sources:
Google
Foreign language dictionaries at various Sydney libraries
http://www.geonames.de/
Thanks to Gritchka for recommending splitting the larger entries out of my writeup for Using Unicode on E2.
There are often various ways of transliterating an Arabic word or name, several of them equally correct, and others also reasonable.

Here is some unofficial and non-binding advice on how to transliterate Arabic. This is not a standardization: please do not put in requests for title edits or firmlinks just to conform to this advice.

This write-up concerns how to incorporate the odd word or name into English text. For more linguistic detail about the language and its sounds, see Arabic transliteration by Mercuryblues and my own Arabic pronunciation.

Standard and local Arabic

The language of the Quran is called Classical Arabic and has been transmitted unchanged for 1400 years for reciting the Quran and also for communication between educated Muslims from different countries. With the addition of new words for 'television', 'republic' and so on, it is called Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). Radio stations often broadcast in Standard Arabic: the equivalent of a BBC accent on the World Service.

The spoken language of the people has changed like any other 1400-year-old language, and the 'dialects' of modern Arabic may be effectively different languages, especially in North Africa: Palestinian, Iraqi, Egyptian, Algerian, and the rest each have their own sounds, and pronounce Arabic differently. Children grow up speaking their own local Arabic. They have to learn Modern Standard Arabic in school.

Thus the MSA name Muhammad is pronounced Mohammed in many places, and this is often the reason why you get both forms. The Standard letter Q is apparently pronounced G in Libya, so Colonel Qaddhafi is sometimes written Gaddafi. Neither is more or less correct: but forms with K- or Kh- are wrong.

Established English forms

Where one form is common in English, that should be used, even though it's a less accurate transliteration: King Hassan of Morocco, not Hasan; King Hussein of Jordan and Saddam Hussein, not Husayn. But for other Hasans and Husayns who are less familiar in English, it would be better to use these more accurate forms Hasan, Husayn.

We always write Riyadh, never the more accurate Riyad or al-Riyad or ar-Riyad. Pedantry is bad. Cairo not al-Qahirah, Mecca not al-Makkah, Casablanca not Dar al-Bayda, and so on.

In some cases multiple forms are in use side by side. In this case it's better to use the one closer to Standard Arabic. Seventy years ago Fowler thought it was pedantic to use Mohammed instead of the normal Mahomet, and held up his hands in horror at Muhammad. These days Muhammad is a familiar and preferable form. Likewise Quran rather than Koran. Perhaps someday we'll be comfortable using Makkah for Mecca, but for now that's still what Fowler called Pride of Knowledge.

Accents

Accurate printed transliterations of Arabic use accents: a dot under T D S Z and H to indicate the so-called emphatic letters, and a macron or a circumflex over A I U to indicate a long vowel. Well the circumflexes are easy to do in HTML, but the dotted letters aren't among the most accessible Unicode characters.

There are also two Arabic signs hamza and ain which English-speakers have difficulty hearing and making, and indicate them in transcription by open and close quotes: 'Ahmad, `Abdullah. These are often left out.

If you want to be precise you can add the Arabic itself in Unicode. To keep the English neat and simple, I recommend leaving out all accents and quotes. That is why I standardized our nodes on the Quran to that spelling, not Qur'an. If you prefer the other, or accents, pipelink away: [Quran|Qur'ān] gives you a pleasing Qur'ān.

al-, as-, el-

The definite article is al- in Standard Arabic, attached to the following word (there is no hyphen).But in English we never write it joined together, always hyphenated or separate: Anwar al Sadat or Anwar al-Sadat. In this case he's a well-known person who's also known as Anwar Sadat. Therefore I recommend separated, because a search for 'Sadat' won't find 'al-Sadat'. When there's a choice of with or without 'al-', as here, for simplicity I'd recommend leaving it out. But some names always have it: al-Qaida.

It assimilates to some consonants (T D S Z N R), so written alsadat is pronounced assadat. We sometimes see as-Sadat, but this is less common, and entirely predictable from the spelling al-Sadat, so it's unnecessary.

In modern dialects it's often el- (and es- etc.). Use this only if the name is always given with it, as with many Egyptian and Sudanese names.

E and O

Standard Arabic has only the three vowels A I U. Local forms often have five vowels A E I O U. Muhammad for the Prophet is a name used throughout the Arabic world, but a modern person might be a Mohammed or Mohammad. The Saudi Osama bin Laden is sometimes named in the Standard form Usama bin Ladin, but the more familiar spelling should be preferred.

However, I do not approve of using OO and EE to represent long U and I. Avoid if possible. But they are the established forms in the news agency Aljazeera and Sultan Qaboos of Oman.

-a and -ah

The feminine ending was -ah in Classical Arabic (when said in isolation). In modern Arabic, even when using Standard pronunciation, the H is usually silent, so you see it as -a. Examples are fatwa or fatwah, Fatima or Fatimah, and Sharia or Shari'ah, intifada or intifadah. In these cases I think there's an established English form with no H. In other, less familiar names, you might want to use the stricter spelling with H, or you might want to leave it out for consistency with established borrowings. Both are equally correct: I don't want to lay down an arbitrary rule. (See ta marbuta for details.)

/msg me for clarifications or advice. I know some of the nodes we have are not under the names I have recommended, and I don't care. They're fine where they are.

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