Re: which languages use arabic alphabet?

Harlan Messinger wrote:
> Peter T. Daniels wrote:
>> On Jul 1, 1:46 pm, Xabi <jser...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>>> Not at all. I was somehow shocked to see Belarusian listed. Is the
>>> Arabic script commonly used nowadays for writing Belarusian? And
>>> Afrikaans?
>>
>> Are there many practicing Muslim Belarusians? AIUI, there is still a
>> vital "Colored" (i.e. "Indian," including modern "Pakistani")
>> community in South Africa.
> 
>  From Omniglot:
> 
> "Belarusian has also been written with the Arabic script by Belarusian 
> Tartars and with the Hebrew script by Belarusian Jews." Doesn't say
when.
> 

 From Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belarusian_Arabic_alphabet:

"The Belarusian Arabic alphabet was based on the Arabic script and was 
developed in the 16th century (possibly 15th). It consisted of 
twenty-eight graphemes, including several additions to represent 
Belarusian sounds not found in Arabic.

"The Belarusian Arabic alphabet was used by the Lipka Tatars, who had 
been invited to settle on Belarusian territories. During the 14th-16th 
centuries they gradually stopped using their own language and started 
using the Old Belarusian language rendered in the Belarusian Arabic 
alphabet. Books of that literary tradition are known as Kitab 
(Belarusian: "Кітаб"), which is the Arabic word for book."

For that matter: "Some Polish texts were also written in the Arabic 
script, dated not earlier than 17th century.[citation needed]"