*The predominance of Arabic in the Middle East and North African region is due to the spread of Islam and trade industry activity in the area. A component of the Muslim religion is the Holy book called the Koran, which is written in Arabic. So, as the Muslim religion spread, so did the Arabic language. Traders in the Middle East and North African region need to speak multiple languages such as Arabic in order to do business, which explains the wide spread of the language in the area.