Hey history 🗃️ friends, does anyone read #Arabic well? My Arabic is unfortunately too rudimentary (and rusty!) to make out this inscription. It’s from a First World War French propaganda poster. It’s Maghribi Arabic, so <ف> is dotted below and <ق> has only one dot.
I got the first part, I think which is fi Sabil al-haq ( في سبيل الحق In the pursuit of justice/truth
@ayahnerd.bsky.social
I think it says “Fi sabil al-haqq ma’a Faransah”—on the path of righteousness with France.
Yeah, that’s what I came to in the end. For some reason my brain was misreading the final ة as ي 🤦🏼
ChatGPT says: The Arabic script in the image reads: في سبيل الحق و الحرية Transliteration: Fī sabīl al-ḥaqq wa al-ḥurriya Translation: “For the sake of truth and freedom” or “In the cause of truth and freedom”
This phrase carries strong connotations of justice, resistance, and liberation — it was commonly used in contexts of anti-colonial or national liberation movements. Given the visual elements (e.g. the North African flag, the attire), it may relate to historical resistance in the Maghreb.
Sorry I increased the contrast! with the improved contrast, the Arabic inscription is now clearly legible as: في سبيل الحق مع فرنسا Transliteration: Fī sabīl al-ḥaqq maʿa Faransā Translation: “In the cause of truth with France” or “On the path of righteousness with France”
@orelb.bsky.social
What I’ve got is a reference to being مع فرنسي (with a Frenchman?), and I think الحق (truth or the right).
Sorry it’s فرانسي but I think that is just a variant spelling?
فرانسة I think
Yes definitely! I was having a brain fart – it’s quite clearly ة