Arabic Math Notation

The W3C's MathML interest group notes on Arabic math notation brings a few thoughts to mind:

• MathML looks like a pain to do by hand. Much easier to use texvc to convert from LaTeX.
  
• Math users everywhere are all a bit obsessed with having their math look pretty, regardless of the language.
  
• The use of the letters 'hg' (the initial letters of the Arabic for 'sum') as the summation sign in Machrek notation, instead of the Greek capital Sigma, is a reminder of how most Western math notation evolved from similar abbreviations (e.g. long s as the integration sign)
  
• Although the Arabs write their numbers left to right, they write their math right to left, except for the Moroccan style (which is influenced by French math notation). This must be quite confusing for n00bs.