Might it have something to do with the content language setting in the Cognos configuration manager?
i did paste some more detailed steps. See if Arabic language is present in all tabs in the “global configuration” settings.
You can change system-wide configuration settings by using the Global Configuration dialog box to do the following:
Add or remove support for language, content locale, or currency.
Map user locale settings to a content locale or to a product language.
Add fonts to the Cognos 8 environment.
Customize server settings.
The Global Configuration dialog box is available only for Cognos 8 and only on the computer where Content Manager is installed.
Important: If you change global settings on one Content Manager computer, you must make the same changes on the other Content Manager computers.
Steps to Add Language, Content Locale, or Currency Support
On the computer where you installed Content Manager, start Cognos Configuration.
From the Actions menu, click Edit Global Configuration.
Click the appropriate tab for the type of support that you want to add.
Type of support
Tab
Language Product Locales
Content locale Content Locales
Currency Currencies
Click Add.
Tip: To remove support, select the check box next to the supported item and then click Remove. You must leave at least one locale in the product locale and content locale lists.
In the third column, type an appropriate value.
If the setting is not valid, an error icon appears in the second column. Move the cursor to the error icon to see the error message.
Repeat steps 3 to 5 for other types of support that you want to add.
If you add a currency code that is not supported by Cognos, you must manually add it to the i18n_res.xml file in the c8_location/bin/ directory. Copy this file to each Cognos 8 computer in your installation.
Steps to Map Locales
On the computer where you installed Content Manager, start Cognos Configuration.
From the Action menu, click Edit Global Configuration.
Choose whether to map report data or the user interface:
To map user locales to a specific locale for report data, on the Content Locale Mappings tab, click Add.
To map user locales to product locales for the user interface, on the Product Locale Mappings tab, click Add.
In the Key box, type the locale.
Tip: To specify the locale to use for a range of keys, use the wildcard character () with the Key value and then, in the Locale Mapping box, type the locale. For example, if you want all the German keys to use the German locale, type de in the Key box and type de in the Locale Mapping box.
In the Locale Mapping box, type the locale to use.
If the setting is not valid, an error icon appears in the second column. Move the cursor to the error icon to see the error message.
Repeat steps 3 to 5 for other mappings you want to do.