sudo apt-get install libfribidi0 libfribidi-dev

Download the appropriate package from [here](https://launchpad.net/~behnam/+archive/)

    vim /usr/share/applications/gnome-terminal.desktop

add this

    Terminal=true
    Exec=/usr/bin/bicon.bin

[Original post](http://askubuntu.com/questions/77657/how-to-enable-arabic-support-in-gnome-terminal)