I think it's extra insulting when someone uses a font that's just supposed to look Arabic
I have definitely seen attempts at a "global-looking" interface where fake languages were put on screen using plausible-looking fonts.
Like, imagine a welcome page with "hello!" in lots of different languages, but the Arabic/Urdu/Armenian/Thai characters are all just literal gibberish that looks kind of like the alphabets in question.
If someone is using those fonts to pass text off as being in a different language, as in the example you mention, then sure, that's egregious.
If, however, the font is use to render some text in the style of another language, then I don't see a problem with it. We've done the same with Greek, Russian, Japanese, and many other languages that have a distinctive script. Sometimes it's tacky, but I wouldn't call it insulting.
Is the context just "places that are clearly supposed to be Arabic"? Sure, I can understand that being a problem. But if the font is being used as a font I don't think it should be a big deal.
I have definitely seen attempts at a "global-looking" interface where fake languages were put on screen using plausible-looking fonts.
Like, imagine a welcome page with "hello!" in lots of different languages, but the Arabic/Urdu/Armenian/Thai characters are all just literal gibberish that looks kind of like the alphabets in question.