Changing font for Arabic

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it seems like it should be a simple thing to do, but i’ve spent hours trying to find a solution…
I want arabic text to render in a different font. I think the system defaults to noto sans arabic? which is not great.
For firefox/zen browser, i just changed it in the app settings

i then tried this config i found online:

<?xml version='1.0'?>
<!DOCTYPE fontconfig SYSTEM 'fonts.dtd'>
<fontconfig>
  <!-- Set preferred serif, sans serif, and monospace fonts. -->
  <alias>
   <family>sans-serif</family>
   <prefer>
    <family>Noto Serif</family>
    <family>Segoe UI</family>
   </prefer>
  </alias>

  <alias>
   <family>serif</family>
   <prefer>
    <family>Noto Serif</family>
    <family>Segoe UI</family>
   </prefer>
  </alias>

  <alias>
   <family>Sans</family>
   <prefer>
    <family>Noto Sans</family>
    <family>Segoe UI</family>
   </prefer>
  </alias>

  <alias>
   <family>monospace</family>
   <prefer>
    <family>Noto Sans</family>
    <family>Segoe UI</family>
   </prefer>
  </alias>
  <!-- Aliases for commonly used MS fonts. -->
  <match>
    <test name="family"><string>Arial</string></test>
    <edit name="family" mode="assign" binding="strong">
      <string>Noto Sans</string>
    </edit>
  </match>
  <match>
    <test name="family"><string>Helvetica</string></test>
    <edit name="family" mode="assign" binding="strong">
      <string>Noto Sans</string>
    </edit>
  </match>
  <match>
    <test name="family"><string>Verdana</string></test>
    <edit name="family" mode="assign" binding="strong">
      <string>Noto Sans</string>
    </edit>
  </match>
  <match>
    <test name="family"><string>Tahoma</string></test>
    <edit name="family" mode="assign" binding="strong">
      <string>Noto Sans</string>
    </edit>
  </match>
  <match>
    <!-- Insert joke here -->
    <test name="family"><string>Comic Sans MS</string></test>
    <edit name="family" mode="assign" binding="strong">
      <string>Noto Sans</string>
    </edit>
  </match>
  <match>
    <test name="family"><string>Times New Roman</string></test>
    <edit name="family" mode="assign" binding="strong">
      <string>Noto Sans</string>
    </edit>
  </match>
  <match>
    <test name="family"><string>Times</string></test>
    <edit name="family" mode="assign" binding="strong">
      <string>Noto Sans</string>
    </edit>
  </match>
  <match>
    <test name="family"><string>Courier New</string></test>
    <edit name="family" mode="assign" binding="strong">
      <string>Noto Sans</string>
    </edit>
  </match>
</fontconfig>

it works for some apps (like vesktop) but im noticing that in the KDE interface its not working, as well as apps like kwrite.
This confused me, because in prior attempts i was having the exact opposite issue - the font was changing in the system apps but not in other apps.
I’m just lost, and tired.. Any help is appreciated.