Javascript snippet to HTML encode foreign characters

This Javascript snippet is useful for converting characters in a language like Arabic to HTML Encoding for putting on web pages.

var a = "السلام عليكم"; //Arabic for Peace Be Upon You (Hello)
var h = a.replace(/(.)/g, function($1){
   return ($1 == " ") ? $1 : "&#" + $1.charCodeAt() + ";";
});

The variable h now holds السلام عليكم

a.replace(/(.)/g, function($1){
  if ($1 == " ")
    return " ";
  else
    return "&#" + $1.charCodeAt() + ";";
})

"السلام عليكم"

"السلام عليكم"

"السلام عليكم"

"السلام عليكم"

console.log("السلام عليكم".replace(/(.)/g, function($1){
  if ($1 == " ")
    return " ";
  else
    return "&#" + $1.charCodeAt() + ";";
}));