Arabic school in N.Y.C. creates stir

Critics say the academy may breed extremism. Supporters see a vital role for it in the post-9/11 world.

from the June 1, 2007 edition

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"Other ethnic schools have never been infused with this ethnic triumphalism which you have in many of the Islamic academies that are known around the world as madrassahs," says Jeff Wiesenfeld, trustee of the City University of New York. "We recognize that most Muslim people are as law-abiding as anyone else and abhor terrorism, but most terrorists today, as they are defined today, are Muslims."

More than 60 other dual-language schools are in New York, notes Joel Klein, New York schools chancellor. Most are for Spanish, but others focus on cultures as diverse as Creole and Chinese and Russian. At the same time as they teach language and culture, they also prepare students to pass the rigorous New York State Regents Examinations.

"If the school becomes a political school with a political agenda and decides that it's not about educating kids and is serving other purposes, then I won't tolerate it," Mr. Klein says. "Part [of our responsibility] in every child's education in this city is to make sure they're educated as a citizen."

He has promised that the school's curriculum would be monitored. That assuaged Mr. Wiesenfeld's concerns. The Department of Education also moved the school to another location with more space. Some parents who had raised concerns about overcrowding distanced themselves from the conservative critics.

But the controversy still hasn't gone away.

Some academics are raising concerns about the nature of all dual-language schools, despite the fact that some have proved to be high performing compared with other city schools.

"I object to all dual-language schools," says Diane Ravitch, an education historian at New York University. "It was decided a long time ago in this country that the nature of public education would be secular and it would be inclusive ... and its focus would be civic assimilation."

The Education Department continues to stand by the school, which is slated to start with 60 sixth-grade students from diverse backgrounds. Applications are still being processed.

Mr. Ibrahim of the Arab American Institute hopes the school will not only help train Arabic speakers, but also help dispel the myths that he contends feed fear in the nation. He likes to point out that madrassah is the Arabic word for school and that the majority of Arabs in the US, like Khalil Gibran, are Christians.

"We need to begin dispelling the stereotypes ...and start lowering the walls that separate us. Demonizing the school does nothing to further that goal," Ibrahim says. "New York City officials are standing squarely behind the school, and they deserve to be commended for that."

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