There is no rest for Islamists who dream of turning the West into an extension of Dar al-Islam, as so much work must be done. I shall occasionally note their ideas for the transformation of culture and society.
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Foreign language study: In "Learn Urdu Not French," Iftikhar Ahmad makes the argument for teaching British schoolchildren, non-Muslim as well as Muslim, not yesterday's languages, meaning French and German, but tomorrow's, such as Arabic and Urdu. He has the whole project mapped out:
The future for languages in the United Kingdom is very bright, if we abandon the notion that we have to stick rigidly to French and German. Welcome to a brave new world in which pupils learn Urdu in all schools right from Nursery level. Bilingual Muslim teachers should be appointed in all schools who are well versed in Urdu Language. … I would like to see even native children learning Urdu and not French so that they can learn to respect and understand British Muslim community through Urdu literature and poetry.
(December 12, 2005) Dec. 13, 2005 update: This plea is not entirely theoretical. An article today in the Guardian on the Jamia Al-Karam boarding school near Retford in north Nottinghamshire reveals that the only modern foreign languages taught are Arabic and Urdu.
