No room for Arabic ideology in American public schools

Submitted by Richard G. Clements (United States), Mar 18, 2007 at 00:52

Public funds, derived from secular tax dollars, support public schools. There is no room for the addition of Arabic studies into any public school system below the university level. The majority of students attending these classes will undoubtedly be comprised of Middle Eastern heritage. In other words, a special pupil privilege situation, comprised of non-essential studies, will have been slipped in under the public's nose; that is clearly unconstitutional. I disagree with Daniel Pipes statement, "...the United States needs more Arabic-speakers." If anything, the United States needs more people that speak English.

In defense of this public school academy, John Abi-Habib fills his post with quotes such as the two following, attributable to--Khalil Gibran:

[(1) "I love you when you bow in your mosque, kneel in your temple, pray in your church. For you and I are sons of one religion, and it is the spirit." (2) "If the grandfather of the grandfather of Jesus had known what was hidden within him, he would have stood humble and awe-struck before his soul."]

Pardon my ignorance, but these lines of verse are not compliant with the tone of secularism associated with the proper disbursement public tax dollars. The agenda (Islamist) is clear, and therefore, we need to remain focused; we are not a Middle Eastern nation and there is no place for a fingerprint of its ideology on the facade of our public schools.

R. G. Clements

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