ACTION ALERT: Support the Khalil Gibran International Academy

Monday, August 20, 6pm
NYC Department of Education
Tweed Courthouse, 52 Chambers Street
Between Broadway & Centre St. in Manhattan
Subways: 4, 5, 6, N, R, W, M, J, 2, 3, A, C

This is fairly short notice for this alert, but I want to really encourage folks to show up Monday afternoon for a gathering in support of the Khalil Gibran International Academy, a soon-to-be-opened NYC public school that will focus on Arabic language and culture (for folks unfamiliar, many NYC public schools have foci like this, cultural or otherwise.) The school has been the subject of racist and anti-Islamic attacks from many conservative pundits and media sources, as in this NY Sun article and an edition of Fox News’ Hannity & Colmes that was written up over at Media Matters. However, the school has been under especially harsh attack since Debbie Almontaser, now ex-principal of the school, came under fire from such sources for not condemning a t-shirt created by an organization that is unrelated to the school. Since then, Almontaser has resigned from her position, stating that she “became convinced yesterday that this week’s headlines were endangering the viability of Khalil Gibran International Academy, even though [she] apologized.”

The t-shirt, which reads “Intifada NYC,” was created by a NYC community organization, AWAAM: Arab Women Active in the Arts and Media. The group’s mission states that it “provides comprehensive leadership opportunities in community organizing, art and media skills to young women and girls … to empower a generation of young women with the community organizing and media skills necessary to act as leaders within their communities, which have endured increasing hardship in recent years.” On Democracy Now! last Monday, Mona Eldahry, founding director of AWAAM, said this about the t-shirt’s origin and meaning:

Now, “Intifada NYC” is not a call for terrorism, as they say. It’s not a call for violence or, if I could quote one of the publications, “Gaza Strip uprising in the Big Apple.” “Intifada NYC” is a term that, you know, we developed maybe two, three years ago in the years since September 11th. Basically, for myself — everybody interprets it differently — but for myself, I feel, as an Arab woman, as a Muslim woman and as a woman of color, pressure from two sides … on one hand, from the community discrimination — from the outside, I mean, you know, discrimination on the streets — and then from our own communities, you know, we’re told, you know, “Be careful. You know, don’t — you know, don’t go to demonstrations. Don’t be too outspoken, you know,” you know, especially when we were young …

“Intifada” means “shaking off,” you know, so shake off these pressures that we’re feeling, both from the other side and from our side. You know, we have to speak out. And if we don’t speak up for ourselves, who will?

This clarification of the literal Arabic meaning of intifada is what got Debbie Almontaser into so much trouble. Essentially, both she and AWAAM are coming under fire for owning their own language and for refusing to allow it to be constrained to which others wish to limit it. A recent editorial in the New York Post gives this definition of the word: “terroristic assault and murder, undertaken by Palestinians against Jews in the Middle East.” (No mention, of course, of the terroristic assault, murder, and oppression of Palestinians by Israel.) The editorial then calls Almontaser’s explanation of the Arabic definition of intifada “malarkey.” Because apparently, the editorial staff of the New York Post deems itself more qualified to give the definition of an Arabic word than an Arab-American speaker of Arabic. And although it may be true that the word is most often associated with Palestinian uprisings against Israeli occupation, such a definition even leaves out the many non-violent elements of those struggles, including “civil disobedience, general strikes, boycotts on Israeli products, graffiti, and barricades.”

The repression, stamping out, robbing and perversion of language and cultural identity have long been important tools of colonialism, imperialism, and racism. Right now, it is in the interest of conservatives, racists, warmongers, and anti-Islamic people to promote only those perceptions of Islam and Arabic culture that support american wars and policies of aggression and imperialism in the Arabic world, as well as the oppression of Arabic people in this country. The Khalil Gibran International School is coming under attack because it will not promote the prescribed view of Arabic history, culture, peoples and languages; it’ll actually strive for a fair and complete perspective, one which will go counter to one that props up war and oppression. The attacks themselves – calling the school a “madrassa” (another Arabic word twisted by the media and conservatives) that will serve to “groom future radicals” – continue to promote the twisted view of Arab people, assigning sinister, violent, and anti-american motives to the mere study of Arabic language and culture.

The preservation of language and culture is threatening to american hegemony, to american imperialism, and to american racism. African languages were quite literally beaten out of Africans in slavery; Native languages and culture were wiped out with their people. Today, “Welcome to America, now SPEAK ENGLISH” is a popular t-shirt slogan, Latino kids are suspended from school for speaking Spanish in the halls, and travelers are stopped from boarding planes because they’re wearing t-shirts written in Arabic:

So the security officers and the JetBlue officers at that time told me that wearing an Arabic T-shirt and coming to an airport in the US is like going to a bank while wearing a T-shirt that reads, “I am a robber.”

And a principal can be forced to resign because she makes the mistake of defining a word in her own language, instead of allowing her language to be defined for her by those who do nothing but malign her culture.

Intifada NYC, indeed – for there’s a whole lot of bullshit to be shaken off.

4 Responses to “ACTION ALERT: Support the Khalil Gibran International Academy”


  1. 1 Dusty

    Christ, the NY Post? Do normal, intelligent people believe any of the bs they spew? Its Fox Noise for the small-minded folks that don’t have cable imho.

    But back to your topic, I hope that your call to action works. It sounds like a noble cause. Forcing someone to resign based on the meaning of a word is pathetically disgusting on every level.

  2. 2 El Gato

    Gracias for the heads-up, Jack. I let my friends back in NYC know about this issue and they’re definitely registering their views.

    You know, I find it fascinating how much the Anglo racists– who hate Latinos, Arabs, Blacks and just about everyone else who’s not them– obsess about us People of Color “daring” to pass on our cultures, languages and heritage to our children. It’s like the Anglos wanna make compliant, complacent little coconut Anglo wanna-bes out of us, disconnected from our heritage and slavishly following their marching orders.

    I’ve been putting a lot of emphasis on this in the Latino community and advocating for more home-schooling, since Latino children in particular have the misfortune of being stuck in the overcrowded, broken-down, squalid, violent, incredibly unhealthy and entirely uneducational US public schools (the ones that teach in English alone at least). Latino kids are routinely exposed to drugs and crime, denied anything resembling an education, suffering discrimination, indoctrinated with the propagandistic teaching of history that denies the role of Latinos in this nation and gives a slanted picture of the Mexican War, the bracero program, the Farm Workers’ movement and other events fundamental to our history.

    The double immersion schools and universities that conduct much of their instruction in Spanish are of much better quality. (These are very common esp in the SW and around Dade County, Miami and so forthРfollowing the Mexican War, espa̱ol was given full recognition in SW states, in Florida for different reasons, for all official uses including public departments and schools and universities.)

    However, they’re still growing slowly in number and in the meantime, Latinos are generally stuck in the awful default English public schools, which are badly underfunded partly because Anglos hate paying taxes to educate children of color.

    That’s why home-schooling is such an excellent option, in SW states and Florida but especially outside of here, where Latinos too often have too small a demographic proportion of the population, without enough social and political power to stand up for themselves. Home-schooling allows us to give our kids a strong education, in a safer and healthier environment, to interact with peers in a better environment, to receive much of their instruction en español to help build their writing as well as conversation skills (employers expect it, besides the heritage reasons), in general to get a much better education.

  3. 3 Lawrence Johnston

    “Intifada” means “shaking off,” you know, so shake off these pressures that we’re feeling, both from the other side and from our side. You know, we have to speak out. And if we don’t speak up for ourselves, who will?”

    No, Infitada means rebellion. So right off the bat you’ve established yourself as a liar.

    Face the facts. Ms. Almontaser made an incredibly stupid decision by allowing those T-shirts to be sold. And she paid for it with her job.

  4. 4 chiz

    Good post. You make some great points that most people do not fully understand.

    “Home-schooling allows us to give our kids a strong education, in a safer and healthier environment, to interact with peers in a better environment, to receive much of their instruction en español to help build their writing as well as conversation skills (employers expect it, besides the heritage reasons), in general to get a much better education.”

    I like how you explained that. Very helpful. Thanks.

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