WVON 1690 Radio: Controversy Surrounding New York Khalil Gibran Arabic Language School (AUDIO)

Controversy Surrounding New York Khalil Gibran ArabicLanguage School

CAIR-Chicago Executive Director Ahmed Rehab discusses the controversy surrounding Khalil Gibran International Academy in New York as the first Arabic language public school in New York on the Santita Jackson Show on Chicago's WVON 1690 radio. Santita discusses the contributions that author Khalil Gibran made to American pop culture including the adage "ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." The school was named after Gibran, who was a Christian, arabic-speaking author of "The Prophet," one of America's all-time best selling books.

EXCERPT:

SANTITA JACKSON: “What has been the reaction of the Arab-American community? What has been your reaction?”

AHMED REHAB: “Intimidation. Fear. Disappointment. This is not the America we want. This is not the America your esteemed guests want. This is not the America the founding fathers wanted. We have already gone through the civil rights movement and the leaders of the civil rights movement suffered enough in order to get us to a better place. In respect and reverence to their work and their leadership, we need to maintain that place that we’ve come to, which hopefully is one of tolerance and co-existence. That is not currently the case owning to the limited but very vociferous, bigoted views coming out of the detractors of the school.”

© 2007 WVON 1690 Radio