When I met him a while ago in The New York Sun's offices,
Chancellor Joel Klein seemed to be in command of his senses. And
Mayor Bloomberg did not become a successful billionaire without
having some smarts. So whose insane idea was it to have an Arabic
public school in Brooklyn open this September? Are they out of
their minds? Have they learned nothing from the Netherlands about
the danger of pandering to multiculturalism?
When I first heard of this proposed school, I thought it was a
joke. But then I read Daniel Pipes's column about this disguised
"madrassa" and discovered who the major principals
were. Now I can't dispel this feeling of disbelief and outrage.
This proposal is utter madness, considering that five years after
September 11, ground zero is still a hole in the ground and we're
bending over backwards to appease those sympathetic to
individuals who would destroy us again. Smart, really smart.
I still recall sitting next to Bart Jan Spruyt for a dinner
meeting of conservative leaders at a Midtown restaurant in 2005.
Mr. Spruyt, the founder of the Dutch think tank Edmund Burke
Foundation, was visiting here with a member of the Dutch
Parliament, Geert Wilders. Bodyguards stood outside the closed
meeting because Mr. Wilders had been under a death threat from
radical Islamists because of his insistence on a moratorium on
foreign immigration and his opposition to Turkey entering the
European Union.
Both gentlemen had come to America to network with those who
could advise them on how to proceed with promoting conservatism
in the Netherlands. Holland has always been known for its
liberalism and tolerance, but the blatant daytime slaughter of
filmmaker Theo Van Gogh by radical Islamists turned out to be
Holland's September 11.
Their government had created Muslim schools. Are you listening,
Mayor Bloomberg? It had even used public money to build mosques.
The Netherlands foolishly believed that the new immigrants would
assimilate into the Dutch culture. Instead, Wilders said at the
meeting, "more than 1 million Muslims there have already
opted for radical Islam."
What is particularly galling about this disastrous endeavor is
the school is going to misleadingly be called the Khalil Gibran
International Academy, as if we're stupid enough to believe that
the school will only be teaching Arabic language and not Islamic
culture. Khalil Gibran, author of "The Prophet" - which
was not about Mohammed - was a Lebanese Christian.
There is a definite need for instruction in the Arabic language,
but Arabic should be taught as an elective in the same manner as
French, Spanish, German, and Italian. During World War II, did we
open a German public school to explain the Third Reich? The idea
would have been considered preposterous, yet this plan seems to
have sneaked past us without any diligent investigation.
Immediately after September 11th, it became obvious that
authorities were inadequately prepared to translate covert
messages involving radical Islamists. I received a letter from a
woman in Queens who said that her local Jewish community center
had offered the FBI the services of Middle Easterners who were
fluent in several Arab dialects, but they never received a
response. Fools! Also when my daughter received a wrong number on
her cell phone she recorded what sounded like an urgent Arabic
message. The call was from Michigan, where a radical cell had
just been uncovered. I contacted the FBI and played the
recording, but their "expert" could not translate it
and I was told to forget about it. Fools again! So I understand
the need for language instruction for the Homeland Security and
other law enforcement personnel. But a public school here in New
York, where Arab terrorists murdered thousands of innocent
civilians?
How delighted Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda must have been to hear
the news - that New York City, the site of the worst terrorist
attack in our history, is bowing down in homage to accommodate
and perhaps groom future radicals. The principal designate,
Dhabah Almontaser, is virulently anti-Bush - a typical academic -
but she is now undergoing a public relations makeover to soften
her radical image. I suggest that New Yorkers research her
hostile speeches and then do everything possible to put an end to
this disastrously ill-conceived school.
Daniel Pipes was too conservative in asking his readers to send
e-mails to the Chancellor at JKlein@schools.nyc.gov. I say break
out the torches and surround City Hall to stop this monstrosity.