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Forum Resident
#26 Old 31st Aug 2007 at 4:05 AM
Quote:
Kahlil Gibran was a Lebanese American; in fact, the council honoring him has requested his name be disassociated with what apparently is a school for jihadists.


I was so impressed by that that I went to read the link. It really sounds like this Kahlil Gibran Association is just a fake put up to muddy up the argument about this particular school. From that site:

Quote:
ABOUT THE FRIENDS OF GIBRAN COUNCIL – The Friends of Gibran Council is a new international organization with chapters in Lebanon and the United States. We organized as a group in early 2007 to counter the cultural and political exploitation of Gibran’s name and legacy.


Yup. 2007. Countering exploitation.

To clear up some further confusion... In Britain, the word "public school" has a different meaning than it does here in the US. Public schools in Britain are what we would call private schools here.

Clearing up some more... It's against the law to teach a religion in any public school, but it is not illegal to teach ABOUT religions. In fact, teaching about different world religions is a very good idea. It counters ignorance and bigotry when we at least try to understand where other people are coming from.

And learning Arabic is a good thing for our country. I recall, right after 9/11, the government called on all our schools to increase their Arabic foreign language classes because we need to produce more people capable of being Arabic translators and analysts. Even now, six years later, we are still laboring under the burden of having too few translators. And a lot of the problems we are having in the Middle East, particularly Iraq, are due to just the sheer lack of understanding of Middle Eastern culture in our foreign policy establishment.

Sometimes in 2003, after we had already got bogged down in Iraq, our Iraqi ambassador, Zalmay Khalilzad, tried to explain to Bush the difference between Sunnis and Shiites. George W. Bush's reaction was, "But I thought they were all Muslims!" See what I mean? Houston, we have a problem here.

I started learning Spanish in the fourth grade, and it's still hard enough for me at times. It's better to start people out young on foreign languages while the brain is still malleable to developing all the correct circuitry.
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Test Subject
Original Poster
#27 Old 31st Aug 2007 at 4:40 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Doc Doofus
I was so impressed by that that I went to read the link. It really sounds like this Kahlil Gibran Association is just a fake put up to muddy up the argument about this particular school. From that site:



Yup. 2007. Countering exploitation.

To clear up some further confusion... In Britain, the word "public school" has a different meaning than it does here in the US. Public schools in Britain are what we would call private schools here.

Clearing up some more... It's against the law to teach a religion in any public school, but it is not illegal to teach ABOUT religions. In fact, teaching about different world religions is a very good idea. It counters ignorance and bigotry when we at least try to understand where other people are coming from.

And learning Arabic is a good thing for our country. I recall, right after 9/11, the government called on all our schools to increase their Arabic foreign language classes because we need to produce more people capable of being Arabic translators and analysts. Even now, six years later, we are still laboring under the burden of having too few translators. And a lot of the problems we are having in the Middle East, particularly Iraq, are due to just the sheer lack of understanding of Middle Eastern culture in our foreign policy establishment.

Sometimes in 2003, after we had already got bogged down in Iraq, our Iraqi ambassador, Zalmay Khalilzad, tried to explain to Bush the difference between Sunnis and Shiites. George W. Bush's reaction was, "But I thought they were all Muslims!" See what I mean? Houston, we have a problem here.

I started learning Spanish in the fourth grade, and it's still hard enough for me at times. It's better to start people out young on foreign languages while the brain is still malleable to developing all the correct circuitry.

I agree. Americans need to learn more about muslims. It irritates me when I hear people say that all muslims look alike or that Islam is violent and should be banned but when you ask them how much they know about Islam, they don't even have a clue
Theorist
#28 Old 31st Aug 2007 at 5:40 AM
just as a side little trivia note, June Carter gives Johnny Cash a book by Kahlil Gibran in the movie Walk the Line. I just happened to watch it On Demand today, and caught that.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Obama on ABC's This Week, discussing Obamacare
What it's saying is, is that we're not going to have other people carrying your burdens for you anymore
umm...Isn't having other people carry your medical burden exactly what national health care is?
Scholar
#29 Old 31st Aug 2007 at 8:25 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Loncaros
Fixed.

They share your genetics, but they don't necessarily share your faith.


Actually, there is a belief in Islam that all people are born Muslims, it's just that their parents stray them from the path...so there! ;p

Also Davious is your sig from the 'View'?
Theorist
#30 Old 31st Aug 2007 at 3:01 PM
yes...it relates to the one where Rosie blew up at Elisabeth Hasselbeck for not defending her for some asinine comment she made, and Elisabeth refused to be intimidated by Rosie, and stood up for herself...I was very proud.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Obama on ABC's This Week, discussing Obamacare
What it's saying is, is that we're not going to have other people carrying your burdens for you anymore
umm...Isn't having other people carry your medical burden exactly what national health care is?
Lab Assistant
#31 Old 31st Aug 2007 at 3:11 PM
hi i am new is the downlods on this site?
Test Subject
#32 Old 31st Aug 2007 at 3:17 PM
Here in the UK we have Christian secular schools.
Top Secret Researcher
#33 Old 31st Aug 2007 at 4:39 PM
Quote: Originally posted by funney250
hi i am new is the downlods on this site?


No, they are on www.modthesims2.com . Please look at where you are before posting, this is the Debate Room.

And are you sure they are Christian secular schools, because I'm sitting here trying to think that out. If you mean schools that are secular but teach about Christianity, then yes we have that. But usually secular and any religion are opposites.

I would like to clear up the little matter of my sanity as it has come into question. I am not in any way, shape, or form, sane. Insane? Hell yes!

People keep calling me 'evil.' I must be doing something right.

SilentPsycho - The Official MTS2 Psycho
Inventor
#34 Old 4th Sep 2007 at 12:16 AM
A lot of people have mentioned their issue of bringing religion into public schools- personally, I think it depends upon the approach. At my state (public) primary school, we were subjected to Religious Education classes, which essentially amounted to 'Christians are good, God is great and everyone else will burn in hell...'. Parents were able to remove their kids from that class- mine didn't and it was the biggest load of BS I've ever had to deal with.

My high school (also a state school) was the opposite: we were taught ABOUT the major religions, as well as Aboriginal belief systems, and even from my p.o.v as an atheist, it was brilliant. I now feel that I have at least a basic understanding of the beliefs on which various cultures have been founded, and I think that makes me a better person. To me, it is poor understanding of a culture or belief system that breeds intolerance & even fear, and by educating our kids maybe future generations will have the capacity to solve some of these problems.

To get back to the original question- it sounds like a good idea to me, though I have issues if teaching of Islam is central to the curriculum...religious doctrine of any kind has no place in a public school. We have Catholic and Islamic schools here and to my knowledge, all are private.

If however the major aim of this school is to teach Arabic & Arab culture, then I'm all for it. Going back to what I've said above, education leads to understanding and tolerance, and this is a wonderful thing.

Please call me Laura
"The gene pool needs more chlorine."
My Site
Forum Resident
#35 Old 4th Sep 2007 at 3:13 AM
Quote:
If however the major aim of this school is to teach Arabic & Arab culture, then I'm all for it. Going back to what I've said above, education leads to understanding and tolerance, and this is a wonderful thing.


That's what it is. There are other theme schools as well, not just Arabic.

It's against the law in the US for publicly funded schools to indoctrinate schoolchildren in religion. Although there are religious right-wing groups want to change that.
Scholar
#36 Old 4th Sep 2007 at 9:22 AM
As long as this school allows people of all religious backgrounds to attend, (and they don't teach solely Islam in religious studies), I'm perfectly happy with it.

Quote: Originally posted by Black_Barook!
Actually, there is a belief in Islam that all people are born Muslims, it's just that their parents stray them from the path...so there! ;p

Believing it doesn't make it true.
 
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