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A Lebanese-Christian group says the New York City education department is misusing the legacy of a famed Lebanese-Christian poet by naming its controversial new Arabic-themed school after him.The Friends of Gibran Council fired off a letter to school officials Wednesday demanding they stop using the name of Khalil Gibran, a Lebanese-American author and poet. The Council complained that the proposed Khalil Gibran International Academy -scheduled to open next month in Brooklyn,will clash with the Christian heritage of Gibran.KGIA will teach Arabic and Islamic culture."Gibran's ancestry was Lebanese, Christian and Maronite.Therefore, the claims of teaching Arabic under the name of Gibran ring hollow as he is not ethnically Arab," the group said in a press release."The founders of KGIA could easily change the name of the school to honor a great Arabic writer if that is their true intent."The Council also expressed concerns over troubling radical associations plaguing the public school.KGIA's principal recently stepped down after her ties to a group glorifying Palestinian terrorism were revealed. A native of Yemen, Dhabah "Debbie" Almontaser defended the "intifada"-a Palestinian terror campaign that left 1,221 Israelis dead.Also, a local imam advising the school has been linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, a worldwide jihadist movement."Gibran was a believer in the universality of human rights and the dignity of the individual,"the Council said."Therefore,the board of trustees of KGIA should reflect Gibran's values and ideals.Appointing radicals and imams who have been associated with extremist and jihadist groups is an affront to these ideals."New York school officials did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment about the nonprofit group's request to change the name of the Arabic academy.A prominent expert on Islamic terrorism agreed that the school appears to be in conflict with Gibran's legacy."As an American citizen of Lebanese descent, I think that the literary work of Lebanese-American author Khalil Gibran is in full conflict with the jihadist inclination of some members of the school board," said the expert, who wished to remain anonymous."He (Gibran) would have preferred-and his community today certainly would prefer-seeing a school or institution developing the heritage of his culture, not the political culture of the jihadists."KGIA's program will integrate intensive Arabic language instruction and the study of Middle Eastern history and historical figures-which Brooklyn teacher and activist Sara Springer says will include the life and teachings of the Muslim prophet Muhammad.Text books,lesson plans and teacher materials will be adapted from publications supplied by the Council on Islamic Education,Springer says.CIE's chief consultant is Susan Douglass,a Muslim activist whose husband is on the Saudi government payroll as a teacher at an Islamic academy that has graduated terrorists.The Friends of Gibran Council says it does not oppose the teaching of the Arabic language in public schools, but it objects to any promotion of Islamic culture."The teaching of Arabic in public schools is a laudable goal.Many more American students should be proficient in this largely spoken language,"the group said."However,in no way should the Arabic language and Islamism be mixed."Garth Harries,chief executive of New York City's Office of New Schools, has insisted that KGIA will be a "non-religious" New York City public school."It is not a vehicle for political or religious ideology,"Harries said."And if the school is used this way,we will close it."The Council asserts that KGIA used Gibran's name "clearly under false pretenses."Some critics go further, saying it was no accident that the hard-line Muslim founders of the school picked a Christian with an Arabic-sounding name. They say they named the school after the Christian poet to pacify those who might suspect their true intent was to turn it into a madrassa for militant Islamic indoctrination.Bloggers at Atlas Shrugs, for instance,charge that organizers practice an Islamic form of deception known as"taqiya.""The use of Lebanese-American author-poet Khalil Gibran is taqiya in its most perfect and vile form," the website maintained.PS:I was kinda shocked too that they have chosen Gibran's name for their "radical madrassa"BUT...u know...muslims-jihadists-are very deceptive....I totally agree that they have chosen that name to pacify those that suspect their TRUE intentions...WELL...THEY DON"T FOOL MOST OF AMERICANS that are closely watching their plans.....!!!!
As in the days of Noah...
