VOA常速英语2007年-Muslim Americans Establish Own Schools in US

By Mohamed Elshinnawi
Dearborn, Michigan
16 November 2007
 

There are some six to eight million Muslims living in the United States and many Muslim children attend public schools. For decades, Muslim families relied on Islamic Sunday schools to teach their children about Islam and Arabic, the language of the holy Koran. But now some Muslim Americans are establishing their own Islamic academies, combining a regular school curriculum with Islamic studies. VOA's Mohamed Elshinnawi has more from Dearborn, Michigan, where he visited the Muslim American Youth Academy.

These children were born in the United States, second or third generation Muslim Americans, so they are not alien to American culture. Their parents enrolled¹ them in the Muslim American Youth Academy in Dearborn in order to raise them both as Americans and as practicing Muslims.

Albert Harb is the academy's director. "Islam is a multicultural² religion. It has been able to promote itself and exist in all cultures worldwide, so we emphasize that we are a multi-cultural religion, we are open to other cultures and we want to interact with people of different faiths in a positive way," he said.

The academy is a part of of the Islamic Center of America and is located between two churches. Hassan Qazwini is the imam of the Islamic Center, the nation's largest says, "We believe that these will be the ambassadors of Islam to non-Muslims. They will be the ones who will be carrying the banner of Islam."

Harb says the academy follows the standards of the Michigan state curriculum. "In addition, we have a very strong Islamic component³, we teach Islam as well as Arabic as a foreign language. It is very important for us to make our kids also know Arabic so they can read the Koran -- not only read it but comprehend it and understand it."

Arabic proficiency⁴ has become a national security resource since the terrorist attacks on the United States in 2001. And the academy' aim is to produce young Americans who can speak fluent Arabic.

"We have pre-school up to the eight grade and we have enrolled 368 students. We grew from less than a couple of hundreds to 368. If that keeps going, we will be adding one grade every year to our classes," Harb said.

Muslim Americans across the United States are repeating this experience on different scales aiming to raise their children to enjoy American culture and keep their own traditions.

1 enrolled   

adj.入学登记了的v.[亦作enrol]( enroll的过去式和过去分词 )；登记，招收，使入伍（或入会、入学等），参加，成为成员；记入名册；卷起，包起

参考例句：

• They have been studying hard from the moment they enrolled. 从入学时起，他们就一直努力学习。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He enrolled with an employment agency for a teaching position. 他在职业介绍所登了记以谋求一个教师的职位。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 multicultural   

adj.融合多种文化的，多种文化的

参考例句：

• Children growing up in a multicultural society.在多元文化社会中长大的孩子们。
• The school has been attempting to bring a multicultural perspective to its curriculum.这所学校已经在尝试将一种多元文化视角引入其课程。

3 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。

4 proficiency   

n.精通，熟练，精练

参考例句：

• He plied his trade and gained proficiency in it.他勤习手艺，技术渐渐达到了十分娴熟的地步。
• How do you think of your proficiency in written and spoken English?你认为你的书面英语和口语熟练程度如何？