Message From the President - Introducing Arabic Language to Public Schools
In the last local election on April 7th, 2009, three candidates running for the School Board of District 230, Laura Murphy, Carol Baker and Michael Hastings won their seats. In a recent Candidate Forum organized by the Mosque Foundation, these and other candidates in neighboring school districts pledged to support the introduction of Arabic language to the curriculum in their public schools. This is a landmark moment in the Mosque Foundation initiative to introduce Arabic Language to our Public Schools.
The Initiative was born about two years ago following a community town hall meeting at the Mosque Foundation organized with the help of United Power for Action and Justice, a civic organization working to improve the communities of Cook County. In that town hall meeting, the community identified introducing Arabic language as a foreign language credit in Public schools as a priority. Over 500 community members surveyed as part of the Mosque Foundation strategic plan reaffirmed that prioritization.
Arabic and other languages, including Chinese and Russian, have been designated as critical languages as part of the National Security Language Initiative. The purpose of the initiative is to increase the number of Americans learning, speaking, and teaching critical foreign languages, as a matter of national security and global competitiveness. More importantly, the Initiative is supported by federal grants for language instruction. See the following “Why Learn Arabic” article.
Learning Arabic will provide a competitive advantage to our students and open many doors of employment in business, commerce, trade, State Department and Law Enforcement agencies.
Currently, many Illinois High Schools offer foreign languages to their students including Spanish, French, German and Latin. Efforts to introduce Arabic to public schools in School Districts 229 and 230 were stalled due to bureaucratic procedures and resistance to embrace change by the school boards.
The Former Superintendent of Chicago Public Schools, Arne Duncan, currently Education Secretary, introduced Arabic to six Chicago Public Schools. Students from the Lindblom Math and Science Academy in Chicago have been studying Arabic and Chinese, and this school is considered as “a rising star in the public school system” according to a recent NPR report. One student currently in the school’s Arabic class, 
Madinah Patterson stated, “Arabic should definitely be offered at all high schools, it should be fundamental. It’s fun to learn, and it opens up many doors and it opens up opportunities that a lot of other students won’t be able to have.”
On May 21st, the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago is organizing a lobby day in Springfield to address several important issues concerning our communities. More than 500 Muslim leaders, activists and students are expected to flock to Springfield to meet and lobby their State representatives for several initiatives including the introduction of Arabic language in Public schools, Education Reforms and opposition of online Gambling.
Illinois can be the leading state in terms of providing extra foreign language tools to its students. This initiative also will boost our competiveness in the global economy and even enhance our chances of hosting the Olympics in Chicago in 2016.
Every person can help by calling their schools to support the initiative, getting involved in PTAs, asking school administrators to introduce Arabic language, attending school board meetings to raise the issue, running for school board positions in the next elections, and joining the May 21st CIOGC Lobby day. Students also can help by being organized, engaged within their schools and vocal about the issue. After all, the purpose of the campaign is a brighter future for our students.
Democracy is not a spectator’s sport. By joining the campaign, we can open more doors of opportunities for our students and push Illinois to be the leading state in embracing the realities of the global world.
Dr. Zaher Sahloul
Click here for Message of the President Archive
Why Learn Arabic?
1- Arabic is the 5th most commonly spoken language in the world. It is the official language of over 20 countries and there are well over 300 million native speakers of the language. It is also an official language of the United Nations, the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Conference, and the African Union. Many more millions of Muslims understand Arabic, as it is the language of Quran.
2- Opening Doors of Opportunities: There is a critical shortage of workers in the US who are versed in Arabic language and culture. Those who study Arabic can find careers in a variety of fields: journalism, business and industry, education, finance and banking, translation and interpretation, consulting, foreign service and intelligence, and many others.
3- Financial Incentive: The US government has designated Arabic as a language of strategic importance. The National Strategic Language Initiative instituted in 2006 promotes the learning of Arabic (and other languages deemed critical) among Americans through numerous scholarships and supported learning opportunities. These include support for language courses from beginning to advanced levels, study abroad programs, intensive instruction opportunities, teacher exchanges, and professional development.
4- Exploring the growing Arab market: Initiatives to integrate the Arab world into the global economy are opening up numerous potential new business opportunities. 
The Arab region with its rapidly growing population provides a huge export market for goods and services. With a GDP of over 600 billion dollars annually, the region also has much to offer the world market. In order to do business effectively, one must understand the language and culture of the people with whom one hopes to negotiate and conduct trade.
5- Understanding the Muslim and Arabic contribution to Human Civilization: While Europe was experiencing the relative intellectual stagnation of the Middle Ages, the Arab-Islamic civilization was at its zenith. Arabs contributed a great deal to the advancement of science, medicine, and philosophy. Much learning from the Greek, Roman, and Byzantine cultures was preserved for the world through the Arab libraries. Arabs have also made significant contributions in such areas as literature, mathematics, navigation, astrology, and architecture. A knowledge of Arabic enables the exploration of this vast body of knowledge in their original language.
6- Promoting Cultural & Global Understanding: In addition to having limited exposure to real Arabic culture, Westerners are presented with one-dimensional negative stereotypes of Arabic-speaking peoples through the news media, Hollywood films, and other sources. At the same time, events in the Middle East affect our daily lives. Reliance on such false and superficial images can lead to mistrust and miscommunication, to an inability to cooperate, negotiate, and compromise, and perhaps even to military confrontation. Those who learn Arabic gain deeper insights into the cultural, political, and religious values that motivate people in those cultures. People who know Arabic can negotiate the cultural and linguistic gap between nations, assist in solving and avoiding intercultural conflict, and help businesses successfully engage in international trade.
7- Identifying the Influence of Arabic to our own Language: The export of concepts, products, and cultural practices from Arabic-speaking peoples is evident in the vocabulary that Arabic has lent other languages. Algebra was invented by Arab mathematicians in medieval times. Such staple products as coffee and cotton came from the Arab world, as well as jasmine, lemon, and lime. Other Arabic loanwords appearing in English denote such diverse things as henna, macrame, lute, mattress, gerbil, sorbet, safari and muslin. The influence of Arabic culture is apparent not only in the English language. Numerous Arabic contributions are also discernible in Persian, Turkish, Kurdish, Spanish, Swahili, Urdu, and other languages.
8- Understanding our Arab and Muslim minorities: According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2002 census, there are 1.2 million people of Arab heritage residing in the United States. Estimates of Numbers of American Muslims range from 3-8 millions, and the numbers are quickly growing; people of Arab ancestry in the U.S. increased by about 40% during the 1990s. Intercultural understanding begins at home. Even just a basic knowledge of the Arabic language and culture can improve understanding and acceptance of this often misunderstood and misrepresented group of Americans.
http://www.vistawide.com/arabic/why_arabic.htm