Reinstate Debbie AlMontaser as Principal of KGIA

October 17, 2007 by Amad Action-Alerts, Announcements, Injustice, Islamophobia
23 comments Tags: Injustice

*If you and your blog (if you have one) supports this call, then we'll add you to the list of supporters at the bottom of this post. Cross-link and cross-post! Cross-posted on DailyKos & StreetProphets*

We, at MuslimMatters.org, call upon Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Klein to reinstate Debbie AlMontaser as the Principal of Khalil Gibran International Academy (KGIA). We cannot let bigotry and right-wing conspiracy allow a respectable and qualified candidate to be forced out of her rightful position.

According to AlMontaser,

“In early August of this year, under pressure from The New York Post, The New York Sun, and right-wing bloggers, representatives of the Mayor, the Chancellor, and New Visions demanded that I resign as KGIAâ€™s principal,” said Almontaser in a prepared statement to the press and public. “They threatened to close down KGIA if I refused. The next day, I submitted my letter of resignation.”

Rabbi Michael Feinberg is quoted as saying:

KGIA was Ms. Almontaser's vision and she was unarguably the right person to lead it…That she is not principal today is solely the result of attacks upon her by marginal, right- wing groups, who charged her and KGIA with hostility to Israel and Jews. We state emphatically that those groups do not represent the views of the mainstream Jewish community in New York City.

See also:

Communities in Support of KGIA
CAIR's press release
Principal of Arabic School Says She Was Forced Out on NYTimes Blog

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Tags: Injustice

About MuslimMatters

Muslimmatters.org began in 2007 as a collaboration between various Bloggers and Shuyukh in order to bring attention to issues faced by Muslims, especially in the West. We have focused on issues of Religion, Society, Ethics, Sex Education, Politics, Civil Rights, Family, as well as the random issues that pop up from now and then, all with some ranting and humor mixed in.

We challenge ourselves and our readers to engage in discourses that touch our lives as citizens of the West, while maintaining our individual Islamic identities: Ultimately to cooperate, but not to compromise.

http://www.muslimmatters.org Amad

Let’s support our sister inshallah.
http://www.mujahideenryder.net MR

Add me
http://MuslimApple.com Muslim Apple

I support Almontaser and think it was wrong for her to give in to the bigotry and step down as principal.

I had a post called: Debbie Almontaser: Cowardice in the Face of Prejudice
http://www.muslimmatters.org Amad

I’ll add both of you, MR & Muslim-Apple. I know we have all written about it before… but let’s add another little post about this and REFRESH and REENERGIZE!
http://www.hahmed.com/blog H. Ahmed

I also fully support her. Ive written posts about her and the KGIA school before. (http://www.hahmed.com/blog/2007/09/04/in-support-of-the-khalil-gibran-academy/)
Pingback: Support Debbie AlMontaser’s Reinstatement as Principal of KGIA! at HAhmed.com
Abu Omar

We see these disgusting Zionist extremists, like Daniel Pipes and Joe Kaufman, taking every and any chance to attack and undermine Muslims for not supporting their idol (i.e. Israel) or endorsing the murderous neo-conservative foreign policy. If you are not with them, then you are against them. So they will attack any prominent Muslim figure and try to paint them with the brush of fanaticism and terrorism. Even relatively light-weight figures like Rep. Keith Ellison, Ibrahim Hooper, Nihad Awad, and most recently Dr. Esam Omeish are demonized as extremists and lumped with Qaeda and the usual suspects.
Pingback: Support MAS & Debbie AlMontaser | Mujahideen Ryder's Blog
http://www.muslimmatters.org ibnabeeomar

http://digg.com/politics/Reinstate_Debbie_AlMontaser_as_Principal_of_KGIA/blog
..

i can almost swear that i saw a flier somewhere saying that she is coming tto NYU on sunday- is that true??????????????????/ anybody has the info? pls let meknow i can come on sunday inshaAllah
http://solomon2.blogspot.com Solomon2

My opinion is that schooling is a local issue. Yet I have seen one Islam-themed classroom in the NY area, and its curriculum was of the Islamofascist type. You can’t blame the community for being sensitive, not after 9-11. I disagree with Feinberg because numerous non-Muslims have defended AlMontaser, but the Muslim community has not helped matters by casting the dispute as a “rights” matter rather than one of sensitivity; that just makes things worse!
http://www.muslimmatters.org Amad

What the heck is “Islamofascist” type? Do you think we should call the organizers of the “Let’s hate Muslims” week by Horowitz and gang as judeofascists? Should the Israeli hawks bent on destruction of life and property of Palestinians be called Israelofascist?

Throwing pejoratives and nonsensical terms such as islamofascist around typifies ideologues and Islamophobes.
http://solomon2.blogspot.com Solomon2

Islamofascist type: instruction blackboard to elementary school kids reads “Death to ” – is there any need to read further?
http://www.muslimmatters.org Amad

It means there are some lunatics among Muslims, just like there are lunatics among Jews and Christians. Heard of the kids in Israel taught to hate Arabs and consider them sub-human from an early age as well? What new term do we have to coin for that?

Islamofascist means nothing. IT is a stupid right-wing neocon creation that is a pejorative designed for some bigger form of stereotyping. You know that.

And we won’t allow this sort of stereotyping on this board.
http://www.muslimmatters.org Amad

Solomon: All you have been doing on this board recently is to make inflammatory comments. You know what that is called– trolling. I am sure there are plenty of your types on LGF to schmooze with.
http://solomon2.blogspot.com Solomon2

Amad, you asked a question and I answered it: I gave my definition of Islamofascist instruction. Why do you keep bringing up the subject of Jewish and Christian extremists? They are not killing American soldiers, suicide-bombing civilians, rocketing cities, or piloting airplanes into skyscrapers.

Is it because you are so insecure in your Muslim identity that you cast about wildly for external justification for support? The Muslim neighbors I grew up with never needed to do that. They knew who they were, they practiced Islam without hurting or hating anybody, and they say they raised their kids the same way. I think they once tried to tell me their religion had moved while they themselves stayed the same.
http://www.muslimmatters.org Amad

Solomon2, we are done. It is you who throws around wild speculative information that pertains nothing to the subject at hand, ONLY to inflame and troll. Yes, extremists from Jews and Christians have done many killings… you can start with Israel, where the whole Israeli army is a state terrorist army. The doctor, goldstein, who killed Muslims in the mosque. Sabra and Shatilla carried out by Christian extremists backed by Israeli government. The examples go on and on.

More on this nonsensical word only used to inflame hatred by the neocons:

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060911/pollitt
istigfar Yarro

insha Allah I support her
http://solomon2.blogspot.com Solomon2

Does the question of support for Ms. AlMontaser take precedence over addressing the concerns and sensitivities of the local non-Muslim community?
http://www.muslimmatters.org Amad

Concerns & Sensitivities, but not bigotry which is at works here.
http://solomon2.blogspot.com Solomon2

Perhaps if one addresses the C & S, the bigotry issue will decline as well.
Mary Folck

Thank you Debbie Almontaser for your courage and contribution to the awakening of the human species.
Until our sick American culture wakes up to its demonizing patterns we will move closer to extinction and now is the time for spiritually driven people to emanate authentic self respect. Authentic self respect requires familiarity with our dark sides and too many Americans are so confused they do not know how to get to that familiarity so that they can learn how to neutralize it. The suffering of the species lies in this dark side.

Know that your well being is in the hope of many Anglo Americans.
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Amad

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