MPR: A common bond

A common bond
By Tim Pugmire
Minnesota Public Radio
October 10, 2001

RealAudio

For eight years, Minnesota's only Islamic school has educated elementary and secondary students in Fridley with little notice. Last month's terrorist attacks unexpectedly thrust the school into the spotlight. School officials and students share a common outrage over the violence, but they have mixed feelings about the recent media attention.

Salah Ayari says it was hard to believe Muslims could have committed such acts. He says the tragic circumstances provided an opportunity to share the teachings of Islam with non-Muslims but also caused a lot of pain.
(MPR Photo/Tim Pugmire)

In a third-grade classroom at the Al-Amal School, teacher Lubna Moon helps students cut open fruits and vegetables to count the seeds. The private school, located across the street from Totino Grace High School, opened in 1994 with 30 children. This year's enrollment is 320 students in pre-kindergarten through 11th grade, and there's a waiting list to get in.

Eleventh-grade student Seha Islam of St. Paul says he enjoys the religious environment. "We don't face the same problems that the public schools do with drugs and other bad things in the society today. And it's just better to be here with other Muslims," Islam said.

The Islamic school provides a mixture of faith and rigorous academics. Students study the Koran and the Arabic language. Principal Salah Ayari says the school's name, Al-Amal, means "hope."

"That shows we are hoping we're going to have a generation of good American Muslims, that understand life in this country and that are also proud of themselves as Muslims," he said.

High school student Malik Harfi of Fridley says his approach to educating non-Muslims about his faith is to be a positive example everyday.
(MPR Photo/Tim Pugmire)

That religious pride has been put to the test in the aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attacks. As authorities linked people of Middle Eastern and Islamic backgrounds to the crimes, some people began viewing Muslims in America with suspicion. American Muslims were forced to clarify their religious beliefs and distance themselves from terrorism.

Salah Ayari says it was hard to believe Muslims could have committed such acts. He says the tragic circumstances provided an opportunity to share the teachings of Islam with non-Muslims but also caused a lot of pain. "There's a blanket of guilt that's being thrown on our heads," Ayari says. "People have to say 'we're sorry for what happened, we feel horrible.' That's obvious. We've been teaching our children here to value human life, and that violence is not part of our religion. But now we have to justify that, to justify what happened, as if we are part of it."

The Al-Amal School quickly became a focal point for some of the issues affecting Minnesota's estimated 160,000 Muslims. The state's education commissioner, Christine Jax, recently visited the school to emphasize the value of ethnic and religious diversity.

U.S. Senator Mark Dayton visited last month to apologize for any harassment Minnesota Muslims may have suffered. There have been a few isolated threats, and the school has beefed up security.

Hoda Badawi, the school's assistant principal, says it's important students and families are now trying to raise awareness about their common beliefs.
(MPR Photo/Tim Pugmire)

But Sumaiya Mamdani, an 11th-grader from Fridley, says she's had mostly positive experiences in the past month. "It's just one incident. I was on the bus and somebody started yelling at me and calling me a terrorist and swearing. But other than that, I've gotten a lot more warm smiles and 'hi' and 'hello' and 'how are you' and 'we're sorry,'" says Mamdani.

School leaders say the diversity of their own enrollment provides a valuable lesson about Islam. The students' families come from Africa, Asia and Europe. There are also several American-born converts.

Hoda Badawi, the school's assistant principal, says it's important students and families are now trying to raise awareness about their common beliefs. "In my opinion I don't know if we've done really a good job of that, and I think we should have taken more initiative to do education for the public about Islam and Muslims. And this has sort of been an impetus for us to get out there and for people to ask," Badawi said.

High school student Malik Harfi of Fridley says his approach to educating non-Muslims about his faith is to be a positive example everyday. "Just being there and having a presence anywhere, on the bus, walking on the street, in a store, has an effect," Harfi said. "Because people look at the way you act and they say 'well, that doesn't look like a terrorist, it doesn't look like he'd do anything bad.' And they start asking themselves questions, like 'are Muslims really bad as they're portrayed or some stereotypes say they are?'"

The Al-Amal School in Fridley will add a 12th grade next year. School leaders will expand their capacity and their influence next fall when they open a second Islamic school in Inver Grove Heights.

For More Information
The Al-Amal School Web site

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