racism, plain and simple

An article about the defamation of Debbie Almontaser, the intended principal of Khalil Gibran International Academy of Brooklyn.

Almontaser was to be the founding principal for a New York City public school that taught classes in both Arabic and English. (There are 67 other schools in New York that offer bilingual programs in various other languages - but none in Arabic). She was, essentially, attacked for being Muslim and Arab. The school opened with little success this fall and has already had three principals (including Almontaser).

I think it's a little appalling that "the other side", namely those that call Almontaser a jihadist because she .... I don't know why. Because she wears a veil? ... is given such evenhanded treatment. Of course it isn't the job of journalists to critique viewpoints but at the same time it seems very clear that this school was attacked because it wanted to promote a view of Islam and of Arabs as something other than pure terrorist ideology/ethnicity.