Forget mathematics and English, this Boston school is coaching kids on political activism
Febeeb Febeeb The students at Al-Noor Academy, a Muslim school outside Boston, bombarded their government class speaker with questions: How do you start a political discussion? How do you use social media in politics? And how do you influence elected leaders?
The group of mostly 16-year-olds was too young to vote but seemed eager to find ways to counter the rhetoric of President Donald Trump who last week issued travel restrictions to the United States by citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries.
“Before this election happened, I really didn’t know much about politics at all,” said Sarah Sendian, a sophomore student at the school in Mansfield, Massachusetts. “With the new president and all of the things that are happening, it sparked a lot of interest in a lot of young people.” GGalilelileole GaliGallileile aarrrivesve Romomeom forfo triatrialia befobeforefore thehhe Inqnquinquuisitisitiontioon. TheTh vvideo-deoo-sharsharinaringin webswebsititititititititititititititititititititititititititititititititititititititititititititititititititititititititititititititibsitititititite YYouTubuTubeub aactivativatevated.ted. UU.SS. Preresiressidentdent Hayayesayes sigignsigns bilillil tthat allllowllowsow femafemmale atttttoorneysneyys arguarggue casecasesse befobeforefore thehe
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The class is one of the first actions of newly formed Muslim political organization Jetpac — standing for Justice, Education, Technology, Policy Advocacy Center — to encourage political activism among the 3.3 million Muslims who make up about 1 percent of the U.S. population.
“This is the time when Muslims should step forward,” said Nadeem Mazen, the group’s founder and a city councilor in Cambridge, Massachusetts. “What’s going on at the national level only emphasizes what we’ve known prior to Trump being elected, and it’s that we need really good leaders.”
Thursday’s lesson at the 116-student junior and senior high school was heavy on how to build networks of like-minded people and turn them out at public meetings, rallies and elections to amplify the voices of U.S. Muslims.
About 824,000 of them were registered to vote as of 2016, a figure that had risen by about 60 percent over the Students attending lectures. past four years, according to national Muslim advocacy group the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
KNOW WHAT YOU’RE DOING
The class’s teacher, Joe Florencio, reminded his students that generations of immigrant populations have gone through the same process of becoming politically active.
“To be effective politically, you have to know what you’re doing,” said Florencio, the sole non-Muslim faculty member in a building that once housed the Roman DadaDadasadasahesahheb PhalPhaalke,ke ddirrecctor andnd sscreenreeenwritwriteriter,er ppoppullarlyrl knowknoown thehe ‘FatFatheathher oof Indnndiania CCinemanema’,ma’, dieies.ies. TThe NNew YorkYorrker magagazagazinazinein pububliublishlissheed ForFo tHEtH firstfifififififififififirfififififirfififirfifififirfifirfirst tImImE.ImEE. TheTh aarttist Micicheichelahellanglenglelolelo dieiesie Romoomee. Catholic Church where his parents were married.
Students at the school, founded in 2000, study both standard U.S. academic subjects including science and math as well as Arabic and the Koran, a model similar to the many parochial schools in the northeastern United States.
Jetpac, which hopes to eventually offer versions of the class to private and public schools across the United States, faces an uphill climb. The number of anti-Muslim attacks reported to the FBI last year spiked to their high- Febeb Febeb see people as human beings.”
Almost half of respondents to a 2016 Pew Research Center poll said they believed that at least some U.S. Muslims harbored anti-American views, but respondents who knew a Muslim personally were less likely to believe that than ones who did not.
Yousef Abouallaban, a member of the Al- Noor est level since 2001, the year school committee whose two that al Qaeda-backed hijackeldest sons have attended ers destroyed New York’s the school, said he hoped the World Trade Center. class would help the children
While the group acknowlof Muslim immigrants overedged that it will take time come a bias held by some of for political newcomers to their parents against getting win elections, even the act involved with politics. of campaigning could help “We were raised in a difMuslims, simply by making ferent culture where our people more familiar with belief is that people who get politics, said Faiza Patel, of involved in government are the NYU School of Law’s corrupt people. At all levels. Brennan Center for Justice. So if you are a decent person,
“It allows them to meet lots you should never get inof people, people that they volved in politics,” said Abmight not otherwise meet ouallaban, who immigrated and that has the effect of refrom Syria in 1989. “That’s ducing prejudice,” said Patel, not the case in the United who studies interactions beStates and this mentality has tween Muslims and the U.S. to be changed.” justice system. “You start to REUTERS Pr i n t e d a n d d i s t r i b u t e d by P r essReader P r e s s R e a d e r . c o m + 1 6 0 4 2 7 8 4 6 0 4 • ORIGINAL COPY • ORIGINAL COPY • ORIGINAL COPY • ORIGINAL COPY • ORIGINAL COPY • ORIGINAL COPY • COPYR I G H T A N D P R OT E C T E D B Y A P P L I C A B L E L AW “With the new president and all of the things that are happening, it sparked a lot of interest in a lot of young people.”