French schools slow to include Arabic language training

Libération – February 3, 2011 Even if five million people speak Arabic in France, Arabic language training in schools is not well developed especially in secondary schools. 22 French universities and nearly all the most prestigious post-secondary schools teach the language but fewer than 1% learn the language in high school. Owing to budgetary constraints,…

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Registration for Islamic school in Calgary, Canada draws long line-up

CBC News – January 28, 2011 About a hundred parents waited in line outside the Calgary Islamic School for a chance to enroll their children. The private school — which teaches kindergarten to Grade 11 — has room for about 20 new students next year, officials said. But since it’s the only school of its…

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Community Organizations in Paris’ Suburbs Find Funding Difficult

This article chronicles a suburban community organization, Zy’va (slang for vas y or “go”) in a Paris suburb and the difficulties encountered in finding continued financing. Zy’va has assisted more than 550 young people – mostly Muslims of North-African origin – in schoolwork and as an after-school drop in center since 1994. The organization recently…

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Dutch Scholar Studies Origins of Islam in Arabic Papyri

November 25 2010 Radio Netherlands Worldwide carries a profile of the work of Petra Slipsteijn, professor of Arabic language and culture at Leiden University. Slijpstein works with papyrus manuscripts which are the only remaining historical source contemporary with the life of Muhammad. Her research suggests that the texts “largely confirm the official Islamic version of…

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Radical Yemeni cleric calls for killing Americans

A U.S.-born radical Yemeni cleric, Anwar al-Awlaki, linked to previous attacks on the U.S. called for Muslims around world to kill Americans in a new video message posted on radical websites Monday. In the 23-minute Arabic language message entitled “Make it known and clear to mankind,” al-Awlaki said that for Americans and Muslims it was…

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