Islamic school thrives in Sacramento Part 2

Islamic school thrives in Sacramento - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

Islamic school thrives in Sacramento
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By Jennifer Garza
jgarza@sacbee.com
Published: Friday, Mar. 13, 2009 - 12:00 am | Page 6B

"Our parents are really the backbone of the school," said Wardany.

One-of-a-kind education

Gihad Silmi volunteers in the classroom twice a week. Two years ago, her family moved from Willows near Chico so their son Hussein, 13, could attend the school.

"No other school offers this kind of education," said Silmi. She said she worried about the problems her son could face at a public school as he got older. "He was getting at the age when there's a lot of peer pressure – you know, girl stuff. We wanted him to be around people with the same beliefs."

Al Arqam is named after the man who started the first Islamic school in the Arabian Peninsula, a humble schoolhouse where the Prophet Muhammad taught.

From the outside, the Sacramento school isn't much to look at. Tucked away in a troubled neighborhood, the school is surrounded by an 8-foot-high fence. A car from a private security firm is parked near the school's entrance. Parents hired full-time security after 9/11, but the school – next door to the Florin Road sheriff's station – has had no problems, said Wardany.

Inside, the corridors bustle with students heading to their next class. Volunteers pass out the latest edition of the student newspaper, the Torch. Fifth-grade boys recite scripture in their Quran class. Girls their age talk about their favorite foods in their Arabic class. A third-grade class learns about how Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball's color barrier.

A group of seventh-graders from St. Francis elementary school in midtown recently toured the school to learn about Islam.

"This has been a real eye-opener. I had no idea this school was here," said Angelique Bradley of Sacramento, a St. Francis parent. "I'm very impressed with the kids. They're very respectful, especially with how they address the teachers."

At Al Arqam, students and teachers refer to each her as "Brother" and "Sister," one way faith is integrated into the curriculum. Daily prayer is required, and classes on the Quran and Arabic are mandatory. Muslim values and etiquette also are taught. Each month, the student body studies a theme, such as modesty or respect. Recently, a group of girls was assigned to shop at the mall for a modest teenage wardrobe.

"Needless to say, it wasn't an easy assignment," said Wardany, laughing.

While the lower grades are crowded, enrollment in the high school is small. By the time kids reach high school, parents have more options or they think their children have developed a solid religious foundation, said Wardany.

Ossama Kamel, 15, is a sophomore at the school. He plays sports with non-Muslim friends who teased him about the class size. "They say, 'you have four kids in your class?' " he said, laughing.

Kamel knows some will criticize the school.

"There are haters out there, they think we're training to be terrorists or something," said Kamel, shaking his head. "What we're learning is how to be good Muslims – good Muslim Americans."