February 9, 2011, - 12:18 am

The Texas Mandatory Arabic Language FLAP – A Different Take

By Debbie Schlussel

Many thoughtful and observant readers–but also much of the group-think sheeple around the net–are outraged by the Mansfield, Texas Intermediate School District’s decision to make Arabic language study mandatory in order to get a $1.3 million grant from the federal government under FLAP–the Foreign Language Assistance Program, which I’ve written about in the past, when President Bush created the program and called it the “Strategic Language Initiative.”  And, since I know a little something about FLAP,  unlike the mindless, phony “anti-jihadist” heroes, I have a different take, and think it could be a good thing.  Since I first learned of the school district’s plan and wrote this draft, I returned from all day in court to find that the school district has put the plan on hold.  And that may not be such a great move, though the program is definitely rife with problems that span beyond basic Arabic language.

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As I’ve noted repeatedly, we continue to have a huge shortage of reliable Arabic language translators in our government, military, and law enforcement, something FLAP was designed to correct.  Right now, our government relies mostly on disloyal Muslims and pan-Muslim Arab Christians who give us faulty, fake, and useless translations because they want to protect their jihadist, terrorist friends and their evil plans.

As I’ve also noted, FLAP and other government grants to schools to teach Arabic have almost always gone to Muslim-dominated school districts,  such as that in Dearbornistan, where America-haters and pan-jihadists get American taxpayers to foot the bill for their kids to learn Arabic or enhance the Arabic language skills they already have.  That’s a joke . . . on Americans who fund this program.

But the Mansfield school district was slightly different.

The Mansfield program had the potential to change this, because there are a good number of students in Mansfield who aren’t Arabs or Muslims (though, unfortunately, as in Dearbornistan, there are quite a few who ARE).  One would hope that programs like this would give us a larger pool of non-Muslim, non-Arab, patriotic Americans from which to draw reliable, honest translators.  Right now it isn’t even a pool, not even a pond, but just a rain puddle.

My concern is that the program won’t just teach Arabic, but pan-Muslim, pan-Arabist ideology, too.    The grant includes “culture, government, art, traditions and history as part of the curriculum.”  That’s code for, “We’ll pimp Islam and you might even learn to read the Koran,” and is clearly a formula for propaganda and indoctrination, rather than just teaching a language.  When I took Arabic as an undergrad at the University of Michigan, for example, the textbooks and map from which we were taught the Arabic names of countries didn’t have Israel on it.  There was only “Palestine.”  And there were many other insidious ways that the Arabic class was also a class in Muslim extremism.  That’s the main problem that is likely to happen in Mansfield, especially with the school district echoing the questionable Department of Education claim that this language of just a tiny, minute minority of American interlopers as a “language of the future.”  Let’s hope it becomes a language of the past.  Sadly, I know that’s wishful thinking because of sorry US. immigration policies and uber-“tolerance” for the most extremist segments of the population.

The other concern is that the program makes the language mandatory.  I believe American kids should learn at least one foreign language because it teaches a number of skills beyond just the language being taught.  But they should get to choose from a set of mainstream languages available and not have one forced down their throats.  That’s another problem here.

Like I said, since I originally wrote this but hadn’t yet posted it, the school district has backed away–not only from making Arabic language mandatory, but may not offer it at all.

How sad that the Department of Education won’t allow kids to “just” learn Arabic without all the propaganda that is apparently the baggage of this grant.

But, hey, that’s our Islamo-kowtowing government for you.  In case you were wondering, the FLAP grant and associated propaganda programs were developed by a certain President.  And his name wasn’t Barack Obama.

Again, it was George W. Bush.  Bush personally announced and pimped this program on the U.S. and handed out the money to Dearbornistan’s Sh’ite Muslims in public schools.

Still miss him?




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23 Responses

What a joke. The sh’ite muslim school district gets gov’t money to teach arabic……too the arabic students who already know the language….yeah that made alot of sense.

If the gov’t wants to dole out money for schools for a foreign language than great. Having said language be mandatory-whatever it is…bullshit, and unconstitutional.

The common foreign languages taught in school are german, spanish, and french. I think it would be great to teach arabic as Debbie says, but mandatory no way. Also its a little discriminatory excluding any other language for free gov’t money. I’m sure any language dept in any school could stand to use more funds.

wolf2012 on February 9, 2011 at 2:00 am

Yes, but at what point was this going to be announced to students and parents? Ultimately it is their (the parents) choice to have their child participate, not the granting government, the school board, a grant writer or an enthused pundit. I think the failure is and was not involving the parents sooner and soliciting their feedback, addressing their concerns, and providing options and possibly alternatives.

Alandra on February 9, 2011 at 2:26 am

I too recognize that the teaching of Arabic would be valuable, but I have the same reservations regarding how it would be taught. As w/ any language, languages are often taught in the background of their cultures, so that one understands not just what words mean, but the proper contexts in which they are used. That of course enables a whole bunch of stuff aside from the language to accompany it, and therefore, you had your example of ‘Palestine’ maps not having Israel on them.

I think that rather than do this, the US should tap Arabic speakers from Israel, as well as non-Muslim refugees who’ve fled places like Iraq, and don’t have any love lost for Arab or Islamic power. In Iraq, Christians felt secure under Saddam, and after the US invasion, they preferred working in the Green Zone to working for the new regime. It would make sense to hire as many of them as possible for these translation roles.

Oh, and hire/contract organizations as well. Use MEMRI, and pay them for whatever translation work the government needs. That gives MEMRI a source of income, and it also gives the government unbiased translations.

I too am against it being forced. If one is not looking forward to working in intelligence, not only is learning Arabic useless, it’s counter-productive, since it’s just a ‘gateway drug’ to Islam. Learn Spanish, and make yourself useful anywhere in Latin America (sans Brazil) and Spain. Learn Russian, and explore ways to either tap the Russian market, or have operational bases in Russia competitive w/ China. Heck, learn Mandarin or even Cantonese – even those make more sense than Arabic! I wouldn’t put much currency on French or even German – they’re overrated!

Infidel Pride on February 9, 2011 at 3:13 am

I have no problem with Arabic being taught in public schools. My only problems with such a language course is it being made mandatory and the sorts of individuals who would be the instructors. As noted by Debbie, it is the cultural baggage(Islam/Sharia)that could potentially come with such a course that is disturbing. I would not want to see and “Islamic Studies” program embedded into a high school curriculum under the guise of foreign language instruction.

Worry01 on February 9, 2011 at 3:57 am

Excellently presented. I also see it as more indoctrination for Sharia law.

Naomi Romm on February 9, 2011 at 8:27 am

But who will they hire to teach arabic who also wont indoctrinate islam. Many teachers force their views on the students and if you don’t agree then you fail. So offer the course, make it voluntary and find someone not arabic or muslim to teach it.

ender on February 9, 2011 at 10:09 am

I agree we need Arab language speakers, but every one of these programs that has been implemented ends up praising Arabs and Islam. These programs become propaganda mills.

We do need non-Chinese people speaking Chinese, non-Arab “people” speaking Arabic, and the same for Urdu, Russian, and other languages of countries that want to see America dead. However, we do not need to propagandize to children the virtues of Arabs and Islam.

Why is the study of Islam mandatory at certain Universities, but not the study of other religions? Of course, the Islamic study course is nothing but propaganda on the wonders of the religion, and these courses fail to teach the dark side (also known as the truth) about Islam. It is not uncommon to see white Americans now converting to Islam, based on the horse manure they are taught in the school system. They may be morons, but they are dangerous morons.

Jonathan E. Grant on February 9, 2011 at 10:16 am

You bet I do Debbie! No one is perfect and maybe this plan of President Bush’s wasn’t the greatest but he had an idea that we needed Arab language speakers and that was a good plan. I really enjoy your work but sometimes you get a little too over the top when it comes to criticizing George Bush. Look what THAT got us.

kenny komodo on February 9, 2011 at 10:46 am

Debbie is correct. If I were in High School or College, I’d learn how to speak Arabic and all I could about the history between the West and Islam. There are jobs to be had. This war is going to be with us for quite a long time, unless somebody can grow a pair.

Rick on February 9, 2011 at 11:23 am

We need to encourage the study of Arabic as well as ALL other foreign languages in our high schools. Spanish in particular. However, this is a tall mountain to climb as your typical high school student has enough trouble with English grammar, spelling and composition. And don’t get me going on penmanship……..

Tanstaafl on February 9, 2011 at 11:32 am

Great take on this! That’s exactly what I thought when I heard the story. In order to defeat your enemy, know your enemy.

Scott Spiegel on February 9, 2011 at 11:45 am

It’ll start as Arabic language courses. Then it will turn out like Byron, California, where kids are forced to read Korans, recite Muslim prayers, and take Muslim names. These are the same people who sue over Nativity scenes and cry “separation of church and state” when someone carries a Bible.

Rocky Lore on February 9, 2011 at 11:57 am

Of course if the courses were voluntary and were seen as a prelude to a career in fighting terrorism and sharia law, I would be in favor. But this will be an anti-Jew, anti-American, anti-Christian course emphasizing the supremacy of Islam and the ridiculously inept language in which it is written.

pat on February 9, 2011 at 12:21 pm

Sure, there are reasons why we don’t want to be completely ignorant as a country in regards to this language, but they haven’t been able to make ANY language required learning, not even Spanish – which would be much more useful around here.

Hopewell on February 9, 2011 at 1:17 pm

Dear Ms Schlussel,

I have no problem with foreign languages. I am a foreign born American and I speak a couple of foreign languages. The problem is that we must have a language proper program not an Islam indoctrination program masquarading as Arabic language.

I have a bit of an interesting news for you; if it is need for linguists there are hundreds of thousands of naturalized Americans who master the Arabic language. I am one of them and I actually wrote three books pertaining to Islam in English. Their titles are 1 – Muhammad a messenger of the Lord or a war lord, 2 – The Divinity and Immutability of the Quran fact or Fantasy, and 3 – Islam, The Facts, The Fictions and the contradictions.

Islam have never been a frank and candid culture. Notice when they want dating an American girl they tell her I go to a Moslem Church. There are no Moslem Churchs as you well know there are Moslem Mosques. I, as a Christian, do not go to a Christian Mosque. I go to a Chirtian Church or just plain Church. You do not go to Jewish Church or Mosque, you go to a Synagogue or maybe a Reform congregation. This is normal and clear and there is nothing wrong with this.These are honest statements.

G. R. SCHAROUBIM on February 9, 2011 at 2:55 pm

I know a Jewish Israeli Arabic-language expert now in Washington, and I won’t say more for security reasons. But it’s impossible to accurately translate intercepts without a very deep understanding of the culture, because a great deal of important meaning is only hinted at via cultural references. If the US wants reliable, independent translations, US schools will need to teach at least tens of thousands of school kids Arabic language and culture to yield the hundreds of skilled and reliable translators needed. Considering that a voluntary program will probably appeal more to less-reliable students, a mandatory program away from the biggest Arab-American population centers would be more likely to serve the national interest.

Knows Too Much on February 9, 2011 at 3:03 pm

Knows too much,

You are right. There is a lot of nuances – in any language – that requires fluent knowledge of the language. This will require total immersion in the culture. Capitalize on the reserve talent you have on the country and build the home grown taalent meanwhile. That is the best approach.

G. R. SCHAROUBIM on February 9, 2011 at 3:13 pm

I have lived in the Mansfield Independent School District for 10 years. I lived in Arlington for 18 years before moving to Mansfield. Here are the demographics for the area covered by the MISD.

When I moved here, the MISD had a reputation as one of the best school districts in north Texas.

A significant portion of Arlington residents south of I-20 are actually living in the Mansfield independent school district. Home owners in the Mansfield school district pay the highest property taxes for any school district located in Tarrant, Johnson and Ellis counties.

The reputation of the District has steadily been going down since I moved here. It’s simply grown too large. Like most large bureaucracies, the quality of the organization has gone down as the size goes up. There was only one high school in the district ten years ago. There are now five high schools.

As a taxpayer in the district, I can assure you that the MISD needs money, which is why I believe they want to start this program.

The city of Mansfield has a population of approximately 50,000. Racial make up in Mansfield is 85% white. Less than 4% of the population live below the poverty level. According to a 2006 estimate, the median family income in Mansfield is $84,589. Very few people of Arabic descent live in the city of Mansfield.

The City of Arlington is the 49th most populous city in the U.S. with over 380,000 residents. Arlington is the home of both the Dallas Cowboys(NFL) and the Texas Rangers(MLB).

Arlington has a more diverse population, including a Arab population that some estimate at 10%. 63% of the population is white. The median income for a household in the city is $47,622. 9% of the populations lives below the poverty line.

School districts in Texas do not follow city or county boundaries. Each district has their own boundary lines, called “independent school districts” that sometimes, but not always overlap one or more cities and counties.

The city of Mansfield, though primarily located in Tarrant County, actually encompasses 3 different Texas counties. Over half the land area within the city limits is still undeveloped The population is expected to more than double over the next ten years.

Bonzer Wolf on February 9, 2011 at 8:30 pm

We are not and never will be at war with Islam. I heard the president say so.

Bill on February 9, 2011 at 11:57 pm

Im pretty sure Arlington TX was the location of the Holyland Foundation headquarters,

dee dee on February 10, 2011 at 10:05 pm

but I do agree we need more Arabic speakers

dee dee on February 10, 2011 at 10:06 pm

Debbie,

The real problem is that we hired disloyal arabic translators from the very beginning. They block any attempt to hire honest arabic translator so that they do not expose the role they are palying in deceiving the governmenr. I am quite fluent in arabic. I offered my services free of charge to senator Dick Durbin who apparantly referred my offer to the FBI. The FBI has been clealy infiltrated by treacherous Islamists who keep misleading it. After that I received an e-mail from the FBI – listen to this – acknowledging an application I sent to them three years earlier. Look at the scam that goes on in the ggovernment authorities. We prefer to play dopy or fool because playing smart is not politically correct. Isn’t great?

G. R. SCHAROUBIM on April 22, 2011 at 9:51 am

Dear Dee Dee,

I want you to know that teaching arabic is strictly oriented to teach the students the basics of Islam. So it will be a course in proselytizing Islam to our impressional children right under our nose. This is what I call our superficial expertise and judgement.

There are hundreds of thousands of Copts in this country and in Canada. They are all capable of teaching the arabic as a language not as a proselytizing of Islam. Tap this resourse and be intelligent for once. It has been so long since I heard an intelligent remark about the subject that I am starting to doubt if we have any intelligence at all.

G. R. SCHAROUBIM on April 22, 2011 at 9:56 am

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