New School in JC Promotes Muslim Values, Culture

April 8, 2007

Author: George Basler

Source: Press & Sun-Bulletin

http://www.pressconnects.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070331/NEWS01/703310319

JOHNSON CITY -- Posters of a skateboarder, football player and baseball player adorn the hallways of the Crescent Academy in Johnson City.

So does a poster that reads "Allah is My Lord," "Muhammad is My Prophet" and "Islam is My Religion."

The mixture illustrates how the new private school is working to balance American traditions and Muslim values and culture as it goes about its business of teaching 11 young children in the old Twin Tier Times building on Endicott Avenue.

The school, the only one of its kind in Greater Binghamton, has been operating since September. Organizers are holding an open house from 2 to 4 p.m. today to promote the school and "show the community our doors and hearts are open to everybody," Principal Romineh Dawood-Sethi said.

While no organization keeps an official count of the number of Islamic schools nationwide, "it's obviously a growing phenomenon" that corresponds to the growth and development of the Muslim community in the United States, said Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations.