Berkeley Daily Planet: In his new book, Who Are We? The Challenges to America’s National Identity, Sam—his tricornered hat squarely planted on his block head—has lifted another one of his warning lanterns: This time, the Hispanics are coming. In a recent issue of Foreign Policy magazine, the professor previewed some of the arguments in his book. “The single most immediate and most serious challenge to America’s traditional identity,” he writes, “comes from the immense and continuing immigration from Latin America, especially Mexico.” And what, may we ask, is America’s traditional identity which is being so dangerously challenged? It is “the product of the distinct Anglo-Protestant culture of the founding settlers. Key elements of that culture include the English language, Christianity, religious commitment; English concepts of the rule of law … dissenting Protestant values of individualism, the work ethic … the duty to try to create a heaven on earth….” According to Professor Huntington, Hispanics are having none of that; instead, they harbor an “Americano Dream,” a term coined by Lionel Sosa, a Texas businessman. But our Cantabrigian nightrider says that the Americano Dream is all bullocks. “There is no Americano dream,” he writes. “There is only the American dream created by an Anglo-Protestant society. Mexican Americans will share in that dream and in that society only if they dream in English.”

Mosque Arabic English Problem Dilemma

There comes a time when every immigrant community must decide on their language of choice. Latinos, Poles, Hungarians, and parents of all backgrounds eventually have to decide that their kids' future is more important than maintaining remnants of their ethnic background. Latinos eventually succumb and allow their children to speak more and more English in order to insure employability and future reward

Middle East Online: Monawar Hussain, the first-ever imam of Britain's elite and exclusive Eton College had this to say about English and Islam: "'The people, or the imams who come from abroad, the only thing they lack, the majority of the time, is they have a problem with language, their first language is not English,' he told BBC World Service radio. 'So they are not able to fully express the Islamic tradition in the language, so that the younger people don't understand what Islam is about, what the Islamic faith is about, and that's when people who have a political agenda use Islam to further their agenda.'"

The Japan Times Online: "the electoral debate also highlighted which brand of Islam should be upheld and taught in Malaysia's education system. The question of Islamic teaching in the public Sekolah Agamat Rakyat (SAR) vs. the Islamic madrasa (Quranic schools) run by PAS had already been considered in the final days of Mahathir's term in office. English is now imposed as the medium of teaching science and mathematics in the SARs, and the central government seeks to control the curriculum of madrasa more strictly. Education (and religious education in particular) is a critical factor in this Islamic debate, in which a fundamental issue is the separation of mosque and state."

'Rais: Stop 'Arabising' Malay culture: "KUALA LUMPUR: Malays should put a stop to the 'Arabisation' of their own culture and challenge those who condemn as unIslamic deep-rooted practices and traditions of the community. 'The Malays are not Arabs. Therefore, it is important that we do not 'Arabise' the Malay culture to the extent that everything that the Arabs do, we must do,' said Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim. 'The Malay culture arose from time immemorial, even before 1409 when Islam came to Malacca, and we cannot simply ignore that period from which we came,' he added in an interview here with The Star early this week. "

NZ News: Head Scarves Hinder Integration It's remarkable the nonsense that some self-important TESOLers come out particularly when it's about they absolutely no clue about. Read on: "A meeting in Auckland has been told that Muslim women find it harder to integrate into New Zealand society than most immigrants, due to customs such as deference to men and the wearing of head scarves. The barriers they face are being acknowledged at a two-day forum in Auckland, organised by the Muslim community to educate government and community agencies about their religion. Christine Ball works with the English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) home tutor scheme where volunteers go into migrant women's homes to teach English. "

Islam, once at forefront of science, fell by wayside: "Islam, once at forefront of science, fell by wayside

TOLEDO, Spain -- Islamic medicine and science led the world for centuries while Europe stagnated in the Dark Ages. From 800 AD to 1500, Arabic was the language of science, as English is today. Muslims occupied Spain, and Europeans flocked to Toledo and other Spanish cities, or traveled great distances to Baghdad or Damascus, to translate Islamic science and medical books into Latin. Islamic medicine in the year 1000 was a marvel of sophistication, featuring competency tests for doctors, drug purity regulations, hospitals staffed by nurses and interns, advanced surgeries, and other practices beyond the dreams of medieval Europeans."

Palestine Chronicle: "Most Arabs, from the wealthy down to a Cairo doorman know all about the West, as amazingly even the poorest have satellite dishes these days. As soon as they turn on the sets, they are bombarded with glossy Hollywood movies and television series, and those who speak English, can switch between CNN, Fox, the BBC and Sky News at will. But where do the Westerners get their feel for the Arab world? Where is the promised Arab English-language satellite network? Why aren't there any movies about Arab concerns, lifestyle, culture, traditions etc. in English?"

Just in case you're wondering, this is what it says on the cardboard placard:

"Lcpl Boudreaux Killed my Dad, th(en) he Knocked up my Sister"

The "humour", if you can call it that, illustrates how English can be used by the powerful against the 'worthless have-nots' of the world. Would it have had the same effect the other way round ie an Iraqi soldier with Western kids holding up an Arabic placard? That's not the point! What makes the prank work for the prankster/soldier is the fact that he's proved especially adept at "actually" finding a kid who doesn't have a clue about English - "a language which after all everyone's supposed to speak (right?) with the exception of course of the very backward".

Click here to see an enlarged version of the the picture >>>

Telegraph | News | We should test imams on their English, says Muslim peer: "Muslim clerics should have to prove that they can speak English before being admitted to Britain, a Labour peer said yesterday. Lord Ahmed said he was in favour of language tests because some imams were teaching a distorted view of Islam which could encourage impressionable youngsters to join extremist groups. 'There are a few imams who come into this country who don't speak English, who don't understand our culture,' said Lord Ahmed, a Muslim. He said this could cause problems if they were teaching young people who were socially alienated and looking for an identity. 'We need imams who are of the highest standard, who can speak English, who understand the culture and can communicate with their congregation in the language that they speak,' he told Radio 4's Today. 'In every other job we have to have minimum qualifications.'"