The transmission of Québec values is a priority at Dar al-Iman school

English version by Point de Bascule

Original French version HERE
Original French version archived on PdeB

Montreal, December 6, 2010 / CNW Telbec /
Dar al-Iman school denounces with vigour the completely false and unreasonable assertions made about the school last week by Marguerite-D’Youville MNA at the (Québec) National Assembly. MNA Monique Richard claimed nothing less than that the school promotes “a literal interpretation of the Qur’an”, “a complete Islamization of the society”, teaches values “opposed to Western society” and is “anti-Semite, antigay and anti-women”. The school principal, Mr. Lazhar Aissaoui, considers that these statements are entirely false and insulting considering the efforts of integration accomplished by the school. “Such statements betray an ignorance of our work and provokes hatred toward our community”, declared the school principal.

Located in Montreal, in the Saint-Laurent borough, Dar al-Iman school is a community and religious school whose mission is to serve the Muslim community on the island of Montreal. The school holds a permit from the Department of Education, Recreation and Sports since its foundation in 2000 and is a member of the Fédération des établissements d’enseignement privés since then; 230 pupils are currently enrolled from preschool to sixth grade.

The school educational project conforms entirely to the Programme de formation de l’école québécoise (Quebec school training program – set up by the Government). It aims at making pupils integrate the basic and essential values of Québec society: democracy, tolerance, freedom, equality between men and women, rule of law, acceptance of cultural and religious diversity, work well done and so on. Principal Aissaoui pointed out that: “The school also gives considerable importance to the notion of respect: respect of the pupil, respect of adults, respect of oneself and of others and respect between boys and girls”.

Besides, as a community school, Dar al-Iman also offers, outside the mandatory curriculum, courses in Arabic language, in moral education and in Muslim religion so that its pupils can get acquainted with their cultural and linguistic heritage, can integrate it within the contemporary Québec context and learn to live together. In order to offer quality programs, the school has established a cooperative relationship with the Muslim Association of Canada (MAC), a non for profit charity that supplies educational material and provides training programs. This cooperation favours an improvement of the services being offered and Dar al-Iman school remains completely independent from MAC.

Information:
SOURCE: Mr. Lazhar Aissaoui
INFORMATION: info@dar-al-iman.org