RNA - On a rainy Saturday afternoon, teachers, students and families broke bread at the annual Teacher Appreciation Luncheon at the East Plano Islamic Center.
The annual event was a way to show gratitude to area educators who serve students of the center.
Khalid Ishaq, luncheon coordinator, said 90 percent of the children at the center attend schools in Collin County.
“As Muslims, we usually have concerns around Friday prayers and [Muslim students] need to leave classes. The schools in the area have been awesome with helping us do all of those activities,” he said. The annual luncheon is “is in appreciation of that and in general appreciation of the effort these teachers put into our kids.”
The luncheon guest list included Plano ISD Superintendent Brian Binggeli, school board trustee Yoram Solomon and educators from PISD schools, Collin College campuses, Southern Methodist University, University of Texas at Dallas and area charter and private schools.
In addition to saying “Thanks,” Ishaq said the luncheon was a great opportunity to show the educators where some of their students’ worship.
“A lot of times, the media portrays Muslim culture as something completely alien to an American person,” he said. “A Muslim American family is no different than any other religious American family.”
Luncheon guests shared a Mediterranean meal as several speakers delivered appreciation speeches.
“These are dark times, but in the face of it all, I urge you to be of good cheer,” said Michael Phillips of Collin College to begin his speech.
He touched on president-elect Donald Trump’s call for a ban on Muslims immigrating to the U.S. and Trump’s support of a Muslim registry for surveillance and documentation.
And he didn’t shy away from recent racist and Islamophobia incidents that have occurred in the area. Someone wrote racist graffiti on a campus walkway at Plano East Senior High School. That same day, a Muslim girl was bullied by a classmate.
Three racist notes were posted at Collin College campuses, and racist notes have been posted at parks and in neighborhoods around Collin County.
Togetherness and kindness will stamp out divisiveness and ignorance, Phillips said. “People of goodwill outnumber the bigots. Don’t forget that.”
“If there is a Muslim registry, we’ll sign our names with you. If there are deportations, we’ll lay before the vans to block their way. If you are denounced, we’ll answer lies with truth,” he said. “This cloud of ignorance darkening our path…shall disperse.”
Binggeli touched on the incident at Plano East and shared with the crowd his hopes for PISD students.
“I don’t want to stand in front of you and tell you that PISD has never had a problem where one young person might have had a problem with another,” he said. “I don’t think you can put 55,000 human beings in any organization and think that’s possible.”
But, he said, PISD will continue educating respectful, tolerant citizens who live up to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream of equality.
He praised Plano East Principal George King and several PISD teachers for their reactions after Election Day. He said hate was “unacceptable.”
“We are going to be better than that here,” he said.
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