There are an estimated 3.5 million Arab Americans and 7 million Muslim Americans, whereas there are only 5,000 students studying Arabic language at universities in the United States. (The number of students studying Latin, which is not a living language, is double that of Arabic.)

Surprisingly, until now, there has been no generally recognized systematic approach to teaching Arabic at the high school level.
One of the consequences of Sept. 11 has been the national awakening of the need to learn and understand more about the Middle East and Islam. This has lead to a new focus on the need to learn Arabic faster and better. In these circumstances, the online Arabic language training of the Arab Academy - introduced to North America a few months ago - have received a warm welcome.

For Dr. Sanaa Ghanem, President of the Cairo-based Arab Academy, creating the programs has been "a labor of love," since they have the capability of revolutionizing the teaching of Arabic in the Arab world as well as in non-Arabic speaking countries. Arab Academy (www.arabacademy.com) has established an academic cooperation agreement with the Language Acquisition Resource Center at San Diego State University and its programs are being run on a pilot implementation basis in Montgomery County, Maryland, and Fairfax County, Virginia public High schools.

A report prepared by Dr. John Eisele - executive director of the American Association of Teachers of Arabic in 2001-02 - for LangNet (a US government supported web site on languages) has stated that the Arab Academy "appears to provide the best web based Arabic language instruction available."

A large part of the success of Arab Academy lies in the variety of programs that it offers and their versatility: they can be used either for individual instruction or in classrooms. The Arab Academy has four different types of programs:
1. University: this is a two year intensive Arabic program from beginners to advanced.
2. High School: this 3-year program follows national standards for learning a foreign language.
3. Arabic School: this is a language program (KG-Yr12) based on texts from the Quran, Hadith, and Sirah focusing on stories of the prophets as included in the Quran.

The clearly specified need for more Arabic speakers in the Unites States, along with the appearance of Arab Academy as a provider of online Arabic language courses have renewed and increased demand for learning the Arabic language. Arab Academy increases the opportunities for Arab Americans to connect with their heritage, language and culture - and to simultaneously contribute to their society through its scriptures (Quran, Hadith, Sirah). It further offers a unique secular approach to better understand the Islamic program of "Islamic Arabic" that teaches the Arabic language using the scriptures as background text material.

On October 25, 2001, I wrote an article in the aftermath of September 11th entitled, "Is Aya a terrorist," as a reflection of our oldest daughter, Aya's first birthday. On December 29th we were blessed with another daughter Jana. As the parent of two beautiful little girls, like many other parents, I am concerned as what the future holds for my babies.

Aya today is vibrant and full of life; she has her mother's beauty and my stubbornness. She has a way of making me forget all my troubles the moment I hold her in my arms. Jana, the newborn, has filled our home with joy. This tiny, blue eyed angel seems too aware for a child barely two months old. I too am aware of the world that they have come into. I ponder their future and what type of world and more specific what type of America they will grow up in. Will their nation give them opportunities to strive, dream and reach for the stars? Will the American they know be a kind nation that will protect their personal freedoms and civil liberty?