Please read the note below from Steve Downs regarding Alaa Aref and her classmates winning the regional finals in the NYS History Day Competition.  Members of the Muslim Solidarity Committee have already agreed to send a donation to the school to help finance their trip to Washington by each sending a check for $5.00 or more to:

Make the check out to:
AnNur Islamic School
2195 Central Avenue,
Schenectady, NY 12304

Write in the memo section on the check "For National History Day"

It would be an amazing symbolic act of community and defiance of a government that refuses to see the complete error of its actions.

Thank you -

In Peace & Hope,

Cathy C. 

I just wanted to report to you that Alaa Aref (Yassin's daughter) and four of her classmates at the An Nur school (in Schenectady) won first place in the New York State History Day competition (Presentation category) yesterday in Cooperstown.  As a result, they get to go to Washington DC on June 15th to be in the national finals. 

The group did a dramatic presentation of the poetry and humanitarian work of Zieba Shorish Shemley who founded WAPHA to try to counteract the disastrous policies toward women in Afghanistan under the Taliban.  (Alaa played the part of Zieba during the drama, being interviewed by a BBC journalist.  Zieba's poetry was recited by the team as they showed the fear, humiliation torture, and death that was targeted on women by the Taliban and continually asked the question "Why is the World Silent?".)  It was a very powerful and emotional drama and I was not the only one in the room with tears.  I am not at all surprised that they won.   The drama about a place and time far away from America had an oddly modern sound - women demanding their rights and appealing to the conscience of the world.  Many of the other history presentations were about similar events in American history, but this one had an urgency of a cause and it just swept people away.  The girls did a wonderful job in maintaining the emotional intensity through out.

I should add a reflection on what the An Nur school has achieved.  This is a very small school - a whole grade class may not be larger that 15.  Yet this school for a number of years has won the regional History Day competition, only to eventually lose in the State competition.  This year they advanced to the State competition with teams in  3 of the 4 categories.  I did not see all of their entries, but an An Nur team made a wonderful video about the histroy of Ticonderoga and although it did not win the state competition it was none the less a terrific piece of cinematography.  To win "best in State" competition for a school this size is really a very remarkable acheivement not only for the kids but for the school and the teachers.  They will need a lot of help in fund raising to make sure that they can get a trip to Washington DC for the national finals and I hope that we can support them in this.  In my interactions with the An Nur staff I am always impressed by their positive attitude and open mindedness and they display well the values of an Islamic education.    Steve D