FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

August 28, 2007

The Friends of Gibran Council Asks the New York City Department of Education To Cease Using Kahlil Gibran’s name for the Khalil Gibran International Academy New York, NY - The Friends of Gibran Council (FoGC), concerned with the misuse of the great legacy of Lebanese-American author and poet Kahlil Gibran, issues the following release.

The proposed Kahlil Gibran International Academy (KGIA), based on information received to date by the FoGC, would not honor the legacy of a great poet, an artist who achieved greatness in the US as an emigrant fleeing Lebanon where his community has been suffering persecution in their ancestral home in Lebanon at the hands of religious powers.

Gibran’s ancestry was Lebanese, Christian and Maronite (Aramaic-Syriac). He has authored works in English and Arabic. Therefore, the claims of teaching Arabic under the name of Gibran ring hollow as he is not ethnically Arab although there are many great Arab poets. Gibran, although a great artist and poet and fluent in Arabic was not an Arab poet or painter. To analogize in a very basic manner, Americans speak English but are not English.

The founders of the KGIA could easily change the name of the school to honor a great Arabic writer or poet, of which there are many, if that is their true intent.

Gibran was a believer in the universality of human rights and the dignity of the individual. Therefore, the board of trustees of the KGIA should reflect Gibran’s values and ideals. Appointing radicals and Imams who have been associated with extremist and Jihadist groups is an affront to these ideals.

The teaching of Arabic in public schools is a laudable goal; many more American students should be proficient in this largely spoken language. However, in no way should the Arabic language and Islamism be mixed.

The great name of Kahlil Gibran is not owned by anyone. Until recently, no group or individual has taken advantage of this situation. To allow the KGIA to use his name now under clearly false pretenses would, in effect, rewrite history and would do grave harm to the students of NYC.

ABOUT THE FRIENDS OF GIBRAN COUNCIL – The Friends of Gibran Council is a new international organization with chapters in Lebanon and the United States. We organized as a group in early 2007 to counter the cultural and political exploitation of Gibran’s name and legacy. Our mission now has expanded to achieving four goals: to advance worldwide recognition of the works, life and philosophy of Kahlil Gibran; to encourage support of the Gibran National Committee in Lebanon and particularly the Gibran Museum in Bsharri; to strengthen the social, economic and cultural development of the region; and to protect Gibran’s legacy from cultural and political exploitation.

CONTACT:

Tom Harb, Chairman, Advisory Board for Friends of Gibran Council

Telephone: 407.383.9600

email: tharb@friendsofgibran.org

John Hajjar, Advisory Board member, Friends of Gibran Council

Telephone: 617.216.5445

email: jhajjar@friendsofgibran.org