(NY1) Debbie Almontaser stopped by Greenlight Bookstore in Fort Greene as she promoted her first book “Leading While Muslim.” She says the backlash she received as the founding principal of the country’s first Arabic-language public school inspired her to write it.
“I was targeted big-time both individually and as an American Muslim. I was basically a target in this geo-political crusade against Islam and Muslims,” said Almontaser.
It was in February 2007 when Almontaser was named principal of a new school to open that fall, the [Kahlil] Gibran International Academy in Brooklyn.
The school is dedicated to the study of Arabic language and culture, and open to students of all backgrounds, one of the many dual-language schools opening across the city. She says she became an instant target.
