Thursday, October 5, 2006 — A visiting scholar is offering an opportunity to learn more about the Muslim culture and language in Stanly County.
Kamal Faiz, a Moroccan English teacher, is part of the Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant (FLTA) program and is teaching Arabic to Pfeiffer University students at the Misenheimer campus.
His students are enthusiastic about getting a chance to learn a language that’s not available at many North Carolina universities.
Matthew Acie, of Charlotte, is one of Faiz’s students who find Faiz’s presence in the classroom a dream opportunity.
“I have always been interested in the culture and want to have access in ways I haven’t before,” he said. “Right now I am learning the fundamentals of putting words together.”
Josh West, a junior from Statesville, said he’s glad to be learning a “different” language.
“I wanted something different, something new,” West said.
“I wanted to take Arabic so I can talk to others about the beliefs and culture.”
West explained that Arabic has 28 letters and right now students have learned 14.
The classes meet three times a week for an hour.
“Mr. Faiz said we are moving faster than some similar classes,” West said. “He really wants us to learn. You can tell he wants us to know.”
Fellow student Stefanie Whisant from Cleveland County said Faiz is very personable.
Participants in the Fulbright FLTA are young teachers or graduate students from around the world who are selected by Fulbright Commissions or the Public Affairs Section of U.S. embassies through competitions in their countries.
Faiz found out about the Fulbright program through the Moroccan-American Commission for Educational and Cultural Exchange.
This is his first trip to America and he will be in Stanly County for the whole school year. Back home, he is more accustomed to city life than the small-town setting and rural pace found in Stanly County.
“I used to live in downtown Casablanca,” Faiz said. “Here, I am surrounded by nature.”
Faiz said the smaller community takes some adjusting, but he is enjoying it. He finds people are interested in learning about his homeland and culture and have been very welcoming.
“Everywhere we are interacting as human beings, differences are good,” he said. “I am what I am because I am not who you are.
“Imagine if we all had the same color skin, same color eyes, the same tastes, no differences in culture.”
Faiz is a passionate teacher, eager to share his knowledge.
“The students are learning something entirely new - a new alphabet,” he said. “The shapes of the characters are totally new.
“They want to learn Arabic and see what is going on on the other side of the world. Through the language they can learn about the culture. It’s a window to see the other side of the world.”
Step by step, students are getting closer to having a clearer view of that window by building their vocabulary and understanding sentence structure.
Faiz works closely with his students and individually when they need it to help them understand the nuances of the new language.
His students know his office is open if they need help.
“I have a lot of interpersonal contact with my students,” Faiz said.
Recently, for a change in scene, the class went to a local coffee shop to provide a different feel.
“There is a more relaxed atmosphere at the coffee house,” Faiz said. “Sometimes you need to be out of the structure of a classroom to open up to learning.”
The class decided to have one class a month in the informal setting.
“I am more interested in giving the language to a student than a quiz.” he said.
Next semester, Faiz will be teaching two classes in Arabic One will focus on language culture, a second level for the members of the current class who want to further their knowledge.
This is an important month for Faiz. It is Ramadan, the holiest month for Muslims.
It requires the faithful Muslim to fast.
Faiz observes the period by refraining from eating and drinking from dawn to dusk and saying extra prayers.
Muslims believe that during Ramadan, the revelation of the Quran to the Prophet Muhammad began.
“This is the time for a faithful Muslim to be close to the poor and the hungry, to have more compassion and to examine moral values,” he said.
“This is to come closer to God - this is our holiest month.”
During Ramadan, he said, the faithful try to have more positive thinking, pray more, read the quran, see old friends, try to reconcile past wrongs and make amends.
“Being far from food is one corner of fasting,” he said. “Other examples of fasting could be no speaking during the fasting period.”
Faiz said Ramadan’s start is based on a lunar calendar.
Faiz, 27, who is single, worked as a commercial representative and at two private schools, teaching English.
Besides taking courses at Pfeiffer, he is taking courses on diversity in the workplace at the University of North Carolina - Charlotte and will be attending a workshop in Washington D.C.
This is the second Muslim scholar Pfeiffer has had in the past two years, thanks to its involvement in the Fulbright program.
Dr. Betty Starr, vice president of academic affairs at Pfeiffer, has been instrumental in the Fulbright Scholar placements at the university.
“The U.S. State Department sends out grant applications for schools to request scholars,” Starr said.
“Hosting a scholar in critical language is good as few Americans know Arabic.”
Last year, the school had Dr. Mohd Nazari bin Ismail in a six-week program on a Fulbright Visiting Specialist Program.
“We plan to continue the program every year,” Starr said.
“We had such a good experience with Dr. Nazari last year, this is something we should really pursue.”
Starr said the school requested a Chinese scholar also but there were not enough available for Pfeiffer.
“Placement of teachers of critical languages have a high priority with the Fulbright program,” Starr said. “We hope to try again for a Chinese scholar.”
The program is a venue for both the host and home country of the scholars.
“The intent is for the scholars to learn about our country also,” she said.
“Kamal has added a lot to the campus life. Students seem to enjoy him and talk to him about his culture,” she said.
“He has been a positive influence for the five weeks he has been here.
“He eats lunch in the cafeteria and has a table set up with items about Islamic culture,” Starr said. “We hope some people from the community talk with him about the Islamic culture.”
The FLTA Program is an opportunity for English teachers to refine their teaching skills, increase their English language proficiency and extend their knowledge of the cultures and customs of the U.S. while strengthening foreign language instruction at colleges and universities in the U.S. This academic year, more than 300 Fulbright FLTA Fellows are taking part in the program.
Each scholar spends an academic year at a university where they teach their native language as teaching assistants or lead their own classes. Faiz is leading his own at Pfeiffer.
FLTA scholars take at least two U.S. courses or teaching methodology classes each semester.
In addition to teaching and taking courses, fellows also share the culture and values of their countries with Americans in university clubs, in the local community and other venus.
Round-trip transportation from their home country is provided by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State.
A monthly stipend to cover living expenses is provided.
The university the FLTA scholar is matched with integrates fellows into their teaching programs and assist the fellows with opportunities for cross-cultural outreach in the community. Host universities offer tuition grants for Fulbright FLTA fellows to attend two courses per semester
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