Outrage after pledge of allegiance read in Arabic at US school

The reading of the US pledge of allegiance in Arabic at a school in upstate New York on Wednesday has sparked controversy and backlash across the country.

The plan was for the pledge of allegiance to be read in a different language each day to celebrate National Foreign Language Week, but when a student at Pine Bush High School read it in Arabic, she was harassed and called a terrorist.

Senior class president Andrew Zink, 18, approved the reading and stands by his decision, despite the school issuing a formal apology to angry parents and community members.

Zink told AFP he had received threats on Twitter. Veterans who live in the area told US media they opposed the pledge being read in any language other than English.

Local newspaper the Times Herald-Record said school superintendent Joan Carbone received complaints from residents who had lost relatives in Afghanistan - a non-Arab country whose main languages are Pashto and Dari - and from Jewish parents.

Pine Bush Central School District apologised and said that from now on, the pledge of allegiance will be recited only in English.

A statement on its website said the intention had been to celebrate Foreign Language Week and "the many races, cultures and religions that make up this great country and our school district".

"We sincerely apologise to any students, staff or community members who found this activity disrespectful," it said.

Anger over apology

But the apology has angered Zink and others who say language has nothing to do with what it means to be American.

"Many people were angered about [the] reading, but an equal amount are angered by the apology, so now everyone's mad," Zink said.

"America or even American isn't defined in what language you speak in, but the ideas you believe in."

Zink, who described Pine Bush as predominantly white, said the incident showed the small town is "not willing to accept other groups of people".

Zink has also received a generous amount of support on Twitter following the backlash, with Twitter users praising his move as a bold push for acceptance and diversity.

Meanwhile, Linda Sarsour, executive director of the Arab American Association of New York, said that cases like this are very common in the US.

“It’s part of a growing anti-Arab sentiment and it’s not an isolated incident,” Sarsour, who works on the national Take On Hate campaign, told MTV News.

"When the school apologised, how is a child supposed to feel now?” she asked.

“I hope kids don’t allow this experience to make them feel less-than, as they too are just as American as any other kids in their school.”

Sadyia Khalique, a spokeswoman for the New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), also criticised the backlash.

"To see the language of Arabic ostracised and being used as a way to target communities or even lead to hate speech is something which is not a goal ... of National Language Week," she told AFP.

CAIR noted this was not the first time that Arabic had caused "prejudiced sentiment" in an American high school.

Hate calls and threats from parents namely followed a recitation of the pledge of allegiance in Arabic in 2013 in Colorado. 

The same year, parents at a high school in Alabama opposed the introduction of Arabic lessons, claiming they would cause students to "learn a 'culture of hate'," CAIR said.