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Rola Awwad\nTown: Wayne
\nChildren: Adam, 10; Amana, 7; Miriam, 3
\nOccupation: Stay-at-home mom; Arabic teacher<\/p>\n
\nRola Awwad
\nTown: Wayne
\nChildren: Adam, 10; Amana, 7; Miriam, 3
\nOccupation: Stay-at-home mom; Arabic teacher<\/p>\n
Rola
\nAwwad wasn\u2019t angry at first. Her son Adam\u2019s elementary school in Wayne
\nhad denied requests for the Muslim fifth-grader to pray in a private
\nroom during school, citing safety concerns.<\/p>\n
But
\nthen Awwad learned from chatting with a woman at her mosque that the
\nConstitution protected the right to practice religion and that children
\nin nearby public schools had been praying in school for decades without
\nincident.<\/p>\n
\u201cI
\nnever knew he had the right to pray, as long as it\u2019s not interfering
\nwith education and others,\u201d said Awwad, a Palestinian raised in Jordan.<\/p>\n
Awwad
\nsprung into action, pressing the school district to allow her son to
\nperform the obligatory afternoon prayer in a quiet, private space, such
\nas the library or the principal\u2019s office. The Council on American
\nIslamic Relations, a Muslim civil rights group, intervened on Awwad\u2019s
\nbehalf and a compromise was reached in February. Adam was growing weary
\nof the public attention surrounding the case. Adam agreed to pray
\nduring recess, while other children played nearby, either outdoors or
\nin the back of the classroom.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis
\nwas a lesson for my son not to give up on your rights. Be proud you are
\na Muslim and to be proud you\u2019re an American and born here,\u201d she said on
\na recent afternoon in her Wayne living room. Relenting on the issue for
\nnow, she still worries about her son praying outside during recess when
\nit\u2019s cold or rainy or when he enters middle school next year, when his
\npeers may be more apt to bully him.<\/p>\n
Awwad
\nsays she\u2019s more outspoken than her husband, an engineering professor.
\nHer first foray into community activism was as a graduate student in
\nJordan. She and a group of women built a social services center that
\nwas controversial in the community. On a trip home, she brought her
\nkids to the site. \u201cI wanted them to see it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
As
\nthe clock struck 4, a recording of the afternoon call to prayer floated
\nfrom her kitchen while the children played in their rooms upstairs.
\nAwwad explained that she is intent on raising her kids with strong
\nMuslim values.<\/p>\n
\u201cI
\nwant my kids to have a relationship with God,\u201d said Awwad. \u201cThat will
\nprotect them, and they will grow up to be good citizens,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Rola Awwad Town: Wayne Children: Adam, 10; Amana, 7; Miriam, 3 Occupation: Stay-at-home mom; Arabic teacher Rola Awwad wasn\u2019t angry at first. Her son Adam\u2019s elementary school in Wayne had denied requests for the Muslim fifth-grader to pray in a private room during school, citing safety concerns. But then Awwad learned from chatting with a…
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