Critics should do their homework before attacking Arabic language programs

I expected criticism when I agreed to consult with the Embassy of Qatar on its education initiatives. But I did not foresee the torrent of falsehoods that would come.

Qatar plays an important and sometimes complicated role in the Middle East. I thought my experience as a former secretary of Education could help clarify at least that part of its activities. I did not expect a Qatari program that helps American students learn Arabic to be portrayed as an effort to “infiltrate” our public schools.

That is the argument being advanced by organizations that have raised concerns about Qatar Foundation International, which provided grants to support Arabic language programs in American schools. The fact is, America needs more language education, not less. And scrutiny needs to yield to the facts.

Under the Qatar Foundation International program, American schools retained control of what was taught. The funding was transparent. Students got a legitimate educational opportunity to learn a new language. They got only that and nothing more.

Critics cite an instance from P.S. 261 in Brooklyn where a classroom map labeled the area of Israel as Palestine. Qatar Foundation International had supported an Arab language program at the school, and the map quickly became part of a larger narrative about Qatari influence.

But there is an important difference between funding a program and supplying a particular classroom item. New York City Schools Chancellor David Banks testified before Congress that the teacher, a New York City employee, had obtained the map with her own funds while visiting Jerusalem. The map had nothing to do with Qatar Foundation International.

The same is true in New Haven, Connecticut, where Qatar Foundation International has supported Arabic instruction since 2018. The Foundation for Defense of Democracies includes New Haven in its exposé-style presentation that frames foreign-language education grants as a national security and foreign influence threat.

But Mayor Justin Elicker and Superintendent Madeline Negrón looked into the claims. Elicker said publicly that he had examined the program extensively and found that it was “purely teaching students Arabic.”

In June, Qatar Foundation International announced that it was ending operations in the U.S. after 17 years of supporting Arabic language education. Schools and teachers that relied on its grants will have to look elsewhere to sustain those programs. Some critics, including an official from the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy, celebrated the news.

That reaction is deeply misguided. American students need more opportunities to study strategically important languages. The disappearance of funding for Arabic instruction is nothing to celebrate.

The bipartisan Commission on Language Learning of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences concluded that language skills matter to America’s economic competitiveness, national security and ability to engage with the world. It recommended that every child should have the opportunity to learn a language other than English. It also suggested that partnerships involving schools, governments, philanthropies, businesses and communities make that possible.

Arabic is one of the world’s most widely spoken languages and is important to U.S. diplomacy, national security and business.

Germany’s government supports German language programs in hundreds of American schools. Spain’s Ministry of Education places Spanish language assistants in schools across the U.S. Italy offers grants that help cover the salaries of Italian language teachers. Japan supports Japanese language instruction and sends teaching assistants to American schools.

We do not describe these programs as attempts to infiltrate American classrooms. We recognize them for what they are: countries promoting their languages and schools taking advantage of resources that expand opportunities for students.

Arabic should be treated no differently. In fact, Qatar Foundation International’s grants were indeed no different. They provided resources to teach an important language to American students. And that’s all.

Outside funding of Arabic language studies should be transparent, of course. School districts should control the curriculum. Parents should know what is being taught. Political or religious indoctrination has no place in a public-school language class.

I come to this debate with some personal experience.

I recently resigned from the Middle East Media Research Institute. I once strongly supported its mission of bringing greater transparency to Middle Eastern discourse by translating and publishing primary-source material. But in my view, the organization has moved too far from that mission and toward ideological advocacy, including in its treatment of Qatar and the promotion of conspiratorial reports about the nation.

Arabic should not be treated differently from German, Spanish, Italian or Japanese because of contemporary politics. America will not become stronger by giving its children fewer opportunities to understand the world. We need transparency and, of course, we need local control.

But most importantly, we need more language education, not less.

William J. Bennett is a former secretary of Education.