On December 3, 1993, after a tremendous effort over a period of eight years, a huge three-story building, located on 675 4^th avenue (between 20^th and 21^st street)in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn, was purchased by the Brooklyn Cultural Center of New York (BCC) for $1.8 million . The sum of $600,000 was collected by the Brooklyn Cultural Center as a down payment at the closing of the deal. The balance was to be paid in equal monthly installments, with no interest, over a period of five years. The purchase of the building included a backyard, a garden, an annex building, and a parking lot. The building itself occupied an area of about 720 square meters, and was originally used by the administration and workers of the previous owner. It became necessary to undertake a major renovation to convert the premise into an elementary school. The building was converted into twenty spacious classrooms, an auditorium and administration office, and a cafeteria . This ambitious project cost another $450,000 and was finished by August 1995 on the eve of the start of the first academic year .The school was named Al-Noor School.

Al-Noor School immediately became the largest full- time Islamic school in New York State and the second largest in continental U.S.A It has more than 470 students enrolled in classes from pre-k to eighth grade .

Al-Noor School strives to accomplish the following :

The population of New York City is approximately eight million . About one million are Muslims, who are of different races and nationalities . There are about 100,000 Muslim children living in the city and commute to public and private non-Muslim schools . Only about 1600 Muslim children go to Islamic schools . Of those 30 % go to Al-Noor School.

The existence of Al- Noor School to serve the Muslim community is extremely vital. The teaching of Arabic and Islamic values to Muslim students is highly important . Taking into consideration the ineffectiveness of the public school system in implementing its own secular curriculum and the corruptive environment it harbors to its own children, it becomes extremely necessary to create the alternative Islamic environment for Muslim children where they can learn Islam in addition to other sciences and social studies. Such environment will enable our children to function effectively in leadership positions in society while maintaining and preserving their Islamic identity .

Al-Noor School currently employs forty full time and part time faculty and staff members in addition to four custodians and maintenance workers . All come originally from different parts of the Muslim world and America. The school is especially careful in selecting the most qualified and the best trained to teach our children . Adherence to Islamic values is a very important factor in the selection of teachers as they are the ones who set examples and serve as role models for the children. Commitment and quality of performance are thus assured by such dedicated teachers.

A typical day at Al-Noor School starts with the children arriving by the City school buses early in the morning . They start their day by taking breakfast provided by the school . The morning assembly then takes place in the auditorium at 8:30 a.m. In the assembly children recite the morning Du’a and Surat Al-Ikhlas, Al-falaq, Al-Nas and Ayat Al-Kursi.

Students are then asked by the principal to answer questions relevant to the Islamic value of the month that the school chooses to stress. Those who answer correctly, and those who recite the Ayah or Hadith related to the subject, are honored and rewarded. The children then proceed in lines to their classrooms.

Classrooms in Al-Noor School are segregated between boys and girls in all grades from K.G. to 8^th grade. Girls wear their Islamic dress (Jelbab) which is made of a long dress covering the entire body and a head scarf (Hijab) . Boys and girls go to lunch at different time periods. After lunch students and teachers make Wudu’ and head to the auditorium for Salat Al-Thuhr. After the Salat, the children recite the proper Athkar. They are then given a brief lesson about matters of their concern before they return to their classes. At 3:15 p.m. the children are dismissed and they ride their busses heading home.

Parents and families receive the news of opening the school with joy and jubilation. Muslims rushed to register and enroll their children. In the first academic year of the school 355 students were enrolled in grades Pre-k through 6^th. As the school progressed to 8^th grade in the two subsequent years enrollment grew to about 470 boys and girls. Owing to the huge demand by families to enroll their children, the school soon reached its full capacity with some classes having 32 students each. Owing to lack of space, a waiting list showed that more than 350 boys and girls were unable to attend. The school plans to add the 9^th grade in the next academic year (1998-1999) and more children are expected to be turned down .

In addition, the need of the Muslim Community to preserve and protect its teen -age boys and girls at this critical age makes the Al-Noor High School project extremely urgent . Teen-age boys and girls attending public schools are very vulnerable to the use of drugs and alcohol . Un-Islamic behavior and illicit relationships can easily be initiated Many teen-age Muslim girls are unable to or will not attend public schools for fear of harassment and intimidation . With their visible Islamic dress, they become an easy target for non-Muslim students .

Eighth grade boys and girls currently enrolled in Al-Noor School will have to go back to public schools if the expansion project is not completed by September, 1998. These students have already learned Islamic values and memorized much of the Quran and the Sunna . To send these children back to the public school system is in itself a betrayal of the values of the Quran and the Sunna, and a major setback to the Muslims in New York.

Staying home without any type of care or education is hardly an alternative especially when at least one of the parents is at work for most of the day. The Upcoming Al-Noor High School is the proper choice that these boys and girls deserve. A daily prayer is made that the project becomes a reality through the mercy and blessings of Allah (T) that the community hopes to be answered .

Plans for the new project have already been formulated. Authorization and permits sought from different city departments and agencies are expected to be granted by June, 1998 . A standing engineering committee has been established by the Board of Trustees to oversee and execute the project.

Since the inception of the Al-Noor School project funding came mainly from the Muslim community in New York . Some support came also from Muslim communities in other states. Enthusiastic professionals and business owners paid their share of the funding .

The school charges an annual tuition fee of $2700 plus a $100 registration fee per student. Tuition is used primarily to pay for teachers salaries and school supply. Funding also comes from renting the annex building, south east of the school property . Realizing the limits of the Muslim community’s financial resources, the school rented the annex to Brooklyn Hospital to establish the AL- Noor Medical Center. In addition to generating funds, the clinic on the premise provides the Muslim community generally and the Al-Noor School children with varied medical services at discount prices. Muslim doctors, who are sensitive to the needs and demands of their fellow Muslims, provide a service at the clinic. Funding comes also from the AT&T special subscribers program. In cooperation with this long distance telephone company Muslim families who subscribe to the company through the school will have the company forfeit 5% of their telephone bill to the school. This project has become very successful to such an extent that it has become the second largest of its kind among the Masajid and Muslim institutions all over the United States.

The vastness of the project, and the introduction of the Al-Noor High School, prove that the above resources are hardly sufficient. New financial resources must be obtained.

It is hoped that any Muslim who becomes aware of this extremely needed project will stand behind it and rise to support it in every possible way. This school has become the pride of the Muslim community in New York and the Muslims in America. It is the only viable method available in bringing up our future Muslim generation. Signs of the success of Al-Noor school are indicative in the attitude and behavior of our children. Islamic values and teachings foremost in their minds and thinking. Observance of the Shar’ee rules receives their utmost attention and resides deep in their tender hearts. It is indeed a joy to see our young children wearing their school uniforms riding their school buses and heading to their Muslim School to learn more about their Deen. The scene of those 470 kids lining up together to perform their Salah is nothing but a sign that Islam has become deeply rooted in this country and is here to stay. These are the children who will, Insha Allah, carry the Islamic Dawa to the American society. It is in those children that all Muslims must invest.