Saudi Academy celebrates Heritage Day

(MENAFN-Arab News) The Islamic Saudi Academy in the United States, headquartered in the state of Virginia, celebrated Friday the fourth Heritage Day organized annually to mark the diversity and coexistence among nations, societies and civilizations.The ceremony, titled "One World," aimed at establishing a link between the students of the academy, who represent more than 39 states, and their communities of origin.Besides Saudi Arabia, the academy students are from Yemen, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Libya, Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Palestine, Pakistan and Bangladesh. There are also students of Islamic communities in the United States and Europe.The Heritage Day included exhibitions focusing on the dresses of different Muslim and Arab communities, food, pottery, paintings and other art forms, the Saudi Press Agency reported.In her opening address, the director general of the academy, Fareeda Turkistani, commended the efforts of the students and their parents to make the event a success.A special program during the event was signing on a large piece of cloth carrying the image of the Earth with the Number 1 cut across it to signify the motto of the day ‘One World.’ The director general, staff and students of the academy put their thumb impressions on the cloth. Turkistani said in a statement that the diversity and plurality of the academy subscribed to the call of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah for interfaith and inter-culture dialogues with coexistence of different cultures with total cooperation.She stressed the significant role played by the academy in shaping student personalities imbibing the principles of cooperation, human relations and a culture of dialogue.She said that apart from teaching English and Arabic from the nursery level to the secondary level, the academy teaches English to non-English speaking students and Arabic to non-Arabic speaking students. The academy also organizes training for students in various forms of community services such as visiting homes for the aged, blood donation campaigns and helping orphanages.The academy also maintains close relations with the families of its students and helps them sort out their problems.The academy’s community services encourage students to involve in social activities and not to isolate themselves and avoid creating an atmosphere of suspicion in society, she said.