ALAMEDA — They’re typical teenagers, playing on their high school football team and gearing up for the big game against their rivals across town. Except these teens attend a school where 98 percent of students are Arab Americans and they are getting ready to take the field during Ramadan, the month when Muslims fast every day from sunrise to sundown.
The team’s story is told in “Fordson: Faith, Fasting, Football,” a feature-length documentary that will be screened April 11 as part of a free forum on Muslim students at Kofman Auditorium.
“We are excited to present this program in support of our Muslim families and the ideal of safety, inclusion and diversity,” said Sean McPhetridge, superintendent of the Alameda Unified School District, which is helping host the event. “Everyone truly does belong here in AUSD and our larger community. Events like this help to underscore and illuminate this concept.”
After the screening, Gene Kahane, an English teacher at Encinal High School, will lead a panel discussion about the movie. Participants will include Muslim students and Sameena Usman, government relations coordinator with the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the nation’s largest Muslim advocacy organization.