'Muslims From Aabroad Are Thriving in Catholic Schools'
This article that I read in the New York Times talks about the increasing population of Muslim students in Cartholic Schools nationwide. After reading the article several times, it is not very clear what the purpose of the article is or what audience the author of this article is addressing. The author also indicates that the Muslim students not only thrive in these Catholic Schools but they also feel comfortable in the enviornment the Schools have to offer. The author does this through testimonials of various Muslim students attending these Catholic schools. Here the author is furthur supporting their claim that Muslim students thrive in Catholic schools. Another way the author provides evidence for their claim is through statistics, offering the amount of Muslim students from previous years and comparing them to the amount of students in recent years.
Going back, its not clear what the purpose of this article is. On one hand the author is bringing awareness to the public, but the other hand they are also persuading the Muslim world that Catholic schools are appropiate or safe for Muslims in America. The author cleverly does this by provinding the testomonial of Rev. Kail Ellis the priest and vice president for academic affairs at the Villanova University who suggests that the Muslim students attending the college are not there because they were recruited, rather it was an act of free will and intention.
Although it is hard to tell what the purpose of this article is since the author does not give their bias, it can only be one of two. The article is either meant to inform or it is meant to persuade. In all, the article does a good job at achieving either of its goals by providing supporting evidence of first hand sources and statistics.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/03/education/muslims-enroll-at-catholic-colleges-in-growing-numbers.html?ref=education
