Katherine Kersten writes in the Minneapolis Star Tribune about the Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy (TIZA), a K-8 charter school in Inver Grove Heights, MN. Though charter schools are public schools and by law must not endorse or promote religion, a one-time substitute teacher informed Kersten that TIZA seems to requires daily prayer from students (led by a full-time TIZA employee) and an “Islamic Studies” class at the end of the day. TIZA received $65,260 in government funds last year.
World Magazine reports that the ACLU has apparently taken the right side on this one:
In a letter to principal Asan Zamad, the ACLU warned against violating the Establishment Clause: “At a minimum, the school must discontinue recruiting volunteers for Friday Prayers, and must not be involved in promoting or providing special treatment to groups providing religious instruction after school hours.”
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Check out the namesake for the school,Tarik ibn Ziyad, on Wikipedia or anywhere else. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tariq_ibn-Ziyad
He’s the Muslim general that initiated the conquest of Spain. He established the beachhead for conquest. What a great image for a school in the United States!