Minnesota State funded Muslim public school
Recently, I wrote about Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy (TIZA), a K-8 charter school in Inver Grove Heights. Charter schools are public schools and by law must not endorse or promote religion. Evidence suggests, however, that TIZA is an Islamic school, funded by Minnesota taxpayers. TIZA has many characteristics that suggest a religious school. It shares the headquarters building of the Muslim American Society of Minnesota, whose mission is “establishing Islam in Minnesota.” The building also houses a mosque. TIZA’s executive director, Asad Zaman, is a Muslim imam, or religious leader, and its sponsor is an organization called Islamic Relief.
Students pray daily, the cafeteria serves halal food – permissible under Islamic law — and “Islamic Studies” is offered at the end of the school day. Zaman maintains that TIZA is not a religious school. He declined, however, to allow me to visit the school to see for myself, “due to the hectic schedule for statewide testing.” But after I e-mailed him that the Minnesota Department of Education had told me that testing would not begin for several weeks, Zaman did not respond — even to urgent calls and e-mails seeking comment before my first column on TIZA.
Now, however, an eyewitness has stepped forward. Amanda Getz of Bloomington is a substitute teacher. She worked as a substitute in two fifth-grade classrooms at TIZA on Friday, March 14. Her experience suggests that school-sponsored religious activity plays an integral role at TIZA. Arriving on a Friday, the Muslim holy day, she says she was told that the day’s schedule included a “school assembly” in the gym after lunch. Before the assembly, she says she was told, her duties would include taking her fifth-grade students to the bathroom, four at a time, to perform “their ritual washing.”
Afterward, Getz said, “teachers led the kids into the gym, where a man dressed in white with a white cap, who had been at the school all day,” was preparing to lead prayer. Beside him, another man “was prostrating himself in prayer on a carpet as the students entered.”
“The prayer I saw was not voluntary,” Getz said. “The kids were corralled by adults and required to go to the assembly where prayer occurred.”
Sounds like a Religious school to me. Why is this funded by taxpayers? Fear of backlash? Even in the Catholic School I attended, no one was forced to take religious training and all denominations including Jews were accepted. My parents paid my tuition; there was no state funding.
You must know that this sort of scam is going on all over the place. Where is the professional news media to cover his sort of thing?
Solution? Pull. Their. Funding.
I hate wishy-washy craven articles like the referenced one here. It says “TIZA is now being held up as a national model for a new kind of charter school. If it passes legal muster, Minnesota taxpayers may soon find themselves footing the bill for a separate system of education for Muslims.”
The article lists 2-3 violations of law that have simply not been enforced because “no one is complaining.”
Once again, parties violating the law, and their supervisors who are meant to prevent it, should be fired on subsequent investigation==better late than never.
Funny, hire an “Iman” to run a “charter school” and it turns religious? Shocking.
There have been huge coverage of the similar experiment in NYC just last year. And, as one should have expected, main organizers and supporters turned out to be well connected in the worldwide Muslim extremists organizations… Yet another case of “but Hamas and Hezbollah do so much for poor and education”…
You can’t blame the Muslims for that. Catholics and protestants get away with that BS for years.
Actually, this ecumenical exposure should get those agnostics on the fence to see how silly religion is, and give some doubt to others.
Still, disturbing to see how much lee-way insanity/political totalitarianism is given when it runs under the cover of “religion.”
Hey numb-nut Muslims, here its called separation of church and state. It has worked pretty well for over 200 years. Your system has failed again and again for thousands of years. We don’t like your failed system, we know why it fails, so we made a few philosophical decisions of our own that eliminate the problems you have had for thousands of years.
If you, and your religion, cannot or will not get along with what we as a nation/people stand for then well you are welcome to return to your homeland. My advice, get yer ass out of the 6th century… things have changed a bit.
This is NOT a Muslim issue. Blaming the Muslims and calling them numb-nuts misses the point entirely.
Xtian organizations illegally receive millions of tax dollars every year. Are they numb-nuts too? Well, I guess I have to say they are, but that’s not the point either.
The only solution is to elect leaders who really believe in the 1st amendment. You would be hard pressed to find one.
Muslim and xtian religionists are so hyper-sensitive that no politician would dare try to stop it. Religionists love to play the victim.
#7 – Religionists love to play the victim.
You are a very attractive woman (I assume).
#7–Julieb==the reference article states clearly that Catholic and Jewish schools could not do what this Muslim school did. What additional “facts” do you have to say otherwise?
Just read the first sentence on this page:
http://www.hhs.gov/fbci/choice.html
“Charitable Choice is a legislative provision designed to remove unnecessary barriers to the receipt of certain federal funds by faith-based organizations.”
How more explicit can you get?
Also, just research vouchers. And google, “faith-based partnerships”.
All the more reason for the separation of schools and state. The case gets more compelling every year as public schools become more like combination religious institutions/prisons.
http://tinyurl.com/rxwro
#7
Thank you for making my point. The point is separation of church and state. Frankly the religion in question does not matter.
Since this article specifically refers to a Muslim Imam running a school evidently as a ‘Muslim’ school with state funding, I am reminding good Muslims everywhere that this is not how it is done here.
Separation of church and state, they would do well to learn this lesson as a people. It is a major tenement of what this country stands for. If a person is unable to get on board with that simple philosophy then I suggest they go where their customs are not offended by forward thinking reasonable humans who wish to live in a society that isn’t bound by the chains of one religion or another. Personal liberty has its benefits. On the whole over thousands of years Muslims have failed at this repeatably.
#10–julieb==ok, at least you had “something.” Irrelevant, but still something.
Charter schools by statute are non-sectarian==NON RELIGIOUS so faith based schools seek federal funds has nothing to do with the subject at hand.
Can’t say you are even in the ballpark, but there should be a bus coming by soon to take you in the general direction.
So–like everything else in the Bush Government, charter school contracts are not being enforced. Hopefully, the public will figure out the Repugs almost have it right when they say “Government doesn’t work.” What they mean is “Government run by criminals, theives, and religious nut bags doesn’t work.”
Cracks me up, even without the sleeze machine up and running, McCain is running even plus/minus with Obama.
#14 – As far as I’ve seen, Charter Schools are run at the State level, not Fed. State school districts have to approve them… Fed funds are given on the basis of STATE approval.
From the article: “Why does the Minnesota Department of Education allow this sort of religious activity at a public school?”
Just because you (rightfully) hate Bush, it shouldn’t cloud your mind so much that you can’t evaluate data.
And there it is the ‘Bush’ rant. Little hint Bobbo, the republicans and democrats are basically the same. You may wish to believe the rhetoric of one or the other, but their the same.
The 2004 presidential election between Kerry and Bush was a perfect example. On the surface there may be superficial differences but at the core both candidates where the same, especially if one considers their previous affiliation with each other.
That should have opened your eyes Bobbo, yet your ‘rhetoric blinders’ are thick and well burned into your being, they have trained you well.
What’s the big deal? Prayer rooms and foot baths have been installed in colleges and universities and paid for by American tax dollars.
It’s time to spread Allah’s good word to the more easily influenced children. They should be allowed to participate in freedom of religion. Especially a religion known as the Religion of Peace.
Or are you just an Islamophobe?
#15-16==Yes, its true, Bush is “actually” responsible for very little. He is rather “emblematic” of disfunctional government.
The Feds may indeed rely on the approval of States for certain programs but I have never “not seen” a right of review and enforcement on the option of the Feds should they wish to do so.
I also agree Dems and Pubs are unfortunately all too similar==but if anyone is relevant to a political issue, wouldn’t the person in office for the last 7 years be the man over a man who ran for and failed to get the office?
So, perhaps I paint too broadly with my anti-Bush brush, but either of your comments wouldn’t be proof of it.
#18 – Agreed. The only solution is to stop the Fed from having unlimited access to our pocketbooks. That would stop the waste and keep the $s where they belong.
I’m ok with religion as a rule, I even think religion could be taught in an agnostic way. (Much the way Ancient Greek and Roman religion is taught. It gives historical perspective.) But there is no separation of church and stat here.
The ACLU should have no problem getting tax money back out of that school. I’m sure there is some substantial cost that could be found as “Harm to the tax payers.”
bobbo, here is a good quote for you.
“The American Republic will endure, until politicians realize they can bribe the people with their own money.” – Alexis de Tocqueville
I’m ok with religion as a rule, I even think religion could be taught in an agnostic way. (Much the way Ancient Greek and Roman religion is taught. It gives historical perspective.) But there is no separation of church and state here.
The ACLU should have no problem getting tax money back out of that school. I’m sure there is some substantial cost that could be found as “Harm to the tax payers.”
Where is the ACLU? If this were a Christian school there would have been 10 lawsuits filed already
#19–Pat==nice idea, but waste will always be with us, as will fraud, as will incompetent government officials, Federal, State, and Local==even while most of the individuals do try to do a good job. “It’s the system” and the a’holes located here and there.
Charter schools supported by parents for special interests who meet performance standards are a good thing. Charter schools in violation of the constitution (forget the charter) are not.
#20–Pat==Toke-ville is old hat. The neo-cons have gone a few steps further. Cheney said “Forget about the deficit, no one cares.” and he is right. So, today Bush has broken all records in bribing we the people not with our own money but with our childrens money.
It surprises me a little bit that a third party has not formed around traditional conservative FISCAL values. Should draw from both partys??
Hate being a nay sayer, but what else is there?
#17
The big deal is separation of church and state. Participate all you like in the religion of peace, keep it private among the brethren and out of public schools/government.
Once again, the article is about a Muslim Imam running a school evidently as a Muslim school and he is using state/federal funds to do it. This is why I speak about the Muslim faith. Am I politically correct about it? Nope. Am I a Islamophobe? I really doubt it. Would you care to discuss my views on the Christian Right and their own self-superiority problems? Does that make me a Christianophobe?
Labels, yeah you’ll win with labels 🙂
#18
My comments matter little as the proof of it. Your comments demonstrate all the proof that is necessary.
#23 & 24. You can’t waste what you don’t have. That’s the point. If it isn’t taken from you in the 1st place the gov’t can’t waste it. Can they?
As far as fiscal conservatives, they don’t exist in any number in either party. A shame but the quote I provided explains. Many things are “old hat”. Actually, most of what passes for common sense is old hat. Maybe looking down on it as “old” and not “new” is a problem…
@6–Pat==well, you rather dramatically missed the point of what I did say. By spending the money of our children, the government is wasting not my money, and not money they took from me ((as was the case/limitation in Tocqueville’s time)), rather, they are printing money in a way not possible before and in a “new” way, making beggars of us all.
Still, given we both have a relatively negative view of our gubment, I guess we are allies. I think you are right there are fewer fiscal conservatives than a third party would require. My hopes are not even dashed–rather still birthed.
BUT–on the surprise side of things, still surprises me a bit the parties aren’t behind National Health BECAUSE it would make business more competitive. That makes me think our government is truly captured by specific single issue special interests rather than the larger interests such as “economic competitiveness” –healthcare for the people doesn’t even enter into it.
#27 – “BUT–on the surprise side of things, still surprises me a bit the parties aren’t behind National Health BECAUSE it would make business more competitive.”
I’ve started and run successful businesses and have reviewed what passes for the Nat H.C. plans.
How would it make my bus more competitive?
@28–If you traded internationally, and the Feds picked up a good percentage of your employees health insurance bill either by efficiency gains/subsidy/or cost shifting, then your firm would be on a more level playing field with other international players who get similar healthcare support. It works for heavy manufacturing, not for a lot of other businesses.
That’s he argument for it anyway. Could be modeled to go either way I suppose.