Wall of silence broken at state’s Muslim public school
By KATHERINE KERSTEN, Star Tribune
April 9, 2008
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.
Where’s Barry Lynn and Americans United on this? Strangely silent. The U.S. Midwest is rapidly becoming an Islamic haven, especially Michigan, where Mosques are becoming quite a common site and Islamic shari’a law is intruding into civic affairs on a regular basis. In the U.K., the government has almost completely capitulated to Islam, even allowing jurisdiction of shari’a in areas of high Muslim density.
Americans United has always been silent on the encroachement of Islamic Law into government, as well as state funded Islamic activity in schools and charities. They operate by an obvious double standard. Americans United has nothing to do with separation of church and state and everything to do with separation of Christianity and state.
This is why I have insisted on calling the separation doctrine -which relies on tendentious constitutional scholarship and outright lies to maintain this artificial wall of separation- what it truly is: ethnic cleansing.
Yes, the real purpose of all of this “Liberal” activism is the ethnic cleansing European Christians. And Barry Lynn sees nothing wrong with left-wing and black churches playing a role in politics and unlimited government control of family life. I wonder if I could get state funding for Charles Martel Academy, a school dedicated European civilization and the ideals of the Crusaders?
On a somewhat related note…
Faust - 31 March 2008 06:14 AM
Laurel,
It is just hard to believe how insane these people are. And these are the people who always talk of “freedom?” Which to them means slavery to the state. That is what they call Humanism?
“Tom Flynn, who after this issue steps down as founding co-editor of Secular Humanist Bulletin, has taken extraordinary care not to form a family. He lives in a non-familial household and is childfree by choice.”
Praise God for that last...no child should be submitted to this man’s “instruction.”
God bless us and keep us from such insanity,
Laurel
Blast it! I just looked at every page of that site, and the only people there on are White!
one black, reading section of course, and link from bottom of page where few would likely venture. I wouldn’t be surprised if the site designer only slipped her in to defend against potential accusations of genocide.
Good to see you here. I will be back in Aztlan tomorrow, God willing (although from the Obama-centric area I am visiting in this week one would think that all the many Whites here are wearing black-face of the spiritual sort, and I have heard much Spanish spoken here as well).
Frank--
You are probably correct on that last statement regarding why they might have put that one poor black woman on the child-free site.
The whole child-free thing started back in the 1970s, although not under that moniker. At least the people I knew back then who decided to avoid having children were honest enough to state the real reason they were “child-free,”, which, of course, was that they were too selfish to deal with children.
Virtually every one of the folks I knew who made that decision in their twenties truly regrets it in their 50s and above. As they downsize into the infirmities of older age and they watch the vibrant (albeit not perfect) family life of of those who chose to have children, they are quite envious. In many ways they are frightened of the future, which looks to them to be one with only institutional and never personal support.
Just a reminder that what looks to be terrific in ones twenties, when one is full of energy and enthusiasm, turns out not to be quite as wonderful as one gets older. Illnesses that a family could rally around become a one-way trip to the nursing facility rather than an opportunity, difficult as it may be, to develop the virtues of Christian charity.
Sorry to have caused so much digression. John’s point that the real goal of the “Secularists” and “Liberals” is the ethnic cleansing European Christians is all too true. My point in quoting the earlier post from another thread was to expose the agenda of “Secularists” like Barry Lynn. Tom Flynn in the article calls for children to breed and raised by the state like cattle. And the “Liberals” idea of “freedom” seems to unlimited power of the state over children and state control of family life.
I am sure a pro-European or pro-Christian group would able to get a state charter for state funded school. Even the Waldorf schools have had problems, but there are a good number of Waldorf charter schools. “Secularists” groups have been attacking and trying to block the creation of Waldorf charter school, because they are too Christian.
From an Americans United for Separation of Church and State article:
In Frequently Asked Questions About Waldorf Education? Waldorf supporter David Schlesinger responds to the question, “Are Waldorf schools religious?” by writing, “In the sense of subscribing to the beliefs of a particular religious denomination or sect, no. Waldorf schools, however, tend to be spiritually oriented and are based out of a generally Christian perspective. The historic festivals of Christianity are observed in the classrooms and in school assemblies. Classes in religious doctrine are not part of the Waldorf curriculum, and children of all religious backgrounds attend Waldorf schools. Spiritual guidance is aimed at awakening the child’s natural reverence for the wonder and beauty of life.”
Sadly some conservative Christians have also joined in these lawsuits attacking Waldorf charter schools because they don’t like some the beliefs of Steiner, helping the likes of Barry Lynn-now that is foolishness!
Rudolf Steiner’s beliefs are not indicative of orthodox Christian beliefs by a long stretch. I did a lot of research on Waldorf education when my child was small and I was trying to find good educational alternatives for her. Overall their educational practices are interesting--non-technological until about age 14, but overall nature and craft-oriented.
The spiritual beliefs of Steiner were based on Theosophy, a mystical philosophy, and were called Anthroposophy.
Despite theosophy having been a primary source for his ideas, Steiner later denied that Blavatsky or Annie Besant had been influences upon him; in fact, it is often difficult to trace influences upon his thinking, as “Steiner maintained that his philosophy was an integrated whole that came from direct spiritual insight.”
A charter school based on solid Christian beliefs would be difficult to pull off.
And then there’s the whole question of whether the state should have any power over the kind of education we give our children. Charter schools, while having a form of educational freedom, are still under the purview of the state.
Yes I know, we discussed this on the Rudolf Steiner thread, Interestingly Rudolf Steiner did condemn Neo-Babelism and miscegenation. A child would still likely be better off in a Waldorf school than a degenerate public school. Homeschooling is still the best option for the most, even if a decent private school could be found, tuition is anywhere from $4000 to $20,000 a year. And I an dubious about the notion of finding decent private school free of PC.
I posted my comment back where this article appeared on the main page.
Forgive me for copy/pasting your comment again here, FrSam. Some of us might wish to discuss it.
God bless,
Laurel
This is really disconcerting news. And yet, it is not totally surprising either. You mentioned Michigan as another place where izlam is moving ahead rapidly in the US, and it is somewhat logical that Minnesota would follow.
If I may hazard a guess it is a consequence of the Scandinavian background of most people in Minnesota. It you look at the Scandinavian countries, particularly Sweden, you can see how their Lutheran Church has crumbled and they have accepted humanism and then quickly izlam, all at breath-taking speed. To use this same idea as a basis for a bit of projection, I would suggest that the next area to look for similar trouble in in Wisconsin where very similar circumstances prevail.
The situation in England is in terrible condition, with both the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Chief Judge calling for sharia law to be accepted in England. These me are so eager for “peace” today that they are willing to walk the appeasement road, even if it means servitude and bondage for all succeeding generations. What weak, selfish people!
Posted by FrSam on 08/03 at 06:10 PM
As you probably know, I am half Swedish. My mother is first-generation American on the Swedish side of the family.
Much as I hate to say it, the Swedish side of things in my family lost its faith in the early 1900s. My own grandfather was an avowed atheist, my mother an agnostic still.
So I can relate to your theory about the Swedes. But I think it also points to the general loss of faith and the old saying, “If you don’t believe in anything, you will fall for anything.”
