Posted on 10/18/2007 5:38:48 AM PDT by milestogo
Thursday, October 18, 2007; 12:25 AM
McLEAN, Va. -- A private Islamic school supported by the Saudi government should be shut down until the U.S. government can ensure the school is not fostering radical Islam, a federal panel recommends.
In a report released Thursday, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom broadly criticized what it calls a lack of religious freedom in Saudi society and promotion of religious extremism at Saudi schools.
Several advocacy groups in recent years have cited examples of inflammatory statements in religious textbooks in Saudi Arabia, including claims that a ninth-grade textbook reads that the hour of judgment will not come "until the Muslims fight the Jews and kill them."
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
ping
The ACLU, having discovered a religion it loves, will undoubtedly rush to this schools defense.
Standing by, to see what the FEDS will do! For sure there won’t be any Christian Fundamentalist schools allowed in Saudi Arabia. What is good for the GOOSE, is good for the GANDER.
Waitng for CAIR and the left to say how unfair this is....in 5, 4, 3, 2........
AClU? Wait ‘til Condi and George get in. I mean, from the Saudi view, what are friends for?
islam should be outlawed in the United States until arab countries allow Christian and Jewish Houses of Worship on their (arab) soil. Of course, can’t make islam mad, they might want to hurt someone. Our nation is led by a bunch of fools.
We allow these festering sores at our peril.
HOORAY Feds!
Sounds like a bad precedent to me. What if Hillary’s elected and wants to start vetting the curriculum at private Christian schools?
This is another witch hunt that will damage our relations with Saudi Arabia. Why now? Sounds like another “Turkey.”
It’s about time.
“The report also criticizes the school’s administrative structure, saying it is little more than an offshoot of the Saudi Embassy, with the Saudi ambassador to the United States serving as chairman of the school’s board of directors. The structure “raises serious concerns about whether it is in violation of a U.S. law restricting the activities of foreign embassies.” “
Convenient...
So in the interest of our relationship with the Saudis, we should allow hatred of Jews & Christians to continue to be taught in our country?
This is not unusual. I have served as a US diplomat in Saudi Arabia and sat on the school board of the Saudi-American school. I have done so at other schools around the world as well. The USG provides funding to many international schools and our diplomats sit on their school boards.
“Witch hunt?” Are you saying that something like this isn’t a danger?
Treat furriners in America the same way the furriners treat Americans in their country.
This Commission can only recommend. "The commission, a creation of Congress, has no power to implement policy on its own. Instead, it makes recommendations to other agencies."
"The commission does not offer specific criticism of the academy's teachings beyond its concerns that it too closely mimics a typical Saudi education. The report recommends that the State Department prevail on the Saudi government to shut the school down until the school's textbooks can be reviewed and procedures are put in place to ensure the school's independence form the Saudi Embassy."
There is no proof that this school is teaching "hatred of Jews & Christians" In fact,
""There is nothing in our curriculum against any religion," Al-Shabnan said. He also said he is willing to show the school's curriculum and textbooks to anybody who wants to see them, and he expressed disappointment that the commission did not request materials directly from the school.
"We have an open policy," he said. He also pointed out that many of the school's teachers are Christian and Jewish.
Something like what? Read the entire article. You may have a different perspective.
thanks for the info, that is good to know.
However, it appears to be a conflict of interests if by interfering with the school is viewed as an interference with government issues. The two should be separate issues.
At least that is how I interpreted the statement. Let me know if I understood this incorrectly. thx
C'mon SmoothTalker! Give the guy a break, he's a diplomat after all. Most of the time they're deferring to our "allies", in the name of better relations.
This guy's an apologist for the Wahhabis.
“He also pointed out that many of the school’s teachers are Christian and Jewish. “
This means absolutely nothing to me. My own priest knows nothing about Islam. He’s a leftist, as, I imagine, the Christian & Jewish teachers at the school are.
I don't know exactly what you mean. However, the USG does help fund the training of teachers overseas at International schools and the accreditation of these schools to meet US standards.
It does to me.
What is your point?
"The commission based its findings in part on a the work of a delegation that traveled to Saudi Arabia this year. The commission asked embassy officials to review the textbooks used in Saudi schools generally and at the Islamic Saudi Academy specifically but did not receive a response."
That's the real danger here. It's the unintended consquences that come back and bite you.
I’ll second the motion.
Want to really cause an uproar? Ask for a Christian or Jewish School in any arab country, including saudi arabia. If the same number are built, in saudi, as presently are here via the saudis, there may be understanding....until then.....redneck poot.
even hitlery isn’t that strong....this is America, not a roll over one more time.....people.
“...we should allow hatred of Jews & Christians to continue to be taught in our country?”
We already allow that by groups other than Muslims. Do we shut them all down, or just the Muslims?
“Standing by, to see what the FEDS will do! For sure there won’t be any Christian Fundamentalist schools allowed in Saudi Arabia. What is good for the GOOSE, is good for the GANDER.”
Oooh, what a good idea, let’s act just like the Muslims.
Want to make the arabs go ballistic? Ask for a Christian or Jewish School in their country....tell me if you make it back alive.
What I mean - or how I have interpreted the problem is: We’ve got a Saudi government official sitting on the school board, and then the American government says - ‘hey, we’ve got a problem with this school/curriculum’. If this scenario is considered an interference with the Saudi government because the school board member is a Saudi official - then we have more to deal with than just a school. It appears more red tape to fix the problem because now we are not just fixing a school curriculum, we need to deal with the Saudi government as well.
Will this be the case here?
The Religion of Perpetual Outrage will be...well...Outraged.
so Americans act just like muslims? WOW, I didn't know Americans were flying planes into buildings and strapping on suicide belts....or is this another enlightening statement from the State Department or Homeland Security?
What "other" groups do "we allow" to "[teach] hatred of Jews & Christians" in schools in our country?
Could you list a few specifically?
I wasn’t referrin g specifically to schools, but we “allow” it to be taught online and in other venues. Some of these groups also have their own homeschool programs where no doubt it’s taught, as well.
We have international schools in Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia. They are not Christian or Jewish per se but they do have, in many cases, a US curriculum. In Saudi Arabia, the schools operated like a US school including a mixing of the sexes and an American course of study.
FYI: The Saudi school in McLean must comply with Fairfax County school standards. It is an accredited school.
“so Americans act just like muslims? WOW, I didn’t know Americans were flying planes into buildings and strapping on suicide belts....or is this another enlightening statement from the State Department or Homeland Security?”
I was referring, of course, to the suggestion that we shut down a Muslim school here just because some Muslim countries wouldn’t allow a Christian or Jewish school.
As far a returning the violence, believe me, there are many Freepers who would like to do much worse than a suicide belt to every living Muslim.
Islam is antithetical to our Bill of Rights and our Constitution and should not be supported or encouraged in America.
And yes, you are correct that there are others who are anti-Jew and anti-Christian. If they advocate violence, they should be shut down.
As far as Islamic schools in this country go, it has been shown time and again that many advocate support for terrorist organizations.
Others promote subversion of our system by political means and propaganda. Are you comfortable with that?
“Want to make the arabs go ballistic? Ask for a Christian or Jewish School in their country....tell me if you make it back alive.”
I have no desire or reason to open such a school, so I see no reason to ask for one. Although I do assume that the Christians in places like Lebanon ARE being educated somewhere.
“As far as Islamic schools in this country go, it has been shown time and again that many advocate support for terrorist organizations.”
Links?
Give me a buzz when saudi government has the same religious freedom as America, otherwise the saudis are acting as muslims act, full of hate. America has been extremely tolerant of these people, but the favor is not returned by the muslims, instead it is always death and destruction to the infidel (Americans)....I for one grow tired of the muslims’ trash. The muslims deserve what they dish out to Americans twenty fold....No Christian or Jewish schools in saudi, no mosques in America....simple logic. But believing such is not being tolerant.....to tell you the truth....I do not desire to be tolerant of people whose desire is to kill my family, or other Americans.
“They are not Christian or Jewish per se”
Precisely. They are secular. If they were teaching anything at all against Islam or Muslims, they would be shut down.
you also should have been addressed by post 45...my error
No, but the Saudi government has a right to inquire why they are being singled out by this Commission. The Commission initiated the request to the Embassy, not the other way around.
From the article: The commission asked embassy officials to review the textbooks used in Saudi schools generally and at the Islamic Saudi Academy specifically but did not receive a response.
Commission spokeswoman Judith Ingram said the commission did not request to speak to academy officials because that went beyond the commission's mandate.
The academy is an accredited school meeting the academic requirements of the Fairfax County school system.
I could give you thousands of links from years of studying this issue, but I’m not going to do your homework for you.
I gather you favor closing down all mosques in the US well.
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