Posted on 08/30/2009 5:18:18 PM PDT by kingattax
State officials are examining whether public money has been improperly used to pay for Islamic mosques on charter school campuses in Blaine and Inver Grove Heights.
Chas Anderson, deputy commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Education, said officials will study Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy's (TiZA) use of state "lease aid'' grants, which were created more than a decade ago to help charter schools rent adequate facilities.
"If it is subsidizing a mosque, in our view, that would be a violation of state and federal law,'' Anderson said.
The probe is the latest in a series of church-vs.-state conflicts involving TiZA and several Islamic nonprofit organizations with ties to the charter school.
Anderson said the inquiry was sparked by a lawsuit filed against the school this year by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Minnesota, which claims taxpayer dollars paid to TiZA are unconstitutionally promoting religion.
(Excerpt) Read more at startribune.com ...
The ACLU has actually faced off with the Moose?
Previously...
http://www.investigativeproject.org/blog/2009/07/tiza-in-a-tizzy
“TIZA in a Tizzy”
by IPT News
Jul 22, 2009 at 11:46 am
SNIPPET: “A federal court ruling in Minnesota clears the way for a lawsuit alleging a charter school operated by the Muslim American Society there is in violation of U.S. Constitution’s Establishment Clause.
As we reported in January, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) sued the Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy (TIZA) in Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota. The lawsuit, also named the Minnesota Department of Education as a defendant. It claims TIZA operates substantially as a religious public school and in violation of the 1st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
A judge dismissed the Department of Education from the suit but allowed claims against the school to continue.
On July 19, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune writer Katherine Kersten reported the ongoing ACLU lawsuit may shed light on the notably secretive TIZA. The school maintains a direct affiliation with the Muslim American Society in Minnesota (MAS-MN) and a MAS-linked property holding company is reportedly involved in providing funds from rent received from the state, to MAS-MN.
MAS was created as an American extension of the Muslim Brotherhood, whose stated goal is the establishment of a worldwide Islamic Caliphate under Sharia law. Perhaps it’s not surprising, then, that the complaint alleges “MAS Minnesota Property Holding Corp. donates rent that it receives to MAS-MN, thus effectively transferring government funds intended by the State ... for charter schools to a sectarian organization devoted to the advancement of Islam.”
The Star-Tribune noted the connection between Hassan Mohamud, an official of both TIZA and MAS-MN, and the Minnesota Dawah Institute in St. Paul, where he is the Imam. The Dawah Institute is the focus of an inquiry into the disappearances of a number of young Somali men who may have gone to Somalia to engage in the ongoing Islamic terror war being waged there.
A particularly important part of the Court’s ruling specifically states the plaintiffs’ establishment clause claims against TIZA are worthy of further litigation:”
It’s noteworthy to go to the link in post no. 4 and read the original article with hpertext links included.
"In letters written late Friday, TiZA threatened to sue the state for $1.5 million on defamation charges for publicly disclosing the investigation."
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What difference does it make whether our government or the Saudi government is funding the expansion of Islamic mosques in the US?
BOTH are a violation of the separation of church and state. Really our public should not have to contend with a foreign government pushing theocracy in America.
or islamic socialism
Technically, Muslims who have legitimate business being in America are asking for the mosques. Local contractors who build the buildings are not going to be picky about where the moolah came from.
Warring sects may be a greater danger to us.
a lawsuit filed against the school this year by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Minnesota, which claims taxpayer dollars paid to TiZA are unconstitutionally promoting religion
why does the state allow charter schools that are for kids who are islamic, but not for kids who are Catholic or Lutheran?? I’ve been wonder that ever since the charter school was opened up here in Rochester. The things that make you go hmmmm.
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Uh oh. The ACLU accidentally did something useful.
Heavens, not in the blue state of Minnesota that takes pride in our 5th district representative and the funniest comedian for a Senator. /s
Just don't tote a canine and/or a bottle if in need of a cab...
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