Katherine Kersten: TiZA vs. the search for truth (Minnesota Madrassa threatens ACLU)

Star Tribune ^ | 10/16/2010 | Katherine Kersten

[mojito]

The battle over the role of Islam in a Minnesota public school is heating up again in a federal courtroom in St. Paul. The conflict began in January 2009, when the ACLU of Minnesota sued Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy -- a K-8 charter school with campuses in Inver Grove Heights and Blaine -- for violating constitutional prohibitions against government endorsement of religion.

TiZA since has fought tooth and nail -- erecting procedural barriers to prevent the ACLU from investigating what goes on behind its doors. The school's tactics have gone far beyond the usual rough-and-tumble of lawyers in our adversary system. Its chief tool has been attempted intimidation of all who would draw back the curtain on its secrets.

One of TiZA's first targets was the ACLU itself. A few months after the suit began, the school filed a $100,000-plus defamation claim, citing ACLU executive director Chuck Samuelson's simple statement that "[TiZA is] a theocratic school ... as plain as the substantial nose on my face." The court dismissed the claim.

In January 2010, the ACLU was back in court to seek a protective order, on grounds that intimidation by TiZA was discouraging potential witnesses from appearing. The ACLU filed affidavits by a former TiZA parent and a former TiZA staff member, who described what they interpreted as threats of violence against them.

[MrsPatriot]

It’s all well and good that TIZA is out of business and that the Minnesota Department of Education has agreed to “enforce the damn law;“ but that’s not enough. They need to make sure charter schools like this don’t get established to the point that they need to be monitored for compliance. The fact that they accepted forged documents is the most appalling part of this story to me. This is another example of the gross incompetence of government bureaucracy.