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==Programs== |
==Programs== |
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The Islamic Saudi Academy curriculum includes Islamic studies, Islam for beginners, Arabic language, Arabic ASL, Mathematics, Science, Language Arts, Computers, Art, English, Social Studies, and Physical Education. The school also has an [[Advanced |
The Islamic Saudi Academy curriculum includes Islamic studies, Islam for beginners, Arabic language, Arabic ASL, Mathematics, Science, Language Arts, Computers, Art, English, Social Studies, and Physical Education. The school also has an [[Advanced Placement Program]] and an [[English language learning and teaching|English as a second language]] program. <ref>http://www.saudiacademy.net/html/about_ISA.html</ref> |
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==Athletics== |
==Athletics== |
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The ISA is a member of the Northern Virginia Independent Athletic Conference (NVIAC), and participates in the [[basketball]], [[volleyball]] and [[soccer]] [[sports |
The ISA is a member of the Northern Virginia Independent Athletic Conference (NVIAC), and participates in the [[basketball]], [[volleyball]] and [[soccer]] [[sports league|leagues]], fielding both boys' and girls' [[varsity team]]s. The school has 22 football fields. <ref>http://www.saudiacademy.net/html/fastfacts.html</ref> |
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==Extra-curriculars== |
==Extra-curriculars== |
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The school participates in various educational and leadership-oriented extracurricular activities. There is an annual [[science fair]] and a [[William Shakespeare|Shakespearian]] drama program. Students are active participants in the [[Model United Nations]] program, the [[Presidential |
The school participates in various educational and leadership-oriented extracurricular activities. There is an annual [[science fair]] and a [[William Shakespeare|Shakespearian]] drama program. Students are active participants in the [[Model United Nations]] program, the [[Presidential classroom]] program, [[FBLA-PBL|Future Business Leaders of America]], and various other programs. <ref>http://www.saudiacademy.net/html/about_ISA.html</ref> |
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==Controversy== |
==Controversy== |
Revision as of 00:36, 19 September 2006
The Islamic Saudi Academy is a prep school in Virginia, accredited with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. It has classes from pre-kindergarten to twelfth grade, and has a current enrollment of more than 900 students. [1]
Overview
The school was founded in 1984 with the goal of becoming a premier academic establishment while also learning about Islam and Arabic. It has campuses in Alexandria and Fairfax, Virginia. The Fairfax campus contains the pre-kindergarten to second grade classes, while the Alexandria branch holds the third through twelfth grades. The school is bilingual, with classes in English and Arabic, and a combined American and Middle-Eastern curriculum. Classes are segregated from third grade onwards. The school holds a chapter of the National Honor Society. [2]
Programs
The Islamic Saudi Academy curriculum includes Islamic studies, Islam for beginners, Arabic language, Arabic ASL, Mathematics, Science, Language Arts, Computers, Art, English, Social Studies, and Physical Education. The school also has an Advanced Placement Program and an English as a second language program. [3]
Athletics
The ISA is a member of the Northern Virginia Independent Athletic Conference (NVIAC), and participates in the basketball, volleyball and soccer leagues, fielding both boys' and girls' varsity teams. The school has 22 football fields. [4]
Extra-curriculars
The school participates in various educational and leadership-oriented extracurricular activities. There is an annual science fair and a Shakespearian drama program. Students are active participants in the Model United Nations program, the Presidential classroom program, Future Business Leaders of America, and various other programs. [5]
Controversy
The ISA has repeatedly been accused of promoting terrorism; it was nicknamed 'Terror High' by the Philadelphia Enquirer[6].,
On February 23, 2005, New York Senator Chuck Schumer said, "We need to know if the Islamic Saudi Academy is another example of the Saudi government turning a blind eye to terrorism. I hope that the ISA is not another madrassa in the United States."
Schumer sent a letter to Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan[1] and another letter to U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales[2].
Textbook passages
First-grade textbooks state "that all religions, other than Islam, are false, including that of the Jews, Christians and all others."
Eighth-grade textbooks refer to Christians and Jews as "apes and pigs."
Eleventh-grade ISA Islamic studies, a required class, textbooks instruct Muslims that they must "fight and kill Jews, who hide behind trees that say, 'Oh Muslim, Oh Servant of God, here is a Jew hiding behind me. Come here and kill him.'"[3]
Students must recite the Pledge of Allegiance as, "One nation under Allah, indivisible, with justice and liberty for all, Inshallah."
The Washington Post reported:
"Several students of different ages, all of whom asked not to be identified, said that in Islamic studies, they are taught that it is better to shun and even to dislike Christians, Jews and Shiite Muslims. Some teachers "focus more on hatred" said one teenager, who recited by memory the signs of the coming Day of Judgment [when Jesus will return to lead Muslims in killing all Jews, according to Islam]. "They teach students that whatever is kuffar [non-Muslim], it is okay for you" to hurt or steal from that person."
Kamal Nawash, a Muslim and president of the Free Muslim Coalition Against Terrorism asked, "How much longer can they argue that all of these people related to terrorism are just falling through the cracks? There must be an environment there that is tolerant of the kind of extremism that leads to this kind of activity."
Notable individuals connected to ISA
- Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, valedictorian of the academy in 1999, is being held on charges of providing material support to the al Qaeda terrorist network.
- Ismail Selim El Barasse, a 51 year-old accountant from Falls Church, Virginia, who served as comptroller for ISA for 14 years, is in prison in New York for refusing to appear before a grand jury investigating money laundering. Barasse helped funnel $820,000 from a Saudi company to Hamas, a terrorist organization.
- Two former students at the school were denied entry into Israel in 2001 when federal officials found they were carrying a "farewell letter" in anticipation of a suicide mission. One of the two, Mohammed Asman Idris, said that the September 11, 2001 attacks were acceptable because of the United States' mistreatment of Muslims.[4]
- Susan L. Douglass, a social studies teacher and social studies-text writer, wrote texts for International Institute of Islamic Thought, a now defunct organization (as of 2002 when federal authorities raided its office) that funneled money to terrorist organizations, between 1988 to 1994.[5]