The Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy, a public charter school in Inver Grove, MN that “offers tuition-free education to all students upon admission” is in full swing with Islamic centered traditions at taxpayer’s expense.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that the school serves halal food- Islamic permissible food-and that students participate in ritual washing and prayers. It offers Islamic studies and requires students to study Arabic as a second language. The school’s calendar also reflects that it is closed for an entire week in October in observance of the Muslim holiday of Ramadan.
In response to concerns, the school claims that its Islamic study classes are conducted after school hours. But the Star Tribune reports the school has in effect extended the school day, and that buses leave only after Islamic studies are over.
A Star Tribune article prompted a state investigation into the school when a substitute teacher came forward about the school practices. “I’ve been in a lot of schools and I’ve never been in a school where they had washing rituals, or they had prayer, or where they had a room where you had to take your shoes off,” she said.
“If Christians tried to do this-and for that matter, even if Jews tried to do something in the public school in a slightly undercover way-we couldn’t get away with it,” said the founder and director of Minneapolis-based Olive Tree Ministries, Jan Markell. “The ACLU and others would be all over us.”
In spite of all evidence to the contrary, TIZA Executive Director Azad Zaman maintains that “TIZA does not endorse any religion.” It will take more than a two day “Spring/Easter” penciled in on the school calender to convince most people of that.