Islamic Saudi Academy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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]
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[edit] Overview
- See also: Single-sex school
The school was founded in 1984. It has campuses in Alexandria and Fairfax, Virginia. The Fairfax campus has pre-kindergarten through first grade classes and the Alexandria campus has grades two through twelve. 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 Prince Bandar chapter of the National Honor Society.[1]
[edit] Programs and activities
The school's 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. [1]
The ISA is a member of the Northern Virginia Independent Athletic Conference (NVIAC), and participates in the basketball and soccer leagues, fielding both boys' and girls' varsity teams. The school has 3 football fields. [2] The school is a supporter of the Mount Vernon Youth Athletic Association, an all-volunteer community program that uses athletics to teach discipline and good citizenship to area youths.
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. [1]
[edit] Controversy
The ISA has repeatedly been accused of promoting terrorism. The tabloid Philadelphia Daily News nicknamed ISA 'Terror High'.[3]
On February 23, 2005, the day after Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, ISA's valedictorian in 1999, was indicted on terrorism charges, New York Senator Charles Schumer issued a press release questioning whether the ISA was "another madrassa". Madrassa is the Arabic word for school. Senator Schumer sent letters to Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan and U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.[4]
In October 2007, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom urged the US State Department to shut down the ISA on the grounds it teaches religious intolerance. The Commission accused the ISA of promoting religious intolerance that could prove a danger to the United States. The Commission was not able to review the ISA's teaching materials because ISA officials refused to make them available. In response ISA official stated that they had removed offensive passages from the books the previous summer, but did not explain why they had refused to make the books available to the Commission.[5]
[edit] Textbook passages
Eighth-grade textbooks refer to Christians and Jews as "ahl alkitab" (people of the book). Jay Leno has recently used this in his opening sketch on His February 8, 2007 episode
[edit] Notable individuals connected to ISA
- Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, valedictorian of the academy in 1999, was convicted on charges of providing material support to the al Qaeda terrorist network. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison. His defense team argued that his first confession in Saudi Arabia had been extracted under torture, but the judge ruled his confession admissible. His defense team is appealing the decision.[6][7]
- Susan L. Douglass, a former social studies teacher at the school, wrote social studies textbooks for the International Institute of Islamic Thought. The Institute was raided by the FBI in 2002 in relation to suspected terrorist links.[8]
- Ayman Shawky, a former footballer and a participant in the 1990 World Cup, is now a a teacher in the physical education department and is also the coach of the varsity soccer team.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d http://www.saudiacademy.net/html/about_ISA.html
- ^ http://www.saudiacademy.net/html/fastfacts.html
- ^ Bunch, William. "EX-VALEDICTORIAN AT 'TERROR HIGH' NAMED IN PLOT TO KILL BUSH", Philadelphia Daily News, 2005-02-23, pp. 11-14. Retrieved on 2006-10-11.
- ^ senate.gov
- ^ Salmon JL and Strauss V. "State Dept. Urged to Shut Saudi School in Fairfax." Washington Post, October 19, 2007
- ^ BBC NEWS | World | Americas | US man guilty of Bush death plot
- ^ FindLaw's Writ - Cassel: The Strange Case of Ahmed Omar Abu Ali
- ^ Look who's teaching
Johnny about Islam
