Scott Johnson at Power Line posted this story on February 28.  This is a story about Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy K-8 public charter school in suburban St. Paul.  The ACLU has sued the school challenging the legality of the fact that the school is a public school paid for by public funds.  This is one of the very few times I agree with the ACLU.

According to the article:

“…the school’s principal is an imam and almost all of its students are Muslim. It is housed in a building that was owned originally by the Muslim American Society of Minnesota (I’m not sure who owns it now). The school has in any event had a mutually beneficial relationship with MAS Minnesota since the school’s inception. The study of Arabic is required at the school. The Arabic comes in handy for the Koranic studies that follow the regular school day.”

I don’t have a problem with the concept of the school–it is the Muslim equivalent of a Catholic School.  The problem is that it is publicly funded with taxpayer money. 

The progression of the lawsuit provides insight into how some Muslims have used our legal system against us:

“Discussing the lawsuit, ACLU Minnesota executive director Chuck Samuelson observed: “The issue with TiZA, frankly, was the incredible commingling of church and state. It’s a theocratic school. It is as plain as the substantial nose on my face.” As a result of Samuelson’s statement of the ACLU Minnesota’s position in the lawsuit, TiZA alleged that Samuelson and the ACLU had defamed it, asserting several counterclaims against the ACLU Minnesota for amounts in excess of $100,000 (i.e., an unlimited amount).”

Although I appreciate the work the ACLU is doing on this case, there should never have been a legal case.  The public officials who set up the school and allowed it to function as a religious school paid for by public money need to be put out of office.  TiZA (as the school is known) has been charged by a local newspaper reporter with intimidating anyone who attempts to bring their existence into the public spotlight and discouraging witnesses in the case to testify.

The article concludes:

“The pending lawsuit is important, and not just for the result to which it might give rise when it is concluded. Along the way it is producing revelations that deserve attention regardless of the result.”

Again, I do not question the right to run a religious school, I do question the right to run a publicly funded religious school.