Remember when Katherine Kersten wrote about some perceived irregularities at Tariq Ibn Ziyad Academy (TIZA), an Islamocentric charter school in the southeast ‘burbs of Saint Paul?
George Soros’ minions tut-tutted (when their heads weren’t bursting with ad-homina)
David Brauer snarked “Nothing to see here, wingnuts!”
Even politicians got into the act, all but demanding Kersten be dropped off a bridge in a sack full of cats.
Nothing but calumny for the uppity wingnuts who dared question the left’s “nothing to see here”.
But it’s not over. TIZA is being hauled into court by those bitter, Jesus-clinging gun nuts at…
The suit was filed in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis against Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy, known as TIZA, and the Minnesota Department of Education, which the ACLU says is at fault for failing to uncover and stop the alleged transgressions. The suit names the department and Alice Seagren, the state education commissioner, as co-defendants.The department investigated the Twin Cities school last year, and the school said it had taken corrective actions in response to concerns about the practicing of religion on campus. TIZA said in a written statement on Wednesday that the school is nonsectarian and in compliance with federal and state regulations.
But the ACLU claims the school is using federal and state money to promote religion in violation of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
The moral of the story? Katherine Kersten is, all by herself, a better, smarter journalist than every bought-off Soros-pet “reporter” in the Twin Cities.
Yesterday afternoon, Dan Barrero and Ron Rosenbaum used this same story to note that now all of the wingnuts will be confounded because they will either have to be for prayer in schools or on the same side with the dreaded ACLU. One or the other. Black and white.
It’s good to be them I guess – you get to nuance every issue so that you come out looking hip, happy and shiny (headed).
Let me guess, it took Barreiro twenty minutes and two commercial breaks to finally get to his point?
Katherine Kersten is, all by herself, a better, smarter journalist than every bought-off Soros-pet “reporter” in the Twin Cities.
Talk about damning with faint praise!
That’s like comparing the NY Yankees to the Toledo Mudhens — they just aren’t playing in the same league!
I have never been prourder of my country or of the ACLU than I am today.
I stand here, humbled by the greatness of our democratic experiment, humbled by the wisdom of its founders, and grateful for the fortune of my birth into it.
I stand here with tears in my eyes, watching a wonderful, articulate, left-leaning organization take TIZA to task.
I know some find this faith, this exhultant joy, to be mysterious. They feel our faith is both unfounded, and grounded in a lack of fact or wisdom.
I know they have three more fingers pointing back at them.
I’m with Badda on this one.
You’re with Pernicious Peev on this one. 😉
Peev,
Since the ACLU is taking the case, on exactly the grounds Scott Johnson (to say nothing of Kersten) spelled out, I gotta ask you: Is Johnson still guilty of “legal malpractice?”
Is he still unqualified to read Minnesota education statutes?
What does your neighbor, the editor of the Harvard Law Review, say?
As long as they keep to Quranic references to Issa, I don’t see what the problem is.
Is Issa’s name,
/jc
Issa not so bad.
Issa nice-a place.
Ah, shaddap-a you face.
That’s pretty darn funny right there.
Taking the Lord’s name in snark.
/jc
My problem with Kersten was she focused on TIZA and ignored any similar Christian activities at public schools. I was all for investigating all of them, and I’m glad you guys can finally get behind the ACLU for once.
I’m actually always behind the ideal of the ACLU. It’s their practice that irritates me.
They have yet to file their first suit in support of the Second Amendment, for example.
I wish the ACLU would either live up to Nat Hentoff’s example and put their money where their mouths are in re civil liberties in general, or change its name to something more appropriate: the American White Guilt-ridden Upper-Class Liberal Civil Liberties Union (AWGRUCLCU).
Either one is fine.
Also, DiscoStoo:
any similar Christian activities at public schools
Please elaborate.
I’m not aware of any public schools where any such thing is an issue.
As I wrote when this issue first came up, there are quite a number of charter schools that are designed on the traditional Catholic school model; Friends of Ascenscion is one of them. However, to the best of my knowledge they took the model and left out the overt Catholicism. Given how closely any publicly-funded enterprise is scrutinized for even the faintest hint of the “c” word, I’d be pretty amazed if FoA or any other charter schools came remotely close to what TiZA is alleged to have done.
Not to say it hasn’t happened; I’d just say the burden of proof is on the accuser.
I’ll be fair and say that Kersten’s job didn’t include covering other states. Minnesota is quite good at keeping forced religious activities out of schools. I’ll also go ahead and say right now that I have no instances at my immediate disposal. I’m not admitting it doesn’t happen, but I can’t give you specific instances at the moment.
I have no experience with Magnet schools, and only caught one news article on this. The academic performance was an improvement on the usual public school stats, but the requirement for female teachers and students to wear long sleeves and clothing which covered them to their ankles did concern me as being consistent with a very specific religion based requirement. I didn’t see anything in the news that addressed mandatory wearing of head covering by female students or staff, but the dress codes sure seems religion specific.
I have no problem with that kind of dress code being voluntary, but mandatory? No way!
I went to the MAS website, the Islamic organization that is connected to the TIZA school. (FYI – head scarves ARE optional for students, no info on optional for adults; the rest of the dress code appears to be mandatory.)
One of the groups they promote on their website is the ACLU…. wonder how long that organization will continue to be featured?
Pingback: The Imam’s Advocate: The Good News | Shot in the Dark