Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy
Encyclopedia
Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy (TIZA) is an elementary school
(K-8) in Inver Grove Heights
, Minnesota
named after Tarek ibn Ziyad, the Berber
general of medieval Morroco who entered Gibraltar
in 711 CE on behalf of the Umayyad Caliphate and defeated the Visigoths. The school is sponsored by Islamic Relief USA
. The school has a primarily Muslim student body and has been embroiled in a number of controversies regarding the separation of church and state
. The school has a waiting list of 1,500 students. Around 80% of students are English language learners. Despite this, the school has one of the highest reading scores on standardized tests in the state. As of July 2011 TiZA has been shut down by order of the Minnesota Education Department, due to lack of an approved charter school sponsor.
, Asia
and the Middle East
, and teaches the Arabic language in addition to English
. The school curriculum places an emphasis on the Arabic language. After the school day ends, several optional extracurricular activities are offered. The teaching of Islamic studies after school has generated controversy. The Muslim American Society of Minnesota (MAS-MN), which shares the building with TIZA offers the classes.
The lawsuit also named the Minnesota Department of Education and Islamic Relief, the charter school's authorizer, as co-defendants. A settlement reached in February 2011 between the ACLU and the other defendants included an agreement that Islamic Relief would not to seek to incorporate in Minnesota; under a new state law, this effectively means the out-of-state organization may no longer continue serving as TiZA's authorizer. A separate settlement with the school has not yet been reached.
columnist Katherine Kersten
spurred an inquiry into TiZA by the Minnesota Department of Education after her column suggested the school had violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment
to the United States Constitution
by teaching religion in the schools. The accusation was made by Republican Party activist Amanda Getz, who closely collaborated with Katherine Kersten as part of her ongoing efforts to close down the school.
The Department of Education found that the school had violated some lesser statutes, involving seat time and busing, but that it was not teaching Islam to students.
When a news crew from KSTP-TV
entered the school grounds to ask for a comment about the MDoE findings, school director Asad Zaman and another school official grabbed the crew's camera. Police were already in the area at the time of the incident. No charges against KSTP (for trespassing) or the school officials (for assault) were pursued.
Asad Zaman claims that the school has received threatening telephone and e-mail messages after a newspaper journalist questioned whether the school promotes Islam. CAIR
, an Islamic advocacy group, has filed a complaint with police. Authorities were investigating the messages as possible hate crimes as of April 2008.
Elementary school
An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...
(K-8) in Inver Grove Heights
Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 29,751 people, 11,257 households, and 7,924 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,038.8 people per square mile . There were 11,457 housing units at an average density of 400.1 per square mile...
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
named after Tarek ibn Ziyad, the Berber
Berber people
Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are continuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Historically they spoke the Berber language or varieties of it, which together form a branch...
general of medieval Morroco who entered Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
in 711 CE on behalf of the Umayyad Caliphate and defeated the Visigoths. The school is sponsored by Islamic Relief USA
Islamic Relief USA
Islamic Relief USA™ was founded in California in 1993 as a 501 tax exempt charity involved in international humanitarian relief efforts...
. The school has a primarily Muslim student body and has been embroiled in a number of controversies regarding the separation of church and state
Separation of church and state
The concept of the separation of church and state refers to the distance in the relationship between organized religion and the nation state....
. The school has a waiting list of 1,500 students. Around 80% of students are English language learners. Despite this, the school has one of the highest reading scores on standardized tests in the state. As of July 2011 TiZA has been shut down by order of the Minnesota Education Department, due to lack of an approved charter school sponsor.
Founding
Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy opened in the fall of 2003 for the 2003-2004 school year. The school was founded by its current principal, Asad Zaman and Hesham Hussein, both local imams and leaders of the Muslim American Society of Minnesota (MAS-MN). The school opened with an enrollment of 215 students in grades K-5. The school was very popular and had 765 applicants in the first year.Students
As of the 2006-2007 school year, 302 students attended TIZA. The majority were Black (83%), with Asian (14%) and White (2%) being the other major ethnic groups. Seventy-seven percent of students qualify for Free and Reduced Price Lunch, an indicator of poverty, and the majority (81%) have had limited English proficiency. Four percent of students qualify for special education. The school's math proficiency was 23 percentage points higher than the state average and the school's reading proficiency was 3 percentage points higher than the state average, at 67 percent. Principal Asad Zaman estimates that 80 to 90 percent of students are Muslim.Curriculum
The school's curriculum focuses on historical civilizations in AfricaAfrica
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
, and teaches the Arabic language in addition to English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. The school curriculum places an emphasis on the Arabic language. After the school day ends, several optional extracurricular activities are offered. The teaching of Islamic studies after school has generated controversy. The Muslim American Society of Minnesota (MAS-MN), which shares the building with TIZA offers the classes.
Lawsuit
In January, 2009, describing the Academy as "in essence, a private religious school," Charles Samuelson, executive director of the Minnesota ACLU, announced that the ACLU would file a lawsuit alleging that the Academy promotes the Muslim religion and that its directors illegally use a holding company to channel taxpayer dollars to a religious organization. The suit accuses the school of holding group prayers during school hours, including a 30 minute prayer session on Fridays, allowing teachers to post religious material on classroom bulletin boards, and enforcing Islamic rules on modesty of dress - including sleeves and skirts or trousers of a certain length, on female but not male students and teachers.The lawsuit also named the Minnesota Department of Education and Islamic Relief, the charter school's authorizer, as co-defendants. A settlement reached in February 2011 between the ACLU and the other defendants included an agreement that Islamic Relief would not to seek to incorporate in Minnesota; under a new state law, this effectively means the out-of-state organization may no longer continue serving as TiZA's authorizer. A separate settlement with the school has not yet been reached.
Controversy
Star TribuneStar Tribune
The Star Tribune is the largest newspaper in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is published seven days each week in an edition for the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area. A statewide version is also available across Minnesota and parts of Wisconsin, Iowa, South Dakota, and North Dakota. The...
columnist Katherine Kersten
Katherine Kersten
Katherine Kersten is a conservative columnist who writes for the Minneapolis Star Tribune.-Background:Kersten, a graduate of Notre Dame and Yale universities, began her career as a financial analyst for a Chicago bank. Subsequently, she worked as a budget planner for the University of...
spurred an inquiry into TiZA by the Minnesota Department of Education after her column suggested the school had violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...
to the United States Constitution
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
by teaching religion in the schools. The accusation was made by Republican Party activist Amanda Getz, who closely collaborated with Katherine Kersten as part of her ongoing efforts to close down the school.
The Department of Education found that the school had violated some lesser statutes, involving seat time and busing, but that it was not teaching Islam to students.
When a news crew from KSTP-TV
KSTP-TV
KSTP-TV, channel 5, is the ABC affiliate for the Twin Cities. Its transmitter is located at the Shoreview Telefarm. It is the flagship station of Hubbard Broadcasting, which also owns several other broadcasting properties across the United States....
entered the school grounds to ask for a comment about the MDoE findings, school director Asad Zaman and another school official grabbed the crew's camera. Police were already in the area at the time of the incident. No charges against KSTP (for trespassing) or the school officials (for assault) were pursued.
Asad Zaman claims that the school has received threatening telephone and e-mail messages after a newspaper journalist questioned whether the school promotes Islam. CAIR
CAIR
- Fictional :* Cair Andros, a fictional island in Tolkien's fiction* Cair Paravel, a castle from C. S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia- Acronyms :* Council on American-Islamic Relations, American Muslim civil rights advocacy organization...
, an Islamic advocacy group, has filed a complaint with police. Authorities were investigating the messages as possible hate crimes as of April 2008.
See also
- Free Exercise Clause of the First AmendmentFree Exercise Clause of the First AmendmentThe Free Exercise Clause is the accompanying clause with the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause together read:...
- Separation of church and state in the United StatesSeparation of church and state in the United StatesThe phrase "separation of church and state" , attributed to Thomas Jefferson and others, and since quoted by the Supreme Court of the United States, expresses an understanding of the intent and function of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States...
- Faith-based initiatives
- Board of Education of Kiryas Joel Village School District v. Grumet
- Khalil Gibran International AcademyKhalil Gibran International AcademyThe Khalil Gibran International Academy is a public school in Brooklyn, New York City, New York that opened in September 2007 with about 60 sixth grade students...
- Ethnic-culture based charter school