Middle East studies in the News

TIZA Headmaster: We're too incompetent to Operate a Flagpole [on Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy]

by Ed Morrissey
Hot Air
April 10, 2008

http://hotair.com/archives/2008/04/10/tiza-headmaster-were-too-incompetent-to-operate-a-flagpole/

http://www.campus-watch.org/article/id/4980

Yesterday I linked to the Katherine Kersten column about the state-funded madrassa in Minnesota, Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy (TIZA). Today, local ABC affiliate KSTP follows up on the TIZA controversy and uncovers a couple of more issues in its operation within the public-school system. For instance, Minnesota law requires all public schools to fly the American flag, which TIZA does not do. Why?

State law requires the school to fly an American flag during school hours, however no flag flies outside of TIZA Academy.

Zaman told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS he didn't know how to work the flagpole.

One might think that the first order of business at TIZA is to find teachers who can figure out how to work a flagpole. How much training does it require? Even a trial-and-error approach would produce the correct result after a couple of tries. If nothing else, it serves as an intelligence threshold for the education of Minnesota children. Anyone too incompetent to work a rope-and-pulley system has no business teaching anyone anything.

KSTP also reports that TIZA is sponsored by Islamic Relief USA, based in California. TIZA has insisted that it is not a religious organization or sponsored by any religious organizations. The website of the charity outlines many excellent causes, especially educating women around the world. Given that girls in the US have equal access to public and private education as boys, though, one has to wonder why Islamic Relief would choose to spend its resources in Minnesota rather than Malaysia or Pakistan.

Something doesn't add up at TIZA, and it's not just the math program.

Note: Articles listed under "Middle East studies in the News" provide information on current developments concerning Middle East studies on North American campuses. These reports do not necessarily reflect the views of Campus Watch and do not necessarily correspond to Campus Watch's critique.

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