Legitimizing "Terror High" Intolerance

This AP story courtesy of the San Diego Tribune tells us that the Islamic Saudi Academy K-12 school in Fairfax County, VA should be closed pending a review of its curriculum and textbooks based on a recommendation from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (which includes a chairperson and two vice chairs).

The story also tells us…

The teachers, administrators and some 900 students at the Islamic Saudi Academy in Fairfax County have heard the (terror high) allegations for years – after the Sept. 11 attacks and then a few years later when a class valedictorian admitted he had joined al-Qaeda.

OK, that’s not a good thing, I’ll grant you that. But before we rush to judgment here, I would ask that we think about how many students from the entire school have joined an organization that encourages killing Americans and all non-Muslims; if it’s only a fraction of the student body, then what is the issue exactly? Don’t non-Muslims join al Qaeda or related groups also?

The story also tells us…

…many people familiar with the school say the accusations are unfounded. Fairfax County Supervisor Gerald Hyland, whose district includes the academy, has defended it and arranged for the county to review the textbooks to put questions to rest. That review is under way. The academy's Alexandria campus is leased from Fairfax County.

Schools that regularly compete against the academy in interscholastic sports – many of them small, private Christian schools – are among the academy's strongest defenders.

Robert Mead, soccer coach at Bryant Alternative High School, a public school in the Alexandria section of Fairfax county, said the academy's reputation has been unfairly marred by people who haven't even bothered to visit the school.

“We've never had one altercation” with the academy's players on the soccer field, Mead said. “My guys are hostile. Their guys keep fights from breaking out.”

The story notes that school students (most of whom are Christian, by the way, along with the faculty) worry that news accounts casting the Academy in a negative light could hurt their college applications.

In addition, the story also tells us that 12 senators are trying to shut down the school, including Dem Chuck Schumer and Repug Jon Kyl (not a combination that makes me sympathetic here, I should point out). And in so doing, they argue (along with other members of Congress) that this would comply with the recommendation of the commission.

This begs the question to yours truly, by the way – exactly what is this commission and who serves on it?

Well, it was created in 1998 under President Clinton in response to the 40th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the commission’s intent was to make recommendations to the State Department regarding countries that violated religious freedom.

All good so far, but as you can read here, Michael Cromartie was elected chair of the commission in 2007 after Dubya named him to the commission. Here’s more on Cromartie…

Cromartie is Vice President of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, where he directs the Evangelicals in Civic Life program and the Media and Religion program. Cromartie, who has served previously as Chair and Vice Chair of the Commission, is also a Senior Advisor to The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life and a Senior Fellow with The Trinity Forum.

And this describes Cromartie as…

… Vice President of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, a Washington-based think tank dedicated to applying the Judeo-Christian moral tradition to public policy issues.

I don’t know about you, but that description definitely doesn’t fill me with confidence.

And as noted from the Dallas News link, the one vice chair, Richard D. Land…

…is president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. He hosts three nationally syndicated radio programs: For Faith & Family, For Faith & Family’s Insight, and Richard Land Live! He is also Executive Editor of FFV, a magazine covering traditional religious values, Christian ethics, and cultural trends, and is the author of several books, most recently The Divided States of America? (2007).

The other vice chair, Preeta Bansal, is a lawyer with extensive experience in public and private practice and has served on the advisory boards of various human rights organizations. The Dallas News article describes the other commission members.

So what we appear to have is a commission with two of Bushco’s evangelical simpatico types forming a majority over a third who appears to actually understand what the commission is supposed to be all about (yes, I know I’m “painting with a broad brush” here, but anyone who can prove me wrong is definitely invited to do so; it’s just that this fits the same tiresome, repetitive Bushco pattern).

And by the way, it seems like the commission has overlooked alleged abuses of religious freedom against Muslims and Christians in Israel as noted here (and I know this article has some inflammatory language and generalizations, but again, if the substance is wrong, proof would be nice).

So it sounds to me like the stated purpose of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has been compromised somewhat from its original intent upon its formation in 1998 to the point where it is now a tool of wingnuttia to a degree that I cannot truly determine at this point (which I’m sure is just fine with Schumer and Kyl).

And I also think there are individuals in this story betraying the ideals of what our country stands for. And I’m not talking about the vast majority of the kids at the academy either.