Columnist Says Islam Is Central In Minnesota Charter School

Columnist Katherine Kersten in last Sunday's Minneapolis Star Tribune discusses a cultural identity publicly-funded charter school operating in Minnesota's Twin Cities area. The Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy (TIZA) enrolls around 300 children in grades K-8. The school has a waiting list of 1500, and last fall it opened a second campus. Most enrollees are children of Muslim immigrant families. The school says that it focuses on "traditions, histories, civilizations and accomplishments of the eastern world (Africa, Asia and Middle East)." Kersten says, however, that "the line between religion and culture is often blurry. There are strong indications that religion plays a central role at TIZA." Its co-founders were imams. The school shares a building with the Muslim American Society of Minnesota and a mosque. After-school Islamic studies are offered in the same building. Indeed, the school was originally envisioned as a private Islamic school.