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A few miles outside of Washington and a stone's throw from Mt. Vernon Plantation - George Washington's home - the Saudi government is teaching Wahhab Islam to hundreds of Muslim-American children. The school, called the Islamic Saudi Academy, is one of an estimated 200-600 in the U.S. that indoctrinate 30,000 students in the teachings of Koran.
Wahhabism is the fundamentalist form of Islam followed by the Wahhab Brotherhood that founded the modern Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Wahhabis revolted against the Islamic Ottoman Empire in the late 1700s. They rejected the authority of the Ottoman Sultan because he did not strictly follow Shari'a, Islamic law based solely on Koran. [for more details see this page, or consult the Cambridge History of Islam]
In the last 50 years, fundamentalist Islam - the idea that the Koran must be literally interpreted and strictly followed as it was in the time of Muhammad - has again begun to dominate the Muslim world. Consequently, the Saudi royal family's lax practices and association with the West have made them a target for fundamental Muslims. The ruling Saudis have attempted to placate their detractors by exporting fundamentalism to places like Pakistan, Afghanistan, and the U.S.
The Washington Post recently reported on ISA. Although reporters were not allowed to attend classes they did manage to interview some students:
Several students of different ages, all of whom asked not to be identified, said that in Islamic studies, they are taught that it is better to shun and even to dislike Christians, Jews and Shiite Muslims.
Some teachers "focus more on hatred" said one teenager, who recited by memory the signs of the coming Day of Judgment [when Jesus will return to lead Muslims in killing all Jews, according to Islam]. "They teach students that whatever is kuffar [non- Muslim], it is okay for you" to hurt or steal from that person.
A Christian who used to teach at ISA, whom we interviewed, said that Islam's rules lead to a bizarre experience for kids, compared to U.S. schools. "There was a little boy and girl from a family in Maryland, about 50 miles from ISA, who both attended the school," the teacher said. "Because Islam prohibits boys and girls from associating with each other, ISA sent two buses to pick up the children every day, one for the little girl and one for the little boy. Because they were the only students from that far away, they rode alone on the buses. During Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting, Muslim athletes would practice or compete and not be able to get even a drink of water."
ISA does not require students to study U.S. history or government and instead offers Arabic social studies. It does require all students to take Islamic Studies, where the Koran and Arabic language are taught. The Christian teacher told us "Non-Muslim teachers are not allowed to be in the classroom when Islamic Studies is taught, and are generally treated as second-class citizens." The reason ISA does not want non-Muslims sitting in is obvious, the Washington Post reports:
The 11th-grade textbook, for example, says one sign of the Day of Judgment will be that Muslims will fight and kill Jews, who will hide behind trees that say: "Oh Muslim, Oh servant of God, there is a Jew hiding behind me. Come here and kill him."
Bracketing the nation's capital, there are about a dozen Islamic schools between Richmond and Baltimore, according to the Post. The Post reports an Islamic Studies teacher at another Muslim school said "We want it to be a place where they [Muslim students] don't have to assimilate, where they can practice their religion." The Posts says:
When she feels she must use material in a popular Pakistani textbook, she said, she makes photocopies of pages she needs and never uses those calling Christian beliefs "nonsense" or portraying Jews as treacherous people who financially "oppress" others. Yahiya Emerick, the author of "What Islam Is All About," said he will soon release a new edition for U.S. audiences that eliminates the tendentious parts.
But that won't eliminate the danger that Islam poses to the U.S. While the textbook author might censor his book, the verses telling Muslims not to take Christians and Jews as friends or to fight them until "all religion is for Allah" will still be in the Koran. [See our four-part briefing on Koran and explanation of why Muslims see the West as evil.]
At ISA, as at other Muslim schools, Israel is blacked out on maps of the world, and "Palestine" is often written in.
A CS member informed us that the plans for ISA originally included a 300 bed dorm, which local residents were able to block. She said "Can you imagine how many Muslim students would have been given visas to "study" in this country?"
In a separate report, the Washington Post says Muslim parents are now organizing PTAs. Compared to the disorganized nature of Christian homeschooling, the organization of Muslim interest groups is sure to affect U.S. public education. If Muslims can add Koran to U.S. public school curriculum, they won't need separate schools.
What We Can Do About This
Even liberal scholars agree that
the West's free markets and political liberty are the result of Judeo-
Christian ideas. America's Founding Fathers made this explicit in our Declaration
of Independence when they staked our claim to freedom on "the Laws of Nature
and of Nature's God."
As this report makes clear, Islam does not share those values. If we want to preserve America's Founding Principles, we must understand what Koran truly teaches, and approach Muslims with love.
We can learn what Koran truly teaches by reading it for ourselves, not relying on opinions expressed on TV. We can approach Muslims with love by developing friendships with them and sharing the Gospel and the Bible with them, as God allows.
To do this, we must read our own Bible, and understand how God's rules create the equality on which democracy depends, and the freedom, prosperity, happiness, and peace that set the West apart from the Muslim world.
Thanks to several CS readers and
members who helped us put this report together.
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