Islamic Saudi Academy Explained

Islamic Saudi Academy
Native Name:الاكاديمية الاسلامية السعودية
Streetaddress:Main: 8333 Richmond Highway, Mount Vernon, Virginia 22309
West: 11121 Pope's Head Rd, Fairfax, Virginia 22030
Url:www.saudiacademy.net
Principal:Abdulrahman Alghofaili
Fundingtype:Private
Grades:Pre-K–12
Language:English and Arabic
Campus:Suburban
Founded:1984
Closed:2016

The Islamic Saudi Academy of Washington (Arabic: الاكاديمية الاسلامية السعودية) was an International Baccalaureate (IB) World university preparatory school in Northern Virginia, accredited with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and authorized by IB in December 2008.[1] It had classes from pre-kindergarten to twelfth grade, and had a final enrollment of more than 1,200 students.[2]

The academy was funded by the Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Washington, D.C.[3] In 2011, ISA graduated its first international baccalaureate class. Four students received their full IB diploma and one of them was able to earn bilingual diploma. As of 2007, approximately 30% of the roughly 1,000 students were Saudi Arabian citizens. The school closed in 2016, replaced by the new King Abdullah Academy later that year.

Overview

See also: Single-sex school. The school was founded in 1984 by the Government of Saudi Arabia. Located in Fairfax County, Virginia, the school offered instruction from pre-kindergarten through twelve. The school was bilingual, with mandatory classes in English and Arabic. However, they also offered other languages such as Spanish.

History

The school was founded in August 1984 by a decree of King Fahd and originally served grades K–6.[4] The Saudi government purchased the 34-acre campus of the former Fairfax Christian School in Fairfax from owner Robert L. Thoburn for $3 million as a site for the school.

The school proved so popular that by 1986 the school rented the former Dunn Loring Elementary School, which had closed in 1978, to provide space for its burgeoning student body.[5]

Following the leasing of the Dunn Loring site, the school expanded its education program to include grades 7–12.[6]

When the lease on the Dunn Loring site expired, the school leased the former Mount Vernon High School in Mount Vernon, Virginia, near Alexandria,[7] [8] spending $5 million to renovate the nearly 50-year-old building.[9] [10] The academy moved into the Alexandria site in 1989.[11] For much of its history it maintained two campuses: the main campus near Alexandria and the West Campus in Fairfax Station, near Fairfax.[12] [13]

In December 2015 there were plans for the school to move to a new campus near Herndon.[14]

The original ISA closed in June 2016,[15] and the new King Abdullah Academy near Herndon opened in Fall 2016.[16]

Programs and activities

The school's curriculum included Islamic studies, Islam for beginners, Arabic language, Arabic ASL, Mathematics, Science, Language Arts, Computers, Art, English, Social Studies, and Physical Education. The school also had an Advanced Placement Program and an English as a second language program. The school also had the IB program and offered IB English A1 + B, IB Arabic A1+B, IB Biology HL, IB Math HL + SL, IB Art, IB History HL+SL, and IB Psychology, so its students can graduate with an IB diploma.

The ISA is a member of the Northern Virginia Independent Athletic Conference (NVIAC), and participates in the basketball and soccer leagues, fielding both boys' and girls' varsity teams. The school has 3 football fields.[17] The school was a supporter of the Mount Vernon Youth Athletic Association, an all-volunteer community program that uses athletics to teach discipline and good citizenship to area youths. They also had a Teen center for students to improve at sports.

The school participated in various educational and leadership-oriented extracurricular activities. There was an annual science fair and a Shakespearian drama program. Students were active participants in the Model United Nations program, the Presidential Classroom program, and various other programs.

Controversy

ISA has been accused of promoting religious intolerance.

On February 23, 2005, the day after Ahmed Omar Abu Ali was indicted on terrorism charges, New York Senator Charles Schumer issued a press release questioning whether the ISA was "another madrassa" (i.e. a school teaching radical Islamic theology. Madrassa is the Arabic word for school, but in English the term usually refers more narrowly to Islamic institutions of learning.) Senator Schumer sent letters to Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan and U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.[18]

In October 2007, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom urged the US State Department to shut down ISA on the grounds it teaches religious intolerance. The Commission accused the ISA of promoting religious intolerance that could prove a danger to the United States. In response ISA officials stated that they had removed offensive passages from the books the previous summer, but did not explain why the Saudi embassy officials had refused to personally make the books available to the Commission.[19] Officials of ISA criticized the USCIRF, saying that the panel unfairly damaged the school's reputation, and invited the commission members to review the books; an offer which was refused. According to the Commission chair he did not take up the academy's offer of making the book available because academy officials wanted mutually acceptable scholars and translators to review the textbooks.[20]

Textbook passages

In June 2008, another USCIRF report stated that textbooks at ISA teach students that it is permissible for Muslims to kill adulterers and converts from Islam, and also teach that, "The Jews conspired against Islam and its people."[21] [22] [23] ISA officials issued a press relate stating that the aforementioned textbooks are sorely outdated, and once again invited the USCIRF to visit its campus to review more recent materials. The rejection of such an offer it stated would lead the ISA to doubt the intentions of the investigation.[24]

Land lease

ISA's campus was leased from the Fairfax County government on a year-to-year lease, and the issue has occasionally been raised that perhaps Fairfax should not continue leasing the land if the ISA's textbooks do promote terrorism or intolerance. On June 23, 2008, Fairfax County's Board of Supervisors made a formal request to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to determine if Fairfax County should continue to lease the land.[25]

Notable individuals connected to ISA

See also

American schools in Saudi Arabia:

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Islamic Saudi Academy. ibo.org. August 28, 2009.
  2. Web site: Archived copy . 2006-09-19 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20060825000209/http://www.saudiacademy.net/html/about_ISA.html . 2006-08-25 .
  3. McEvers, Kelly. "Americans Complain About a Saudi School in Suburban Virginia ." Slate. Tuesday September 8, 2009. Retrieved on November 5, 2009.
  4. News: Clifford. George III. Cultures Mix in Fairfax. The Washington Post. 21 December 1984. 10 September 2015.
  5. News: Saudis to Rent Va. School. 10 May 1986. .
  6. News: Mansfield. Virginia. Vacant School May be Renovated, Leased. The Washington Post. 21 July 1988. 10 September 2015.
  7. "About ISA". The Islamic Saudi Academy of Washington. Retrieved on July 25, 2016. "8333 Richmond Highway, Alexandria, Virginia 22309".
  8. "2010 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Mount Vernon CDP, VA" (Archive). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on July 25, 2016.
  9. Mansfield incorrectly gives the age of the former Mount Vernon High School as 51 years. MVHS opened in 1939.
  10. News: Mansfield. Virginia. Saudi Academy to Fund Fairfax School Face Lift. The Washington Post. 4 August 1988. 10 September 2015.
  11. News: Downey. Kirstin. Board Extends Saudi School's Lease. 22 May 2008. 10 September 2015.
  12. https://web.archive.org/web/20080509165720/http://www.saudiacademy.net/ Home page
  13. "2010 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Fairfax Station CDP, VA" (Archive). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on July 25, 2016.
  14. Olivo, Antonio. "With Saudi school headed to Herndon area, Mt. Vernon site use is uncertain ." Washington Post. December 7, 2015. Retrieved on July 25, 2016.
  15. http://www.saudiacademy.net/ Home page
  16. "Overview ." King Abdullah Academy. Retrieved on July 25, 2016.
  17. Web site: Archived copy . 2006-09-19 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20060912162421/http://www.saudiacademy.net/html/fastfacts.html . 2006-09-12 .
  18. https://www.senate.gov/~schumer/SchumerWebsite/pressroom/press_releases/2005/PR41490.VAIslamicSchool.022305.html senate.gov
  19. News: Salmon. Jacqueline L.. Strauss. Valerie. State Dept. Urged to Shut Saudi School in Fairfax. The Washington Post. 19 October 2007. 10 September 2015.
  20. News: Strauss. Valerie. School Officials Say U.S. Panel's Call for Closure Hurt Image. The Washington Post. 16 November 2007. 10 September 2015. Washington Post article about ISA's response to USCIRF report from October 2007
  21. Saudi Arabia: USCIRF Confirms Material Inciting Violence, Intolerance Remains in Textbooks Used at Saudi Government's Islamic Saudi Academy. United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. Washington. 11 June 2008. 10 September 2015.
  22. News: Hume. Brit. Homegrown Hate. . 13 June 2008. 10 September 2015.
  23. News: Gienger. Viola. Saudi Academy's Books Promote Violence, Intolerance, Panel Says . . 11 June 2008. 10 September 2015.
  24. http://www.saudiacademy.net//html/pressrelease1.html ISA press release
  25. News: Gardner. Amy. Board Seeks Input on Islamic School. The Washington Post. 24 June 2008. 10 September 2015. Article discussing Fairfax County's request to the State Dept. regarding the land lease to the ISA.
  26. News: Court upholds conviction in Bush al Qaeda plot . Vicini . James . June 6, 2008 . . December 20, 2020 . "A U.S. appeals court on Friday upheld the conviction of an American citizen for plotting to assassinate President George W. Bush and conspiring with al Qaeda, rejecting his claims that he had been tortured into confessing by the Saudi police. As part of its ruling, the appeals court based in Richmond, Virginia, overturned Ahmed Abu Ali's 30-year prison sentence on the grounds it was unreasonably lenient and sent the case back for resentencing." . https://web.archive.org/web/20201220180622/https://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN0643022620080606 . December 20, 2020 . live.
  27. News: Israel Blocked Entry Of Two N.Va. Men . Masters . Brooke . March 27, 2002 . . December 20, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201031113147/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2002/03/27/israel-blocked-entry-of-two-nva-men/856414d1-c902-43c1-816f-19286a83ec1e/ . October 31, 2020 . live.
  28. News: U.S. MUSLIM TERROR BUST 'Martyr letter' links 3 to suicide bomb plot, FBI says . Smith . Greg . March 27, 2002 . . December 20, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111011124233/http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/2002/03/27/2002-03-27_u_s__muslim_terror_bust__mar.html . October 11, 2011 .
  29. News: Criminal complaint in U.S. v. Mohammed Osman Idris . Wyman . John . March 26, 2002 . . December 20, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100131013853/http://archives.cnn.com/2002/LAW/03/26/us.v.idris/ . January 31, 2010 .
  30. Web site: Georgetown University's Wahhabi Front . Poole . Patrick . February 22, 2008 . . . December 20, 2020 . "During her tenure at the Islamic Saudi Academy, Douglass had a series of textbooks published by the International Institute of Islamic Thought".
  31. News: Vozzella . Laura . September 11, 2018 . Saudi school dominates TV ads in race for suburban Richmond congressional seat . . September 17, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200304082807/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/saudi-school-dominates-tv-ads-in-race-for-suburban-richmond-congressional-seat/2018/09/11/1f8ad70a-b5d4-11e8-a2c5-3187f427e253_story.html . March 4, 2020 . live.