The USCIRF has requested the textbooks for review, but hasn't received them yet, said Bashir.
The General Director of the school, Abdullah Al-Shabnan, said he refuses to send the textbooks to the Federal Commission, because they are "too biased."
"If there is an independent professional panel that is unbiased, I would be happy for them to look through my books because there is nothing to hide," Shabnan said, adding that he has submitted the books to Fairfax County officials in Virginia, where the school is located.
Previously, Fairfax County Supervisor Gerald Hyland has spoken out in defense of the school and arranged the review to put questions to rest.
Shabnan also said he sent a letter to the Commission a few weeks ago, inviting them to visit the school, but they never came.
The ISA held an open-house in November, inviting members of the press to visit the school. Many of the school's neighbors and American supporters also attended. "They defended the school more than we did," Shabnan said, "because they know we do a good job."
The USCIRF report also expressed concern about the school's Saudi funding. "It is the only school in the U.S. that is funded by a foreign government," said Bashir.
But Bashir said the report is not about discriminating against Islamic education. "We strongly advocate a group's right to religious education and they should have access to it," he said. "But we traveled to Saudi Arabia this summer and we know that these textbooks promote violence and intolerance."
"What surprised me," said Shabnan, "is that they think our books are secret. We have a thousand students here and they take their books home daily. Anyone can have access to them."
The State Department has received the USCIRF's report and recommendations, and has been requested to engage in discussions with the Saudi Embassy for a period of 90 days. At the end of that period, which should be in mid-January, the Commission hopes the Saudi government will send the textbooks for review.
They want the school to be closed down until its curriculum has been studied and cleared.
Shabnan said he thinks the report is simply not true, and that he is not afraid of anyone trying to close down the school. "My school is doing a very good job," he said. "We are a bridge between the United States and the Muslim world. We are showing America the real Muslims, not the Al Qaeda and the Bin Ladens... And we are also showing the Islamic world about America, and how welcoming it is."
The Islamic Saudi Academy opened its doors in 1984 and was operating without any negative connotation until the Sept. 11 attacks.
In 2005, harsh criticism was re-ignited when Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, who graduated from ISA in 1999, was charged with joining al-Qaeda while pursuing his studies in Saudi Arabia. He was convicted on several charges including plotting to assassinate President George W. Bush and was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
The school has around 900 students from kindergarten to grade 12 on campuses in Fairfax and Alexandria.
Shabnan has lived in the United States for six years, and said he gets all kinds of help and support from the authorities. "I do trust the American system," he said, "and I know there is nothing wrong with those books." |
