Minnesota Madrassa vs Florida Hebrew Charter School

Minnesota State Funded Madrassa

Hebrew Charter School


Let's look at the Hebrew charter school:
First the premise that there is a constitutional provision about separation of Church and state:

"Ben Gamla Charter School is billed as the first publicly funded Hebrew-English school in the U.S. Its Aug. 20 opening has prompted fears of religion creeping into public schools — in violation of the American political doctrine of the separation of church and state that is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution."

Let's look at that pesky 1st Amendment:

Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Hmmm, looks to me that Congress can't tell us we can't practice our religion. Liberals always want to leave off the 'or prohibiting the free exercise thereof' part and as 90% (my guess) of us graduated from government indoctrination camps, we didn't know there was more to the 1st amendment than what the news papers quote.

Next, once we look at the actual article on the school, it is indeed public, but a couple of items are oddly amiss if you want to claim it's Hebrew language only (it isn't), religious school (it isn't).

"Ben Gamla is the brainchild of former U.S. Rep. Peter Deutsch, who said he was as surprised by the controversy over the school as by the interest in it. Organizers say the school will teach the Hebrew language and culture, but not the Jewish religion.

"To me, it's very obvious that we're not teaching religion," said Rabbi Adam Siegel, the school's director. He previously directed two private Jewish day schools. "Religion is prayer, it's God, it's Bible. And so if you stay away from there, you're not teaching religion." end quote

So they're teaching Hebrew, a language still spoken, and offering bilingual classes, what makes it any different from schools that teach in bilingual class settings in English and Spanish? They're still teaching the state approved curriculum.

So, what is going on at the Madrassa in Minnesota?

"TIZA has many characteristics that suggest a religious school. It shares the headquarters building of the Muslim American Society of Minnesota, whose mission is “establishing Islam in Minnesota.” The building also houses a mosque. TIZA’s executive director, Asad Zaman, is a Muslim imam, or religious leader, and its sponsor is an organization called Islamic Relief.

Students pray daily, the cafeteria serves halal food - permissible under Islamic law — and “Islamic Studies” is offered at the end of the school day.
"However, in this case, the state directly funds the school from its education budget. That means that the normal rules of public schools and religion should apply: no organized prayer, no religious instruction, and no connections to religious organizations. TIZA violates all of these rules, and more. Kersten takes the testimony of a substitute teacher who watched school assemblies based on Islamic prayer, having to supervise ritual washings, and the study of the Koran." end quote

Uh oh. The Hebrew school doesn't pray. The madrassa school does. The madrassa offers religious instruction. The Hebrew school does not. You tell me who's in violation of that phantom Constitutional enshrinement? In all of this mess guess who's intervening and not on the side of the Muslims? You got it. ACLU. For once, I 'm glad to see them jump in.

[Edit due to my apparent ADD tonight] Here's another major/fundamental difference in the two schools. The Jews have never threatened to eradicate those who are not of their religion, at least not in the past couple of centuries. The followers of Islam, the radical wing, have threatened to kill us all and refer to us as dogs. If you had your say so which school would you prefer? Personally, I'd rather take my chances at the Hebrew Charter School.