Federal officials unable to act on Islamic Saudi Academy letter from Fairfax County
comment by Jerry Gordon
Looks to us that Gerry Connolly’s ‘briar patch’ strategy of trying to absolve the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors of the furor over the lease with the Islamic Saudi Academy (ISA) by passing the buck onto the U.S. State Department, didn’t work. Note what Connolly said in this Washington Times article in his letter to the State Department:
Mr. Connolly, a Democrat running for Congress in the 11th District, said the county’s lease is expressly “contingent upon and subject to the approval of the United States Department of State.” “As a local government entity, Fairfax County is not capable of determining whether textbooks, written in Arabic, contain language that promotes violence or religious intolerance, or is otherwise offensive to the interests of the United States,” Mr. Connolly wrote.
A State Department spokesman at the Daily Press briefing essentially said it is a local meaning country matter. The excuse that the USCIRF report on the Islamic Saudi Academy hate texts came out on June 11th after the County Board of supervisors made their decision didn’t wash. Neither did the County’s rationale that the State Department was responsible under the Federal Foreign Missions Act to clear the lease renewal pass muster.
Tom Casey, deputy spokesman for the State Department said as much in response to a question during yesterday’s Daily Press briefing:
MR. CASEY: Well I think it’s something we’ve just gotten. We’ll certainly take a look at it and see what kind of response would be appropriate, but I -you know, it’s not something we’ve had a chance to really look through. As you know a school that is incorporated and overseen through the there. It’s not an institution that we have any sort of formal role in accrediting or managing. But certainly, we’ll take a look at the letter and if there’s some thoughts or advise that we can offer, we’ll certainly do it.
All this despite the fact that the Saudi Ambassdor is Chairman of ISA and the Saudi Embassy Federal Employer Identification Number (EIN) is on the lease and the Saudi embassy pays the leasehold.
But this is not making any sense to Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA) who wrote the landmark USCIRF legislation and is a ranking Member of the House State and Foreign Operations Committee. California Democrat Howard Berman is current Chairman. Wolf indicated that he may request a Congressional investigation into the matter.
This ISA story gets ‘curioser and curioser’ as Alice in Wonderland would say.
by Gary Emerling, Washington Times, June 25, 2008
The State Department has no authority to close a Saudi-supported school criticized for violent teachings, a spokesman said Tuesday, despite an official request for guidance from the Northern Virginia county that leases space for the school’s main campus.
The department will “respond as appropriate” to Fairfax County supervisors, spokesman Rob McInturff said.
“We work with the Saudi government … to revise educational materials in Saudi Arabia, but this is a private school in the U.S.,” Mr. McInturff said. “We don’t monitor their activities or anything like that.”
Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Gerald E. Connolly sent a letter Monday to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, requesting that her department provide “specific direction” on the county’s lease with the Islamic Saudi Academy in light of a federal commission’s findings this month.
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom found textbooks used at the 900-student private school included passages that blame the Jews for “discord” and say it is permissible for a Muslim to kill those who have left the faith, an adulterer or someone who has killed a Muslim intentionally, according to the panel.
The findings spurred calls for a public review of the textbooks and criticism of the county board, which voted unanimously in May, prior to the commission’s report, to continue leasing property for the school’s main campus in Alexandria through next June.
Mr. Connolly, a Democrat running for Congress in the 11th District, said the county’s lease is expressly “contingent upon and subject to the approval of the United States Department of State.”
“As a local government entity, Fairfax County is not capable of determining whether textbooks, written in Arabic, contain language that promotes violence or religious intolerance, or is otherwise offensive to the interests of the United States,” Mr. Connolly wrote.
Mr. McInturff confirmed that the department received the letter but had not yet reviewed it. (Continue Reading this Article)
June 25th, 2008 at 9:47 • opinion • news • Washington Times • Islamic Saudi Academy • Fairfaix County Connolly letter to U.S. Department • State demurs • rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA) • House State and Foreign Operations Committee • U.S. Foreign Missions Act • 0 Comments •
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