The basis of the separation of church and state lies in the first amendment of the Constitution which states “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” The courts have taken this to mean that there be no teaching of religion in public schools, among many other things. Now a school in Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota is being accused of teaching Islam.

The school, Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy, is not a public school, it is a charter school and as such receives government money. The school’s director said that the school, which is supported by Islamic Relief USA, says the school does not endorse any religion, but according to someone who was a substitute teacher, tells an entirely different story saying the school has washing rituals and prayers. The school, which requires all students to learn Arabic and does not fly the American flag like they are required to do by law, says all they do is allow their students to pray if their religion requires them to do, as in the case of Muslin students who are required to pray each afternoon. According to the school, this falls within the federal guidelines.

The state is going to make more visits and launch an investigation of the schools sponsor.

The issue of prayer in school has long been a touchy issue and one that not everyone understands. It is permitted for students to pray as long as it is not during the instructional time or during any other school activities. For instance, it is perfectly OK to say grace before meals. Any school employee cannot either encourage or just the opposite discourage students from engaging in any religions activity as long as they are doing it on their own time - lunch, recess, before or after school. And the employees are prohibited from joining the students in any religious activity. However, if the students religion requires prayer at a certain time, like in the case of the Muslim children, the law says they must be allowed to leave class to do so.

The touchy situation here is whether or not the school is encouraging the students to participate in religious activities, which would be illegal If they require the student to wash their hands as a ritual, it could be considered leading them in a religious ceremony. If they require the students to pray, even if it is on their own time, it is illegal and they could lose their charter school status.

Islam should not be treated any different than any other religion. The students should not be given any more or any less freedom of religious expression in school, even if the student body in the school all are of the same religion. If they get federal money, federal guidelines must be followed.

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