This item is available on the Militant Islam Monitor website, at http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/3128

Thomas Moore Law Center joins to stop Khalil Gibran Academy -calls it "Incubator for Islamist Radicalization" PR

August 27, 2007

Thomas More Law Center Enters Fray, Opposing New York City's Khalil Gibran International Academy, Calling It An "Incubator For Islamist Radicalization"

August 27, 2007 - San Francisco, CA - PipeLineNews.org - Calling the Khalil Gibran International Academy, "nothing more than a thinly disguised incubator for Islamist radicalization," the Thomas More Law Center today announced that it will represent a group of citizens opposed to the proposed Arabic public school.

The Thomas More Law Center is a national Christian public interest law firm, and its decision to enter this case is significant.

Of the controversy surrounding KGIA, Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel of the Law Center stated, "This proposed public school is nothing more than an incubator for the radicalization that leads to terrorism, as a NYPD Intelligence Report warned Americans just about two weeks ago...Rather than use the public school system to assimilate Muslims and other immigrants into American culture, New York City is doing everything it can to keep them isolated - a target rich environment for recruiting potential new homegrown terrorists and a recipe for a future 911 disaster, according to my read of the NYPD Report."

Thompson continued, "As uncomfortable as it makes one feel, we must understand that the political goal of radical Islam is to destroy our Judeo-Christian culture. And the KGIA is a Trojan Horse New York City is building for radical Islam with taxpayer money. That the Quran calls for Muslims to subjugate the world, especially Christians and Jews, is a fact that anyone can look up."

The Law Center is alleging that KGIA's promoters have ties to questionable Islamic organizations including the Council of American Islamic Relations [CAIR], which they state is, "an un-indicted co-conspirator in cases dealing with the funding of terror, whose founder and chairman publicly stated in 1998, 'Islam isn't in America to be equal to any other faith but to become dominant. The Quaran should be the highest authority in America, and Islam the only accepted religion on Earth.' On KGIA's Advisory Board is Imam Talib Abdul-Rashid, the resident imam of the Mosque of Islamic Brotherhood. The "About Us" page of the...website contains the ominous slogan, 'The Qu'ran is our constitution Jihad is our way And death in the way of Allah is our promised end.'"

The press release announcing the Law Center's decision to enter the case noted, "Recently adding to the controversy was the resignation of KGIA principal-designate, Dhabah Almontaser, after she defended T-Shirts supporting a "NYC Intifada." Compounding suspicions of KGIA's Islamic agenda, the strategy meeting to protest the media's criticism of Almontaser was held at the Islamic Society of Bay Ridge that has a long history of serving as a center of radical jihadist activity. Publicly funded Islamic schools are popping up in several communities across the country where public school officials who routinely ban religious expressions by Christian students as unconstitutional, are energetically establishing these Islamic schools under the guise of promoting multiculturism and diversity."

Examples of this encroachment of shari'a into American education include the building of footbaths to accommodate the Muslim prayer ritual at several public universities and organized Muslim prayer sessions at Carver Elementary school in San Diego, CA - a practice which was abandoned just weeks ago due to public outcry along with the intervention of the Thomas More Law Center. http://www.pipelinenews.org/index.cfm?page=carroll82707%2Ehtm

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NEWS RELEASE

24 Frank Lloyd Wright Dr

Ann Arbor, Michigan 48105

PH: 734-827-2001 · Fax: 734-930-7160


Contact: Brian J. Rooney For Immediate Release: 8/27/07

734- 827-2001 Total Pages: 4

New York City's Khalil Gibran International Academy An Incubator For Islamist Radicalization—

Thomas More Law Center Enters Fray

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ANN ARBOR, MI – Claiming it is nothing more than a thinly disguised incubator for Islamist radicalization, the Thomas More Law Center, a national Christian public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, announced today that it will represent a group of citizens opposed to the September 4 opening of the publicly funded Khalil Gibran International Academy (KGIA) by the New York City Department of Education. KGIA, which will immerse its students in Islamic culture, has three fundamentalist Islamist imams on its Board of Advisors, as well as other promoters with connections to militant Islamic organizations.

"This proposed public school is nothing more than an incubator for the radicalization that leads to terrorism, as a NYPD Intelligence Report warned Americans just about two weeks ago," cautioned Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel of the Law Center. "Rather than use the public school system to assimilate Muslims and other immigrants into American culture, New York City is doing everything it can to keep them isolated – a target rich environment for recruiting potential new homegrown terrorists and a recipe for a future 911 disaster, according to my read of the NYPD Report," said Thompson.

Continued Thompson, "As uncomfortable as it makes one feel, we must understand that the political goal of radical Islam is to destroy our Judeo-Christian culture. And the KGIA is a Trojan Horse New York City is building for radical Islam with taxpayer money. That the Quran calls for Muslims to subjugate the world, especially Christians and Jews, is a fact that anyone can look up."

Thompson further added, "New York City School Chancellor, Joel Klein, who is aggressively promoting this Islamic school, is the same person who refused to allow two Christian students, a second and a fourth grader, to display a nativity scene during Christmas—another example of how political correctness is leading to a malicious double standard when it comes to religious expression in public schools."

The Law Center will act as co-counsel with attorney David Yerushalmi, who filed a Freedom of Information Act request on July 23, 2007 asking for more specific details about KGIA. Thus far, his requests have gone unanswered, leading to increased suspicion that the school as currently configured cannot meet state educational standards. Moreover, several factors, including an executive summary of the KGIA proposal, point to the school as an anti-American, anti-Christian, and anti-Jewish propaganda center paid for by American tax dollars.

Some of the school's promoters have ties to questionable Islamic organizations including CAIR (Council of American Islamic Relations), an un-indicted co-conspirator in cases dealing with the funding of terror, whose founder and chairman publicly stated in 1998:

"Islam isn't in America to be equal to any other faith but to become dominant.

The Quaran should be the highest authority in America,

and Islam the only accepted religion on Earth."

On KGIA's Advisory Board is Imam Talib Abdul-Rashid, the resident imam of the Mosque of Islamic Brotherhood. The "About Us" page of the Muslim Brotherhood website contains the ominous slogan:

The Qu'ran is our constitution

Jihad is our way

And death in the way of Allah is our promised end.

The Executive Summary of the new school has a section entitled "A Day in the Life of a Student at the Khalil Gibran International Academy," which describes how imaginary students pass through a hallway adorned with portraits of Arab philosophers, inventors, poets, musicians. Notably, there is no mention of portraits of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, or our other Founding Fathers.

In another section of the Executive Summary, "Fatin" (an imaginary student), heads over to the cafeteria for lunch where retired Arabic speaking community members come daily to converse with students to strengthen their Arabic fluency. "I wonder what they will be talking about?" commented Thompson. "Will it be about Al Queda or Hamas, the Palestinian issue, Muslim versus Jew, Muslim versus Christian, anti-American diatribe, who knows?"

Recently adding to the controversy was the resignation of KGIA principal-designate, Dhabah Almontaser, after she defended T-Shirts supporting a "NYC Intifada." Compounding suspicions of KGIA's Islamic agenda, the strategy meeting to protest the media's criticism of Almontaser was held at the Islamic Society of Bay Ridge that has a long history of serving as a center of radical jihadist activity.

Thompson added, "We cannot ignore the fact that according to a 2005 report released by the Center for Religious Freedom, mosques throughout America are depositories for venomous anti-American, anti-Christian, anti-Jewish propaganda disseminated by the Saudi government."

Publicly funded Islamic schools are popping up in several communities across the country where public school officials who routinely ban religious expressions by Christian students as unconstitutional, are energetically establishing these Islamic schools under the guise of promoting multiculturism and diversity.

Several public universities have already constructed footbaths to facilitate Muslim prayer rituals.

Anyone negotiating with Muslims should be aware of the Islamic principle of taquiya, or the approval of lying to infidels in order to advance the cause of Islam. That principle has been used by Muslims to adopt a peaceful attitude to deceive their non-Muslim neighbors until they gain the strength to subjugate them.

Chancellor Klein has attempted to assuage citizen fears that KGIA is a madrassa by promising to monitor the school for any religious violations. However, once the school is operational, any attempt to monitor for religious expressions, besides the practical difficulties, may well be challenged as a constitutional violation in itself as such monitoring for religious material is arguably an excessive entanglement with religion.

In 2002, the Thomas More Law Center filed a federal lawsuit against California's Byron Union School District because of its three week intensive course to teach seventh graders how to become Muslims. During the course, students took on Muslim names which they printed on name tags worn during class, were taught the five duties all Muslims must perform, were required to complete a project for each duty, and memorized verses and prayers from the Quaran. They even played a game entitled Jihad.

More recently, the Law Center's public criticism of California's Carver Elementary School for designating a special time and room so that the Muslim students could pray during school hours contributed to a change in that school's policy.

The Thomas More Law Center defends and promotes the religious freedom of Christians, time-honored family values, and the sanctity of human life through education, litigation, and related activities. It does not charge for its services. The Law Center is supported by contributions from individuals, corporations and foundations, and is recognized by the IRS as a section 501(c)(3) organization. You may reach the Thomas More Law Center at (734) 827-2001 or visit our website at www.thomasmore.org.

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This item is available on the Militant Islam Monitor website, at http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/3128